Eiti prie turinio 
"I remember those times with nostalgia and a smile, even though we didn't feel like icons or very unique at the time," says Asta Stašaitytė, one of the hosts of the radio station M1's legendary show "Among Us, Girls". The duet between her and Livija Gradauskienė, which aired in 1997, has become a part of the history not only of radio, but also of the entertainment world. Now, two decades later, the phenomenon, which has been repeatedly tried to be replicated, is still remembered with longing by listeners, is back.
"Among Us, Girls" will return for one night, as loud as only they can, at the M1 Music Awards on 3 December at Kaunas Žalgiris Arena. It was previously announced that another iconic radio duo, Tomaz and Maraz, will rise from the ashes here. Tickets for the event are still available on the Bilietai.lt platform.
"When I think about it, I come to the conclusion that we have become a "phenomenon", because we have been the most prominent female duo, surpassing even TV shows in popularity, which is very rare for radio shows. I can think of a few reasons, but which one is decisive, I do not know. First of all, at that time, neither on television nor on radio, did anyone openly ridicule or laugh at politicians and entertainers who were publicly laughing. We were talking about what many people were thinking, laughing at what people were laughing at and discussing at work, at home, at parties. And we weren't angry, we laughed so hard ourselves that sometimes we couldn't say a word. And importantly, we laughed at ourselves too. The fact that we were two girls also added to our popularity. If I remember correctly, we were the only, and maybe the first, on-air couple of this kind," says Asta.
Their popularity was incredible. And not just on the radio. The programme even celebrated birthdays on Gediminas Avenue, with celebrities from the entertainment world and politicians visiting to congratulate them. Anthems for "Among Us, Girls" were created, and contests for runners-up were organised.
"When I listen to you on the radio, you are as thorny as roses, and when I look at you, you are as beautiful as a gerbera tree," Rolandas Paksas once complimented. Nijolė Oželytė called them "Amazons"...
The duo was on the air until around 2001. Over the years, there have been many adventures, surprises and hundreds of memorable moments.
"In the past, there were no cameras in radio studios, no live broadcasts. I am very happy about that. If the programme wasn't developing, we didn't get caught in the so-called "shield", we would bite each other's backs to "wake up" the emotion, the mood. I remember Livija is already speaking on air, I'm supposedly a few seconds late at the microphone, and I'm almost naked in front of my colleague, and I sit down and speak, and she not only can't go on with the topic, she can't speak anymore, she's lying on the radio console and shaking with laughter. In such cases, the listeners wouldn't even know what we were laughing about, they would just hear a real hearty chuckle and start laughing themselves. It has happened that the most reviled and ridiculed of our politicians has burst into the studio with a bunch of flowers during the airwaves. It was a pleasant surprise that he listens, is self-critical and cunning enough. The trick worked for maybe a day or two - we didn't say anything bad about him," Stašaitytė said with a laugh.
And the programme itself came out of the blue. Asta was visiting her friend Martynas Starkas, who was working at M1 at the time, and who used to host the show with L. Gradauskienė. As the girls got to know each other, they had many fun topics and sessions together, and one day Marčius said to me as he walked by, "How much can you chatter here, do a radio programme!". Thus, "Among Us Girls" was born.
"Well, I think the reason for such a long popularity is that we used to live the show "Among Us Girls". We would watch the shows together or separately in the evenings, note down strange, funny situations and discuss them the next day, and the intensive preparation would take place in the mornings. A couple of hours before each programme, we would read the press and choose what we were going to discuss," A. Stašaitytė recalls.
And after that, "Among Us Girls" was gone. True, only on the radio, but not in life. Asta and Livija are still friends, they meet at events and have a friendly relationship.
"We were exhausted, we tried to change the format, we shut ourselves in the recording studio and tried to record our own jokes, but we listened to it ourselves and realised it didn't sound right. To this day I think it was a great decision to quit before listeners got bored, before we were at the peak of our popularity. To this day, passers-by still speak up to express their gratitude for the show, tell us their memories or even encouraging situations that have changed their lives", says Stašaitytė.
And now the day has come when "Among Us Girls" will be performed live again! The duo will be reborn at the M1 Music Awards and it will be just as much fun as in the good old days.
"I was delighted when I received the offer. M1 has given me five wonderful years of creativity and two even more wonderful sons for life. I am very grateful to Hubert Grušnis (we were his darlings), Livia and the audience. Later on, I lived and still live a rich professional and personal life, but I remember with great nostalgia the days of "Among Us Girls"," smiles Asta, who is already tongue-tied for an epic comeback.
This historic day is December 3rd, Kaunas Žalgiris Arena. Tickets for the event are sold by Tickets.lt.
The M1 Music Awards are 6 days away!
