Every now and then a new band or artist is discovered via YouTube or in a coffee shop and wins over swarms of fans and audiences. So what makes YouTube sensation Timeflies Tuesday any different?

“Their take on music is completely original. They do covers of popular songs and put their own spin on it,” said Naila Bukhari, junior in AHS.

The group came to campus Tuesday, performing at Canopy Club for a full crowd. Guys and girls alike danced through the long opening act, but once the duo graced the stage, all signs of fatigue vanished.

Timeflies Tuesday consists of two young men named Cal Shapiro and Rob Resnick, Cal and Rez, respectively. Shapiro and Resnick, originally from New York and New Jersey, started making music together while they were students at Tufts University, according to their website, “timefliesmusic.com”:http://timefliesmusic.com/. Originally part of a band at Tufts, the two broke off and collaborated, with Resnick specializing in production of sound and beats and Shapiro working on the vocals.

Timeflies released their debut album, The Scotch Tape, last September and the album was received with a lot of positive feedback. Vanity Fair cited Shapiro and Resnick as “musical masterminds.”

On top of touring cities and performing on various college campuses, every Tuesday the duo post videos via their YouTube account to give their fans a look into what’s going on in their world. Their covers of songs like “Wayward Son” and “Under the Sea” have gotten over one million views.

Their dedication to keeping their fans involved on their journey in the industry helps grow their fan base. Most people were introduced to the duo through social media outlets such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Other people were introduced by friends.

“My friend, Daniel Stelter, introduced me to them,” said Mark Oyer, graduate student and aspiring rap artist, whose potential stage name is BigCountry. “What makes Timeflies different is that they have clever lyrics and Cal has a smooth voice, so he can rap as well as sing,” he said.

Timeflies’ style is completely in a league of its own. With their blend of pop, hip-hop, electro, dub step and rock, the duo is trying to escape genre limitations in order to create expressive, diverse music.

Oyer thinks Timeflies’ fusion of styles helps them gain more fans.

“Guys like them because they appreciate their musical style. I think Rez is a ‘guy’s guy’, and guys like him because he makes awesome beats,” Oyer said.

Bukhari agrees, but feels that girls are interested in the duo for another reason.

“I think girls like Timeflies because … well, because Cal is hot,” she said.

Regardless of what kind of fan someone is, most feel that Timeflies represents a new genre of music that seems to be emerging.

Their ability to cross music genre lines in order to create something different gives them the edge of originality. Shapiro’s spit-fire rapping and Resnick’s production and DJing skills of electronic beats and sounds somehow fuse together to make music.

“I don’t usually listen to rap, however I really did like Timeflies because they take rap and mix it up with stuff like dub step and they have their own unique style and they change it around,” Bukhari said. “So normal songs I wouldn’t listen to I started to like because of them.”

Bukhari and Oyer both feel that an aspect of Timeflies’ appeal is that they use songs that are already mainstream, but change it into their own style.

“Timeflies allows you to listen to songs you usually won’t. They expose you to a different take on music,” Bukhari said.

Oyer predicted that Tuesday’s concert at Canopy Club would be wild.

“Cal and Rez are going to get all the girls to be screaming, and after me and Cal do a duo the girls are going to be crying,” he said.

Although the latter part of Oyer’s prediction didn’t come true, the crowd did consist of a lot of screaming girls.

Tuesday’s concert at Canopy Club drew a large crowd. Tickets sold out and Canopy was full of anticipating fans. Canopy erupted with energy once Timeflies finally took stage.

Screaming girls and guys pushed toward the stage as Rez doused the hot and sweaty crowd with water.

“It was crazy in there,” said Rhiannon Hanft, freshman in Education, who was in the front row, squished between the stage and the crowd.

“I would say my favorite part was either when Cal did the free style rap about U of I, or when he grabbed my hand and sang to me!” Hanft exclaimed.

Hanft went on to talk about how the atmosphere was electric and how the concert in general was a success.

“It was so much fun! Their energy is insane and you never know what they’re going to say next,” Haft said. “Their music is just a lot of fun to listen to, and seeing them perform it live was amazing. Never a dull moment.”

With their growing success, Timeflies Tuesday seems to be a band that is here to stay and will only be getting bigger.

Oyer, Bukhari and Hanft would all recommend them to anyone who hasn’t heard of them before.

“I would tell others to check them out on YouTube,” Oyer said. “They’re lyrical masters — a mix between Celine Dion and Weezy.”