Us the Duo wrote and performed the theme song for the amazing animated film The Book of Life, and they're not just a musical duo - they're also a super cute couple - Kidzworld caught up with Us the Duo (Michael and Carissa) to chat about love and The Book of Life!
Michael and Carissa are married music-makers
Kidzworld: How did you first get started?
- Michael: I knew the night I met [Carissa] I would marry her, and I wooed her over social media and we fell in love, so I packed my bags for LA and we’ve been a duo for a little over two years.
Kidzworld:The song “No Matter Where you Are” is the theme song for The Book of Life - how did you get involved with the movie?
- Michael: The song is actually our wedding vows! You know we put our songs online and people really liked them, and the music for this movie was set already, they had a team of songwriters but it was still missing that special something, nothing seemed to fit, and they got wind of our song somehow and so they asked us to come play it for them and they loved it – we were ecstatic, it was really the perfect fit. The movie was just like our story, really.
The Book of LifeCourtesy of 20th Century Fox
Kidzworld: What did you like most about the movie?
- Carissa: You fall in love with the characters – the movie really takes you up and down – it’s an emotional roller coaster, and we just love the animation, it’s beautiful and colorful.
Kidzworld: In the music video for “No Matter Where You Are” you’re painted just like the characters - what was that like?
- Carissa: It’s the first time we’ve been painted like that, and it was really fun, it was our first time making a video like that and it was a great experience.
Us the Duo on the set of No Matter Where You Are
Kidzworld: Social media has played a huge role in your success so far - what’s the next step for you?
- Michael: We’re trying to figure out now how to go from being a husband and wife duo and being online to existing on the radio and making that transition smooth – we signed with a record label actually last year and so our main job now is to just write – which we’re doing right now. No phones, no internet, and we’re almost ready to show people what we’ve been working on.
(Psssst! Check out Us the Duo covering the Top Hits of 2014)
Kidzworld: What did you like most about the story?
- Michael: What I love about it is its about love and family, and the legacy of honoring your ancestors, and how we learn virtues from our parents and grandparents. Like Manolo fighting for what he’s passionate about. Being in music is a lot like what he goes through in the movie, your fighting for what you’re passionate about and to stand out you really have to fight for it, so I definitely relate to it on that level. Like in the movie if you fight for it you’ll get the prize – the girl, you know?
Kidzworld: Anything else you’d like people to know?
- Michael: We just want to say how awesome Kidzworld is, its great that there’s a place like this for kids online.
Kidzworld: Thank you so much! We love to hear that!
Check out "No Matter Where You Are" by Us the Duo below!
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