2Cellos

2Cellos
2Cellos in Glendale, California in 2011.
Background information
Origin	Zagreb, Croatia
Genres	Cello rock, classical, chamber music, instrumental rock
Years active	2011 (2011)–present
Labels	Sony Masterworks
Website	2cellos.com
Members	Luka Šulić Stjepan Hauser

2Cellos (stylized 2CELLOS) is a Croatiancello duo, consisting of classically trained Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser. Signed to Sony Masterworks since 2011, they have released four albums and play instrumental arrangements of well-known pop and rock songs as well as classical and film music. The duo perform internationally and have been featured on several US TV shows including Glee and The Bachelor.

Hauser, born in Pula, Croatia, and Šulić, born in Maribor, Slovenia, to Croatian father and Slovenian mother, both classically trained musicians, met at a master class in Croatia while still in their teens. Šulić—the younger of the two by a year— attended the Academy of Music in Zagreb, and then studied in Vienna. Šulić later entered London's Royal Academy of Music. Hauser attended the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, after completing his studies at Trinity Laban in London.

The duo rose to fame after their cover of "Smooth Criminal" became a hit on YouTube, receiving over three million views in the first two weeks and over eighteen million views as of May 2016. The creation of the music video was prompted by the cellists' financial difficulties, despite their musical success in the UK. The duo met in Pula, where one of Hauser's friends, a director, proposed that they try the pop music market by creating a video to "Smooth Criminal." The video, originally posted on 20 January 2011, features Šulić and Hauser facing off alone in a large white room, playing Jackson's tune. In fact, before they became partners, the two cellists were sometimes considered rivals, competing against each other in music contests.