Bryce Vine is a Berklee College of Music alum who is gaining popularity thanks to his single, “Drew Barrymore.” The song is climbing up the charts, thanks in-part to a co-sign by Taylor Swift, who added it to her Apple Music playlist. Vine joined me in Las Vegas to chat about the T-Swift approval, his famous classmates and how the actress inspired the song.
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We may not have seen Amy Heidemann and Nick Noonan for a few months, but the duo really didn’t take any time off, nor did they necessarily hide from anyone. Karmin is preparing for the release of its first full length studio album, tentatively scheduled to be released this fall. Leading up to the LP, the group will join The Jonas Brothers on tour.
Heidemann showcases her rhymes again on the project’s lead single, “Acapella.” As the title suggests, there are parts of the song where she is without an instrumental. Ironically though, the track is a perfect blend of a thumping hip-hop beat and Heidemann’s flow.
“Acapella” will be available on iTunes June 25.
Go figure that this year we’d have two big pop acts cover the same holiday song – we played fun.’s version on the show first, now here’s Karmin’s spin on “Sleigh Ride” – commissioned for a big Coach campaign. There’s a free download of the song available here.
On April 12, 2011 – Amy Heidemann and Nick Noonan uploaded a cover of Chris Brown’s “Look At Me Now” to YouTube. A year and a half later, with a record deal and hit singles under their belt, the people that comprise Karmin do not seem to have changed much. Sure, Heidemann is now obtaining those blogged-about hair rolls with the help of a stylist, and Noonan’s choice of instrument is now backed by a touring band when on the road. But as for Amy and Nick themselves, the two seem pretty unfazed.
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“We met all kinds of people. The Backstreet Boys, they were like, ‘Hey Karmin!’ We’re like, ‘Hey… Backstreet Boys,’” recalled Noonan of an elevator run-in with the boy band. “We were just chillin’ with (will.i.am) talking about Nebraska football.”
The duo continued to recollect experiences from their trip to the 2012 American Music Awards with the type of enthusiasm you’d expect from a radio contest winner. It’s refreshing.
“When we found out that we were presenting No Doubt, that was kind of the icing on the cake,” Noonan said. “That’s one of our favorite, most influenced-by bands, period.”
Heidemann chimed in that seeing Stevie Wonder live, for the first time, was another big highlight of the evening.
The band flew from Los Angeles to New York on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Amy and Nick filmed a performance for a year-end special on MTV. Then Thursday, the group took part in The 86th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Karmin is rolling off the success of its first major label release, Hello, which spawned the hit single, “Broken Hearted.” The group is recording a full-length album.
Title track from the duo’s major label debut album. Also, rhymes with “cheerio.”
Of course Amy and Nick of Karmin came to stardom with their YouTube cover of Chris Brown’s “Look at Me Now.”
I think if nothing else, the track inspired the third single from Karmin’s major-label debut Hello.
This week, on WBRE’s “PA Live!” for my weekly segment, “The Ralphie Report,” I recapped my in-studio interview with Karmin. I also reported on Justin Bieber’s new single and the announcement of the “Anchorman” sequel. How-now-brown-cow.
Amy Heidemann idolized Whitney Houston as a child. She can remember singing along to Houston’s hits, attempting to mimic those massive vocal runs. The Berklee graduate dreamt that one day she could become as famous as the icon.
Little did Heidemann know as a child growing up in Nebraska that a weird twist of fate would prevent her from ever meeting Houston. Yet, this same twist would position the superstar uniquely in her fan’s career and life.
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Heidemann and fiancé Nick Noonan have gained fame as the duo Karmin. First, it was their cover of Chris Brown’s “Look at Me Now.” The video went viral on YouTube to the tune of over 60 million views. An appearance on “Ellen” and a national media tour followed, and then Epic Records called. Now Karmin is touring the country to promote its single, “Brokenhearted,” which is off the group’s debut album, due out this spring.
The night of February 11, Karmin was preparing to perform “Brokenhearted” on “Saturday Night Live.” About two hours prior to show time in New York, news broke from Los Angeles that Houston had been found dead in her hotel room. Heidemann revealed on “The Ralphie Radio Show” that before the show, there was talk backstage about the duo paying tribute to the fallen star by covering one of her songs, as they had done with so many other artists on the band’s YouTube channel.
“[Houston’s] like covering Adele, or The Beatles; it’s really difficult to tackle something like that,” she explained. “We decided not to in the end of it.”
Heidemann clarified that when Karmin does attempt to perform a tough song, it usually comes with modifications.
“I mean, we did a couple of [Adele’s], but we changed them so much,” she said. “We weren’t like karaoke Adele; we changed the arrangement to fit our style.”
Karmin’s style is captivating fans worldwide. The group’s break out original single, “Brokenhearted,” is receiving airplay on radio stations across the country. It is an up-tempo track with a bittersweet plot.
“I was in the studio and I’m talking about taking Patron shots, alone, waiting for the phone to ring,” Heidemann recalled of the recording session for the single. “It’s tense, and all of the sudden, [the producers] were like, ‘Just improvise on this next take.’ And I was like, ‘Uh, cheerio!’”
Alas, a catchphrase which would be used throughout the entire song was born. Thankfully for Heidemann, the only thing she has to wait for in her personal life is to set a wedding date with Noonan. Perhaps not so thankfully for him, Noonan’s fiancée is actually quite the fan of tequila (“in responsible amounts” she insists). Cheerio.
Amy and Nick of Karmin stopped by “The Ralphie Radio Show” to perform an acoustic version of the band’s single, “Brokenhearted.”
Karmin’s LP, Hello, is due out this May on Epic Records.
Our favorite YouTube sensations from Boston performed this track over the weekend on “Saturday Night Live.” It is available on iTunes now and will be on the band’s debut LP, Hello, due out this April.
