Friday, June 8, 2018

Us The Duo share the love on 'America's Got Talent'

SCREEN CAPTURE / YOUTUBE
Us the Duo is made up of Michael and Carissa Rae Alvarado of Claremont, Calif.

AMERICA'S GOT TALENT
, may be the big break that Us the Duo needs to launch them into stardom.


I've been following Us the Duo,  Michael and Carissa Rae Alvarado, for a couple of years. They have been performing together for over five years singing their songs throughout the world. Through their social media performances, they attracted talent scouts and secured a recording contract with Republic Records, a major label.

Though known for their cheery covers of contemporary pop songs, the folk-rock duo has pumped out three full-length studio albums and an EP since 2012.


The singing couple is recognized as one of the first acts to be signed to a major label following success on Vine. Although popular on social media, they've never really hit the really big Big-Time.  A month-long summer tour is booked. And they’ve accumulated 4.3 million followers on Facebook and 1.2 million monthly listeners on Spotify, according to Billboard.  

They've got the looks (impossibly cute), the sound (indie pop plus standards) and their love for each other radiates through their performances. They've just been lacking the Big Break.
RELATED: Us the Duo sign record contract
All of that was on display last week on their audition night on AGT. With Michael on guitar and Filipina American Carissa on percussion, they sang the song they wrote for their wedding, "No Matter Where You Are."

“We want to start a family soon, so (winning) would actually make that dream come true,” Carissa said at the top of their performance, perhaps a clever strategy to pull at the judges' heartstrings.

Howie Mandel wasn't convinced.  "A little too coffee house," was his criticism. When is that a bad thing? Heidi Klum was an enthusiastic supporter and was the only one to give them a standing O. Mel B was on the bubble but in the end, gave them a vote of confidence. Usually cynical Simon Cowell liked them. He even smiled during their performance. 

“Well, I don’t agree. I love the chorus on the song. I like the fact you were playing the drums," said Cowell. "The fact that you did something original makes you stand out. We’re gonna remember you. This was a really good audition."


Watch their AGT performance below and then listen to their reaction. "No Matter Where You Are," was featured in the end credits of  Disney's animated hit, The Book of Life, for which another FilAm song-writing couple, Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, won an Oscar for Best Song If you want to hear the entire song of "No Matter Where You Are," click here.








America's Got Talent airs on NBC, on Tuesdays, 8 p.m. EDT, 7 p.m. Central.
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