Pomplamoose is an American musical duo composed of husband-and-wife multi-instrumentalist

Jack Conte Jack Conte (; born July 12, 1984) is an American musician and co-founder and CEO of Patreon. He is one half of the band Pomplamoose, along with his wife Nataly Dawn, co-leader of the band Scary Pockets, and leader of the band Magaziine. Career C ...

and singer-songwriter and bassist

Nataly Dawn Natalie Dawn Knutsen Conte (born October 29, 1986), known by her stage name Nataly Dawn, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She is one half of the duo Pomplamoose with her husband Jack Conte and has released four studio albums and f ...

. The duo formed in 2008 and sold approximately 100,000 songs online in 2009. They are known for their viral YouTube videos and covers of popular songs.

Etymology

The name of the band derives from a misspelling of the French word '' pamplemousse'', meaning

grapefruit The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink. Grapefruit is ...

History

Pomplamoose's presence is primarily from videos on YouTube, with few live performances. They have gathered over 1.53 million subscribers and over 430 million views on their YouTube channel as of November 2022. Their first song "Hail Mary" was featured on the front page of YouTube. Their videos mostly take the form of "VideoSongs", a medium Conte defines with two rules: #What you see is what you hear. (No

lip-syncing Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated th ...

for instruments or voice) #If you hear it, at some point you see it. (No hidden sounds) On April 11, 2010, the band was interviewed on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

's ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

''. Conte discussed the "glitz-free" manner in which they record: Also in April 2010, their cover of

The Chordettes The Chordettes were an American female vocal quartet, specializing in traditional pop music. They are best known for their 1950s hit songs " Mr. Sandman" and "Lollipop". Career The group organized in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in 1946. The origin ...

' " Mr. Sandman" was used in a commercial for

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

Avalon Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...

series, set in an

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

train station. In September 2010, Pomplamoose recorded a song in collaboration with

Allee Willis Alta Sherral "Allee" Willis (November 10, 1947 – December 24, 2019) was an American songwriter, multi-media artist, collector, and art director. Willis co-wrote hit songs including " September" and "Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind & Fire. She ...

, "Jungle Animal". Willis contacted the duo after hearing their cover of "

September September is the ninth month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars, the third of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the fourth of five months to have a length of fewer than 31 days. September in the Northern H ...

" by

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million re ...

and offered to write a new song for them. Willis also provided the single art for the song. During the Christmas season of 2010, Pomplamoose performed in several ads in the style of their YouTube videos for

Hyundai Hyundai is a South Korean industrial conglomerate ("chaebol"), which was restructured into the following groups: * Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested ** Hyundai Mobis, Korean car parts company ** Hyundai ...

, singing their versions of Christmas classics such as "

O Come, All Ye Faithful "O Come, All Ye Faithful" (originally written in Latin as "") is a Christmas carol that has been attributed to various authors, including John Francis Wade (1711–1786), John Reading (1645–1692), King John IV of Portugal (1604–1656), and a ...

", "

Jingle Bells "Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and most commonly sung American songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and published under the title "The One Horse Open Sleigh" in September 1857. It has been claimed t ...

", "

Up on the Housetop "Up on the Housetop" is a Christmas song written by Benjamin Hanby in 1864.Bronson, Fre"Signs Of The Season" Billboard Magazine; December 6, 2007. It has been recorded by a multitude of singers, most notably Gene Autry in 1953. Fresh Beat Band ...

", and "

Deck the Halls "Deck the Hall” is a traditional Christmas carol. The melody is Welsh, dating back to the sixteenth century, and belongs to a winter carol, "Nos Galan", while the English lyrics, written by the Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant, date to 1862. ...

". In 2011, Pomplamoose began a webcast named ''Hey, It's Pomplamoose: A Show about Pomplamoose and Other Things''. On November 5, 2013, Pomplamoose launched the second season of the webcast: a three-part sequel to the band’s early years, including but not limited to, videos, a tour, and an album (released on July 29, 2014). Conte and Dawn married in late 2016. On May 18, 2021, Dawn announced her diagnosis with

basal-cell carcinoma Basal-cell carcinoma (BCC), also known as basal-cell cancer, is the most common type of skin cancer. It often appears as a painless raised area of skin, which may be shiny with small blood vessels running over it. It may also present as a raise ...

and that due to her condition, Pomplamoose would be releasing fewer videos per month.

Charity work

In November 2010, Pomplamoose created a book drive for a charter school in

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 7, 1905, and has a Richmond, California City Council, city council.

, offering a free download of an album to anyone who purchased a book for the school district. The drive paid for over 11,000 books. On November 8, 2013, Pomplamoose performed at "Lens",

Mateo Messina Mateo Messina is an American composer perhaps best known for his soundtrack to the 2007 film ''Juno''. The film won a Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television, or Other Visual Media. Messina has scored o ...

's 16th annual benefit concert at Seattle's Benaroya Hall for Seattle Children's Hospital.

Awards and nominations

Discography

*''

Pomplamoose Pomplamoose is an American musical duo composed of husband-and-wife multi-instrumentalist Jack Conte and singer-songwriter and bassist Nataly Dawn. The duo formed in 2008 and sold approximately 100,000 songs online in 2009. They are known for ...

'' (2009) *''Tribute to Famous People'' (2010) *''Pomplamoose: Season 2'' (2014) *''Besides'' (2015) *''Hey It's Pomplamoose'' (2016) *''Winter Wishes'' (2018) *''Best of 2018'' (2018) *''Best of 2019'' (2020) *En Français (2020) *''Lucid Dreaming Soundtrack'' (2020) *''Invisible People'' (2020) *''Impossible à Prononcer'' (2021)

References

External links

Pomplamoose official website
*( {{Authority control American Internet celebrities American musical duos Indie rock musical groups from California Jazz fusion ensembles Musical groups established in 2008 Musical groups from the San Francisco Bay Area Rock music duos Video game musicians Cover bands Shorty Award winners