Everything You Should Know About ‘AGT’ Fan Favorite Us The Duo
Trae Patton/NBC Reading Time: 3 minutes
Heading into the last week before the Quarterfinals, AGT is heating up! And looking forward to next week’s show, some fan favorites will be returning. One of those is Us the Duo, the husband-and-wife pair of Michael and Carissa Alvarado. After blowing the judges away with original songs in the Auditions and Judge Cuts, and announcing their pregnancy on the show, we are excited to see what’s next for this talented pair!
But who are Michael and Carissa Alvarado? And what have they done leading up to their appearance on AGT? Here is everything you should know about Us the Duo:
Michael Alvarado was born and raised in North Carolina and attended Appalachian State University there. He started taking piano lessons when he was only seven years old and started singing when he joined a band in high school.
Carissa Alvarado’s maiden name is Martin. She was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Carissa began singing with a church choir when she was 5.
The duo met on the set of a music video in 2011. After just three hours of hanging out with Carissa, Michael told his friends he was going to marry her. In 2012, he stayed true to his word and they got married.
Us the Duo Rose to Fame Thanks to Vine
Us the Duo rose to fame when they amassed over 4.8 million followers on Vine. From 2013 to 2015, they uploaded six-second covers of many popular songs to the social media platform. Their signature look was only showing the bottom halves of their faces in the videos! The couple has since said that came about by accident. Carissa wasn’t wearing makeup and didn’t want her eyes to be seen when they were filming their first Vine.
In March 2014, Us the Duo was signed to Republic Records. They are reported as being the first musicians to have signed to a major record label due to their presence on Vine.
Us the Duo’s AGT audition song, “No Matter Where You Are,” was not only the song the couple sang as their wedding vows, but it was also later featured on the soundtrack of the movie, The Book of Life. When Oprah saw the film and heard the song, she booked them for a tour in November 2014. This helped skyrocket the duo to stardom!
In spring of 2016, Us the Duo joined Pentatonix on their world tour. They made many stops all around the United States, then performed across the globe! Some notable international venues included London, Paris, Prague, Rome, and Tokyo.
Every year since 2014, Us the Duo has posted a medley video to YouTube with the biggest hit songs from that year. Their first two are the most watched videos on their entire channel!
Us the Duo has now released four studio albums. Most recently, they released a Christmas album, Our Favorite Time of Year, in 2017. Carissa now has a fashion blog called Wear I Am! On it, she posts some of her favorite looks and outfits, along with where you can purchase each piece.
To catch more from Us the Duo, watch the America’s Got Talent live rounds next week!
