The name “Karmin” is a “portmanteau,” or combination of words, created from the Latin word “Carmen,” meaning “songs” and the word “karma.”
It’s safe to say that karma has definitely been on Karmin’s side.
Headlining for LSU’s annual Homecoming Concert, the pop duo is famous for its genre-bending music, and began its internet takeover by posting covers of songs spanning several genres. Beginning its venture in 2011, Karmin has made great strides in the past two years.
“We were actually doing originals first and nobody cared, so we were like, ‘how can we get people to care,’ so we started covering songs in a way that was kind of unique so that people were a little curious about our original stuff” said Nick Noonan, one half of Karmin.
But Karmin never expected the type of notoriety they would receive for the internet endeavor. Besides the massive YouTube reception (the hit single, “Brokenhearted,” clocks in at almost 19 million views), the group’s popularity thrived after being discussed on the social news and entertainment website, Reddit.
“We started using YouTube because we were too broke to tour, so at the time, we were like, ‘the Internet is great and it’s free to upload a video,’ so we sort of stumbled into YouTube,” said Amy Heidemann, the other half of Karmin.
The duo has collaborated with a number of artists, including the likes of Big Time Rush and
producer Warryn Campbell, who has produced tracks for Alicia Keys and Kanye West. Of all of the collaborations Karmin has had, the group’s favorite dates back to one of Heidemann’s childhood idols.
“Shaggy — when I was younger, the ‘It Wasn’t Me’ song, that was like the ‘no no’ song in my house, and my parents were like ‘that’s naughty!’ I grew up in a really Christian home,” Heidemann laughed. “So I always loved his voice and we basically talked to each other on Twitter and I sent him a track. It was kind of like an Internet collaboration.”
As for future collaborations, the duo has its sights set a bit higher, naming artists like Kanye West.
“His album ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,’ I remember when it came out, and I don’t buy many albums, but when it came out, I got it and listened to it nonstop,” Heidemann said. “And that was actually before we started rapping, and it actually gave us the courage to start doing that.”
Karmin’s next album, composed of only originals (with a song featuring Shaggy), is said to be due out toward the end of 2013. One single from the album, “Acapella,” was released in July.
“We’re right around the corner from finishing it, and it was one of those things where we did two phases … It just kept getting better every phase,” Heidemann said.

Gallery • 12 Photos

Charles Champagne

Amy Renee Heidemann, of Karmin, performs Thursday, Oct. 24 2013, at the LSU Homecoming Concert held at the parade grounds