Ylvis: We feel under pressure to be sexy

Ring-dinging Ylvis crooner Vegard Ylvisåke reckons he’d derail like Miley Cyrus if it weren’t for his fellow foxy dresser brother Bård.

The  Norwegian siblings shot to fame this summer with their ridiculous dance track The Fox, and after clocking up more than 230million views on YouTube and they have now become a hit with the biggest babes in pop.

‘I would have been Miley Cyrus if it wasn’t for him,’ Vegard, 34, told Guilty Pleasures, saying his little brother keeps him grounded. ‘I would be Male-y Cyrus.’

Although they are managing to keep clear heads while their bonkers music takes the world by storm, the boys do agree they feel a certain pressure to be sexy – like Cyrus – following their step into the limelight.

‘We wouldn’t have done the fox costumes if we weren’t really under the pressure to be sexy,’ Bård, 31, joked.

‘We are walking around in the world now feeling objectified,’ Vegard concurred, adding: ‘We were at the [MTV] EMAs walking around with a small entourage. Even the people expecting us were saying “We’ve heard Ylvis are coming, the fox guys! We’re excited!” We were practically invisible but when we put on the fox costumes right before the gig everyone realised who the lame guys were laying around on the couch.’

‘Katy Perry passed us by and said “Ring-a-ding-a-ding” and Miley Cyrus came running at us, hugging us. It’s really absurd,’ Bård added, revealing they are slowly adjusting to their fame, which has seen them perform everywhere from the Ellen Degeneres show to Children In Need.

With the novelty act – such as Psy, The Cheeky Girls, Lou Bega – disappearing as quickly as they appear, Ylvis are not worried about their own bubble bursting.

‘We will just keep on doing what we have been doing. Of course the surroundings have changed a great deal, but for us nothing has changed that much,’ Bård said.

‘We are just going to retire to Norway and start hunting,’ Vegard laughed.

[Originally published Metro Guilty Pleasures Wednesday 20 November 2013]