The music industry continues to change and evolve before our eyes. It’s a wonderful time for the fans, really. Technology brings instant gratification and unlimited entertainment right at our fingertips. Web-savvy artists from across the globe frantically post free downloads and homemade YouTube videos each day with the hopes of becoming the next Justin Bieber. Only a select few have successfully harnessed the true power of the Internet to launch their careers.
Enter Cimorelli. Can this wildly talented family from Northern California be the next one to catch lightning in a bottle, translating views into sales? If you haven’t heard of Cimorelli yet, you will. Forged from the classic mold of sibling super-groups like The Jackson 5, The Beach Boys, The Osmonds, and The Bee Gees, they are a family to be reckoned with. By posting vibrant, infectious, and timely accapella Pop cover tune videos, this sisterhood has rightfully earned an unbelievable following in just a few short years.
The six sisters start off every video with a brilliant Ramones-esque “1-2-3-4″ consistency by introducing themselves: ”Hey I’m Christina, I’m Katherine, I’m Lisa, I’m Amy, I’m Lauren, I’m Dani…and we’re Cimorelli!” before launching into their beautiful harmonies. With over 110 MILLION Video Views and over 400,000 YouTube Channel Subscribers, their voices are certainly being heard.
Six String Theories: Congratulations on receiving The Jackson 5 Family Music Award at the Malibu Music Awards.
Cimorelli: Thank you! It’s such an honor to have won that award. The Jacksons are a huge inspiration for us so it means a lot. The Malibu Music Awards were so much fun! We got to walk the red carpet, meet a lot of fans and perform. Plus, it was live-streamed, so a lot of our European fans were able to watch, too. It was a great night!
Six String Theories: Your online presence is STAGGERING. Whose idea was it to start posting videos?
Cimorelli: Lisa made our YouTube channel a few years ago, and we’d been posting videos from our little live shows and stuff, but Katherine had the idea to cover Miley Cyrus’ “Party In The USA” after it leaked, which started our streak of covers. That was our first major cover video.
Six String Theories: Who is in charge of your web content now?
Cimorelli: We still manage our online content on YouTube ourselves, and our mom helps out a lot too. Our label, Island Records, made us a website, and we work closely with them on everything that is posted there.
Six String Theories: I’ve read about your Mom’s musical background and obvious wonderful influence on your upbringing. Tell me about your Dad? Does he play any instruments or do any singing?
Cimorelli: Our dad isn’t a “trained” musician, but he can sing pretty well! He hasn’t had training on any instruments but he’s actually pretty good on the drums when he plays every ten years or so.
Six String Theories: Your debut, “The Cim Fam EP” drops for your international fans on December 5th and in The United States on December 6th. Tell us about the release and do you have any plans to tour?
Cimorelli: It features studio versions of our “Price Tag”, “Skyscraper”, “Dynamite” and “All I Want For Christmas Is You” covers, PLUS a new cover of “What Makes You Beautiful”, AND one original Cimoreli song called “Million Bucks.” We’ve been working so hard on it for the past few months and we’re so excited it’s finally ready. It’ll be available only digitally, on iTunes, Amazon and anywhere else you buy music online. We have also been working on a full album of original songs, which should be released in 2012. There will be touring connected with that album. As we have a pretty sizable international fan base with fans on every continent, the tour will be international.
Six String Theories: Fame can be both gratifying and smothering all at once. What can girls your age do to avoid the traps that seem to swallow so many young talents?
Cimorelli: Keep your priorities straight, and don’t get caught up in the superficial. Feed your spiritual life, and stay grounded. We all read a lot, and we find it very helpful that there are six of us going through the same things, so we always have each other for support when things start to feel overwhelming.
Six String Theories: Not only are there the six of you, but you’ve also got 5 brothers. Do they ever get jealous of all your attention?
Cimorelli: No, the boys aren’t jealous of us, they are very supportive! Our oldest brother is a crazy good lead guitarist and singer/songwriter. He’s more of a rocker. Our other brothers are also quite musical; they all sing, and the little guys are all starting to mess around with drums, bass, and guitar when they’re not playing in the treehouse or running around in the mud.
Six String Theories: It sounds like a crazy and fun household. How has your life changed in the last 12 months?
Cimorelli: Well, one huge change was our move from Northern to Southern California. It was a completely different atmosphere that took a lot of getting used to. Suddenly we had no friends or extended family nearby, but at the same time lots of new areas to explore and new people to meet. We used to lead a very scheduled life; now we’ll get called into the studio at a moment’s notice, and sometimes that studio is on the other side of the country, so we never quite know what each week is going to hold for us!
Six String Theories: How are you mentally preparing for even greater success in 2012?
Cimorelli: Lots of goal setting, mental imagery, and working hard to be in top shape not only musically but mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. We have found that it’s important to recharge ourselves and try to stay somewhat in balance in order to give our best performances.
Six String Theories: Do you feel any pressures of being “role models”?
Cimorelli: Not necessarily pressure, but we do feel obliged to be role models. Even in our daily lives, we have our younger siblings looking up to us and are always trying to set a good example for them. We really respect the fact that kids look up to us, so we do our best to be good people and not let anyone down!
Six String Theories: Speaking of the kids, I have to ask, what’s the reaction like from the girl fans vs. the reaction from the boy fans?
Cimorelli: A lot of the fans we’ve met have been girls. They’ve been soo nice!! The boy fans are a little more shy it seems (hahaha).
Six String Theories: What about the reaction from adults?
Cimorelli: The parents of the fans have been really nice, too! A lot of the parents are fans as well. 
Six String Theories: Have you seen many artists live in concert? Who’s been your favorite? Anyone truly inspiring?
Cimorelli: Yes, we’ve all been to at least a few concerts. The older girls in particular have seen a lot of artists live. Some of our favorites and biggest inspirations as a group are Gwen Stefani, JoJo, Demi Lovato, Lady Antebellum, and The Click Five. All these artists have great live shows! Some of our favorite memories were at those shows!
Six String Theories: With everything that’s going on in your lives, can the Cimorellis still go out for a pizza, ice cream, and a movie together?
Cimorelli: Yes! We like to go to the mall together sometimes and hang out. We do get recognized a lot lately, but people are always really nice. We love meeting everyone so if you ever see us out, don’t be shy!
Six String Theories: Since you can’t meet all of your fans at the mall, you’ve created some unique opportunities to reach out to the on-line community. Your contest to pluck random fans for a Skype session is brilliant. Any other ideas coming up for the fans?
Cimorelli: Thanks! Yes, we have several contests coming up, all video contests. We want to make sure everyone has a chance to win so we’re incorporating lots of different ideas. Some are based on skill, some on view count, and some are just random! We want to meet and talk with as many fans as possible so we’re giving out lots of chances to win!
If you want to learn more about Cimorelli, you can visit their website, Facebook page, YouTube channel, or follow them on Twitter.
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Kurt Schwarz is an associate editor for Six String Theories. He will not sing Muskrat Love for you even if you ask him nicely.
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