As any creator of a viral video will tell you, worldwide acclaim is never the end goal. However, that’s what happened for French trio L.E.J. Comprised of three best friends—Lucie Lebrun, Élisa Paris and Juliette Cogone—the group of classically trained musicians found themselves with a YouTube video they’d quickly thrown together one afternoon in their pajamas racking up views by the million. A mashup of top hits of summer 2015 (including Omi’s “Cheerleader” and “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars), the video of the same name—that currently has nearly 50 million views—was quickly picked up by the likes of Seventeen and Time. 

“We made a 2014 summer [video] and the people who followed us on Facebook encouraged us to make a 2015 summer [video] so one day at 2pm we were at my house and we were like, ‘Yup why not?’” Elisa recalls. “We didn’t know that it was going to be something as huge as that.”

Since posting the video in August, L.E.J (pronounced Elijay) have traveled the world, recorded an album, En attendant l’album, released last month Stateside and are continuing to plot Internet domination through plans of releasing a Summer 2016 mashup video. Before that happens, get schooled in all things L.E.J

They’re Basically Sisters

All born months apart, Lucie, Elisa and Juliette are all 22 years old and grew up on the same street in Saint-Denis, near Paris. Even their parents are good friends. “Before it was a musical story, it was a friendship story,” Elisa says.

Being So Close Helps Their Music

They’ve been performing together for ten years, but formally began L.E.J about three years ago through a Facebook cover song competition organized by French band Tryo, which they won. One of the reasons Elisa credits their performance success is because of the longevity of their friendship. “It’s a big advantage to be friends before because we just have to look at each other and we know what the other thinks,” she admits.

Professional Training Helped Define Their Sound

Elisa and Lucie studied vocals at Radio France, combining music theory with performance, while Juliette attended the Conservatoire de Saint-Denis for cello.

They Cut Their Teeth on YouTube

Vocalists Lucie and Elisa and cellist Juliette would create their own arrangements and mashups of American pop songs like “Survivor” by Destiny’s Child, a summer 2014 mashup and Macklemore’s “Can’t Hold Us” and post them to YouTube, each gaining more traction until the big boom of the Summer 2015 video.

They’ve Got Eclectic Style

Melding classical, hip-hop, pop, reggae and world music, L.E.J are skillful genre blenders, crafting a distinct and one-of-a-kind sound. “We listen to different kinds of music,” Elisa explains. “If one of us [doesn’t] like a song, we explain to her why we like the song and finally she’s gonna like the song too. We grew up in the same city and we listened to a lot of rap together, a lot of hip-hop, a lot of reggae. We’ve always liked classical music.”

They Just Played in the US For the First Time

In March they made their first United States appearance, playing in New York City. As if that wasn’t intimidating enough, two days later they flew to Austin for South by Southwest. “In New York, there were a lot of French people,” Elisa recalls. “SXSW is the biggest festival we’ve ever seen in our life, so it was really scary, but it was a lot of fun.”

They’re Working On a New Album

But don’t expect it to be in English. While much of their debut included American covers and medleys, the follow-up will be a nod to their native tongue and will be in French. “We want to sing in English, but we choose to sing in French to keep our French mark,” Elisa says. They’re not rushing the process either, carefully piecing together the music.

They Love American TV

In fact, watching How I Met Your Mother is how Elisa learned to speak English. They’re also big fans of New Girl.

Despite Having Little Free Time, They Want To Take It All In

This includes funny movies, opera (they’re huge fans), theatre. “Everything is our biggest influence,” Elisa says. “We want to do everything, we want to see everything.”

In Their Words, They’re a Little Crazy

“If you saw us onstage you could say we’re crazy people,” Elisa says of the trio’s stage presence. “We’re not calm. We laugh a lot. We don’t take ourselves serious. We don’t like serious. We like humor, we like having fun all the time with friends.”