Us the Duo is an American folk pop duo consisting of husband-and-wife Michael and Carissa Alvarado. The duo met in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States, in 2011 on the set of an

AJ Rafael Arthur Joseph Rafael (born March 12, 1989), known professionally as AJ Rafael, is a Filipino-American singer-songwriter, YouTuber, and TikToker. Born in Moreno Valley, California, he graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 2010. Rafael st ...

music video. They got married in 2012. In 2013, the duo started uploading six-second

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of popular songs to their

Vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...

account, where they amassed 5 million followers as of the time when vine shut down in January of 2017. In March 2014, they were signed to

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

. They are reported as being the first musicians to have signed to a major record label due to their presence on Vine.

Career

In spring of 2016, Us the Duo joined

Pentatonix Pentatonix (abbreviated PTX) is an American a cappella group from Arlington, Texas, currently consisting of vocalists Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, Kirstin Maldonado, Kevin Olusola, and Matt Sallee. Characterized by their pop-style arrangements ...

on their 2016 World Tour visiting various states in the United States, before heading abroad to different venues including London, Paris, Prague, Rome and Tokyo. In addition to their two full-length albums, Us the Duo regularly releases new music, such as the songs "(Stop) Just Love", and "Slow Down Time" as well as a variety of covers, including "2015 Top Hits in 3.5 Minutes".

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

booked the duo for a tour in November 2014 after she saw the film '' The Book of Life'', which featured the duo's song "No Matter Where You Are". Besides touring with Pentatonix, the duo embarked on the Just Love Tour in support of their album ''Just Love'', which was released on July 22, 2016. On June 5, 2018, they auditioned for ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribut ...

'', where they advanced to the next rounds and got eliminated at the semifinals. Shortly after exiting the show, their daughter, Xyla, was born in October of that year.

Members

Carissa Alvarado (née Carissa Martin) was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She is

Filipino American Filipino Americans ( fil, Mga Pilipinong Amerikano) are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos and other Asian ethnicities in North America were first documented in the 16th century as slaves and prisoners on ships sailing to and from New S ...

. She started singing at the age of 5 with a church choir, and has a fashion blog called ''Wear I Am.'' Michael Alvarado was born and raised in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

and attended

Appalachian State University Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...

. He is of Puerto Rican descent. He started piano lessons at the age of 7, and started singing when he was in a

garage band Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

in high school.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Us'' (2012) *''No Matter Where You Are'' (2014) *''Just Love'' (2016) *''Our Favorite Time of Year'' (2017) * ''Up Until Now'' (2020) * ''Covers from Home'' (2021)

Extended plays

*''Public Record'' (2016) *''Together'' (2018)

References

External links

Official website

Us The Duo's profile
on

Us The Duo's Vine account
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Us The Duo American Internet celebrities American musical duos American pop music groups Male–female musical duos Married couples America's Got Talent contestants Musical groups established in 2011 Musical groups from Los Angeles Republic Records artists Universal Music Group artists 2011 establishments in California