Aly & AJ Grow Up And Change Their Name: '78Violet Is Now in Town'

They’re old enough to vote now. They’re expanding their acting careers by taking on more adult-oriented roles. And now, pop sensations Aly (pictured, far right) and AJ even have a new name.

“An interesting thing that we announced recently on Twitter — which we’re super hooked on now — was the changing of our band name. We’re not ‘Aly & AJ’ anymore,” explained Alyson Michalka when we caught up with her recently on the set of her 2010 comedy "The Easy A." "Now, we’re '78Violet.'" In one of her first interviews since the 20-year-old Aly and her 18-year-old sister made the name change official, Alyson explained what their new moniker means. “We were throwing around numbers, and 7 and 8 are our lucky numbers. They just mean a lot of different things to us,” she reasoned. “And violet — we wanted an alter ego for this [upcoming] record, and who we are on stage — and violet stuck out. The meaning of 'violet' is so interesting, if you Google the numbers 78 and violet separately, there’s so many different meanings that number has and the color violet, and how powerful it is."

"It’s really weird," she admitted, saying the ’78Violet title was effective immediately and would be the name of the band on the upcoming album they recently finished. “But, it immediately connected with everything that we had gone through on the record. It was just a complete connection at that moment, and I was like 'Done. We’re 78Violet, I don’t care if nobody likes this name, this is us.'"

As for the album, Michalka added: “I think the music will really speak for itself. It sounds like 78Violet; it sounds like a revamped, newer version of Aly & AJ. Aly & AJ are on vacation. They’ll always be there, but 78Violet is now in town.”

Don't forget to check out Aly in an exclusive clip of Aly rocking out in her upcoming flick, "Bandslam," here.

What do you think of Aly & AJ’s new band name?

Tags 78Violet, Aly & AJ, Amanda Michalka, Easy A