Us the Duo
Back in the spring of 2012, Michael Alvarado and Carissa Martin were planning their wedding. The aspiring singer songwriters had vowed to not sing at their own wedding. But just 2 weeks before the ceremony, they penned a song that changed all that. They realized that ‘No Matter Where You Are’ was in essence their vows to each other. With Michael playing his vintage G Series Tak, Carissa covering percussion and video camera's rolling, the newlyweds performed the cool, upbeat tune for family and friends at their Claremont, California wedding.
A video of the performance went viral encouraging Michael and Carissa to follow through with their musical dreams. They wrote more great songs, named themselves Us the Duo, acquired a new Takamine Pro Series P7JC and launched an addicting Vine site featuring their 6 second performances of contemporary hits. See a cool compilation here.
Four years, 4.8 million Vine followers and countless college gigs later, ‘Us the Duo’ performed No Matter Where You Are on America's Got Talent earning themselves a shot at the 1 million dollar grand prize. The timing could not have been better. A few months earlier Michael and Carissa had decided, in spite of the inherent uncertainties and instabilities of the music business, they would bet on love and start a family.
This week, during America's Got Talent's live quarter-finals, in front of 10 million viewers Michael and a 7.5 month pregnant Carissa performed their new song Like I Did with You inspired by, and dedicated to their soon to be arriving daughter.
The crowd and judges loved it and ‘Us the Duo’ moved a step closer to the big payday.
Regardless of the AGT outcome, given their talent and authenticity, their already massive fan base and the millions of prime-time fans they’ve just earned, it’s a sure bet life will only get sweeter for Michael and Carissa Alvarado once ‘Us the Duo’… becomes ‘Us the Trio’.
