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Karmin lives life in fast lane
By John Benson
Exciting and crazy is how Amy Heidemann and Nick Noonan of pop duo Karmin describe the past three years of their life.
The currently engaged couple first gained notoriety as a viral sensation with their YouTube clip featuring a cover of Chris Brown’s “Look at Me Now,’ which resulted in an appearance on “Ellen.” What came next for the then-unknown and unsigned group was surreal — an appearance on “Saturday Night Live.”
From there, the act, which likes to apply a theme of dressing in one color, was thrust into the fast lane with label offers, various EPs and double-platinum hit “Brokenhearted.” However, when it came time to record the group’s debut album, its label, Epic Records, kept announcing a release date only to later push it back without reason.
The duo’s first full-length effort, “Pulses,” finally came out last month.
“It’s been, honestly, pretty frustrating,” said Noonan, calling from Houston. “We’ve kind of been put through the wringer a little bit. There were two or three different release dates, but that being said, it’s pretty good to have it actually out there now that we’re touring.
“The whole point of this album is to kind of have everybody come see the live show. That’s our bread and butter. So we made the whole album with that in mind.”
“Pulses” includes Karmin’s 2013 summertime hit “Acapella,” which was certified gold, as well as the wall-of-sound title track. Other highlights include the disco-tinged “I Want It All,” the fast-paced “What’s In It For Me?” and ballads “Neon Love” and “Tidal Wave.”
As far as standing out in today’s crowded and often redundant pop-music scene, Karmin has a few tricks up its sleeve. The first of which is unexpected, considering the pop act is attempting to compete against the likes of Rihanna, Katy Perry and Bruno Mars.
It turns out Noonan plays, well, the trombone all over “Pulses,” as well as in the group’s live show.
The other area where Karmin attempts to rise above its peers is the fact Heidemann does quite a bit of rapping on the album.
“The rapping thing was the catalyst for the world discovering Karmin,” Heidemann said. “When the ‘Look at Me’ cover went on YouTube, it was like the 38th video we posted. We were doing one a week. And our lives changed overnight, so there’s no denying that the rap element is special. I think it’s just the fact that there are not very many females rapping. Also, I’m white and I don’t use profanity in the rap, so it just lends itself to being the X factor of Karmin.”
Fans can see that X factor in action when Karmin returns to Northeast Ohio on Monday for a show at the House of Blues.
Despite being the victim of label games, the members of Karmin are perhaps in the perfect position to offer perspective on the current state of the music industry.
“Oh, it’s a new world, all the way through,” Noonan said. “The big thing about that is labels and radio, as far as top-40 radio, are still interconnected. So those relationships are still super strong, but it is a brand-new world.”
Heidemann added: “It’s exciting, but also kind of crazy.”