''Hello'' is an

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP) by

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...

duo

Karmin Karmin was an American pop duo consisting of Amy Renee Noonan and Nick Noonan. Starting as a novelty act that released covers on YouTube, they signed in 2011 with Epic Records. In May 2012, Karmin released their debut EP ''Hello'', which sp ...

. It was released on May 4, 2012 through Epic Records and distributed through

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

Concept

Both Heidemann and Noonan worked to maintain original songs and ideas, while working toward mainstream and pop music. They cited L.A. Reid's understanding of their musical background to be helpful in this process.

Album title and artwork

Through

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

, the duo revealed that their debut studio album would officially be called ''HELLO''. Heidemann explained to ''BeatWeek'': "We thought it was a perfect title, because it’s our introduction album. When you hear the songs in a row, you’re going to hear our story." The artwork depicts the two band members sitting on the base of a billboard with "Hello" written under them.

Critical reception

The album was panned by some music critics. Writing in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'',

Jon Caramanica Jon Caramanica (born 1975) is an American journalist and pop music critic who writes for ''The New York Times''. He is also known for writing about hip hop music. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, Caramanica received his bachelor's degree ...

critiqued Karmin as an act whose fame came from "assaulting the songs of others, performing glib and highly stylized YouTube covers that inadvertently doubled as sketch comedy" and found Heidemann's rapping in her own material "intricate and deeply irritating".

Jody Rosen Jody Rosen (born June 21, 1969 in New York City) is an American journalist and author. He is a contributing writer for ''The New York Times Magazine''. Career Journalism Rosen served as critic-at-large for '' T: The New York Times Style Magaz ...

of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' dubbed it "one of the most aggressively obnoxious debut albums in recent memory", with " Brokenhearted", for example, being "catchy" but "Heidemann's daffiness and horrendous rapping spoil ngthe broth every time". On the other hand, Gerrick D. Kennedy wrote on the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' music blog: "The disc brims with the swagged-out pop/hip-hop that made arminYouTube darlings, as collaborators Stargate, Benny Blanco, Tricky Stewart and Dr. Luke deliver slick, radio-ready productions." The album debuted at #18 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and #33 on the Canadian Albums Chart.

Singles

Karmin and Epic released " Brokenhearted" as the first single from ''Hello'', which impacted radio February 7, 2012. It subsequently became their first song to enter ''Billboard'' Hot 100, where it peaked at #16. It also reached the #1 spot on Hot Dance Club Play, #12 Pop Digital Songs, and #10 Mainstream Top 40. It was certified as a platinum digital single (1,000,000 unit sales) by the RIAA as announced by Karmin and their management on Twitter and Facebook in early August 2012. "

Hello ''Hello'' is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses ''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the '' Norwich ...

" impacted radio stations on July 31, 2012 as the EP's second single, which debuted #89 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, marking their second single to chart in the US. So far, the single is currently peaking at #62 in the US. It is also charting in New Zealand, Australia and in many other countries.

Promotional singles

" I Told You So" was released as the first and only promotional single on May 9, 2012.

Track listing

(*) Denotes co-producer Sample credits *"Too Many Fish" interpolates "

Too Many Fish in the Sea "Too Many Fish in the Sea" is a 1964 hit song recorded by Motown singing group The Marvelettes. It was the group's first top 40 pop hit in almost a year, reaching #25 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and was one of the first hit singles written b ...

" as performed by

The Marvelettes The Marvelettes were an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who wa ...

, and written by

Norman Whitfield Norman Jesse Whitfield (May 12, 1940 – September 16, 2008) was an American songwriter and producer, who worked with Berry Gordy's Motown labels during the 1960s. allmusic Biography/ref> He has been credited as one of the creators of the Mo ...

and

Eddie Holland Edward Holland Jr. (born October 30, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Holland was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Although he was an early Motown artist who recorded minor hit singles such as "Jamie", he ...

. *"Hello" interpolates "

Smells Like Teen Spirit "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana. It is the opening track and lead single from the band's second album, ''Nevermind'' (1991), released on DGC Records. The unexpected success of the song propelled ''Neve ...

" by

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hello (EP) 2012 EPs Albums produced by Cirkut Albums produced by Stargate Albums produced by Tricky Stewart Epic Records EPs Karmin albums