Everyone has some sort of guilty pleasure in his or her life. Something that they absolutely love, but would be somewhere between mildly upset and horrified if people figured out. Well folks, I’m about to reveal one of mine to you.
Over the last several months, I have been listening to a band called Cimorelli that I accidentally discovered while viewing music videos on YouTube. The first video I saw was their cover of “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen, and they blew it out of the water. I then went to their YouTube channel and couldn’t control myself. By the end of the day I had watched all of their videos.
To give you a background, Cimorelli consists of six sisters of ages ranging from (the best I can figure) 12 to 22 who started out performing covers of songs and posting them on YouTube. Their names, from oldest to youngest, are Christina, Katherine, Lisa, Amy, Lauren, and Dani, and they hail from Sacramento, California but currently live in Los Angeles. They were signed by Universal Music’s Island label in 2011, and now write original songs. They have five brothers, are homeschooled, and are devout Catholics. Each sister has her own distinct personality that is displayed in their blooper and fan-relation videos, but they all seem humorous and bubbly at heart.
That is essentially the extent of my knowledge on the sisters, but for whatever reason I feel as if they are people that I might see on a day-to-day basis. I think their humanity and, for lack of a better word, innocence, is part of the appeal. They seem like normal teenagers and young adults who are simply doing what they love, from humble roots to a promising future. In all of their music videos, at least one is wearing a cross necklace and they change the lyrics of any cover they perform in order to exclude foul language. They also exude a sense of love and friendship for one another. As a Christian, I find this outward display of faith and compassion refreshing. No, a cross necklace does not necessarily mean you hold Christian values, but a consistent effort to display God’s love is appreciated. In a world where artists such as Katy Perry sell out their faith for fame, I take joy in the fact that these sisters stick to their moral values and remain a close-knit family.
My favorite of the bunch is Lisa. She is a fantastic singer who organizes most of the vocals for their music. I don’t use the term “fantastic” here lightly. She can really belt out some notes. I can only describe her voice as warm chocolate syrup being drizzled over your ear drums. Really, she’s that good. It also probably doesn’t hurt that she is also very attractive, but that’s not my focus. She is the lead in most of their videos, so check them out to get an idea of how talented she really is.
Lisa isn’t the only one I am impressed with, though. They are all extremely talented, and together they’re even better. I would give up my left arm to meet any of them. If any of my readers are involved with selecting artists for Volapalooza, take the time to check out Cimorelli before they get ultra-famous and we can no longer afford to invite them. I promise you won’t regret it. If there is a time for their first performance in Tennessee, let it be in April at UT.
Shameless Plug of the Week: Seriously, Volapalooza people, get on this. Once you book them, make sure I get to meet them. For any readers who want to hear one of their original songs, search YouTube for their hit, “You Got Me Good.”
— Hunter Tipton is a senior in microbiology. He can be reached at [email protected].
