Karen O | |
|---|---|
 Karen O performing withYeah Yeah Yeahs in 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Karen Lee Orzolek (1978-11-22)November 22, 1978 (age 47) Seoul, South Korea |
| Origin | Englewood, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels |
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| Member of | Yeah Yeah Yeahs |
Spouse | |
| Website | karenomusic |
Karen Lee Orzolek (born November 22, 1978)[1] is a South Korean-born American musician. She is noted for her ethereal and emotive vocals, as well as her energetic performances and eccentric fashion. In 2023, Karen O was included onRolling Stone's list of the "200 Greatest Singers of All Time".
Karen O rose to fame as a member and lead vocalist of the bandYeah Yeah Yeahs, whose hit singles include "Maps" and "Heads Will Roll". In her solo career, she has released two albums and composed severalfilm soundtracks, often working withSpike Jonze, which netted her nominations at theAcademy Awards andGrammy Awards.
Karen Lee Orzolek was born inSeoul, South Korea,[2][3] the daughter of aKorean mother and aPolish-American father.[4][5][6][7] The family moved to the United States in 1980,[8] living inEnglewood, New Jersey, where she grew up[9] and graduated fromDwight-Englewood School.[10] About her childhood, she stated that "it's almost embarrassing how well-behaved I was, which is probably why I do things like spit water on myself on stage as an adult".[11] She attendedOberlin College before transferring toNew York University'sTisch School of the Arts.
Karen O is best known as the lead vocalist for the bandYeah Yeah Yeahs, founded in 2000. Regarding the band's approach to music, Karen O told theLos Angeles Times in 2009 that, "We still have to grab people by the collar ... We put out a record every three years now; we could easily be forgotten. If you look at a lot of our peers that we came up with, a lot of them have disappeared."[12]
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On December 10, 2006, a home-recorded album titledKO at Home was leaked via an invite-onlyBitTorrent tracking site. The album, originally a personal gift toDave Sitek ofTV on the Radio, was discovered inside a suitcase that Sitek had left behind in a New York City apartment. The disc's 14 tracks and scan of the cover (a photograph of Karen O with a poem written byOscar Wilde on the back side of the photo) quickly spread. News sites broke the story of the leak when Sitek lashed out at the fan who leaked the demos.[13][14][15] Eventually, Sitek followed up his comments with an apology letter.[16] In response to the leak, Karen O said that "shit happens", and although she was "a little grossed out", she offered commentary on which of the songs she liked the most.[17]
In 2004, Karen O, using the moniker Marshmellow, directed the music video for "We Fenced Other Gardens with the Bones of Our Own" byLiars, fronted by her then-boyfriend Angus Andrew.[18][19] The following year, she directed the "Blessed Evening" video forFoetus with her then-boyfriendSpike Jonze working ascinematographer.[20] In 2006, she directed the Yeah Yeah Yeahs video for "Cheated Hearts".[21][22]
Under the moniker Kids with Canes, Karen O and her now-husband Barnaby Clay directed the music video for theTiny Masters of Today song "Hologram World", released in 2008. Karen O also contributed vocals to the song and served aschoreographer of the video, in which she appears with Yeah Yeah Yeahs bandmatesNick Zinner andBrian Chase, as well asMike D from theBeastie Boys,Gibby Haynes from theButthole Surfers, Russell Simins from theBlues Explosion, and Sam James fromThe Mooney Suzuki.[23]
Karen O's debut solo album,Crush Songs, was released on September 9, 2014.[24] It was released onCult Records viaKobalt Label Services.[25]
On February 17, 2015, Karen O released a live album titledLive from Crush Palace, recorded during three shows atHollywood Forever Cemetery's Masonic Lodge in Los Angeles in September 2014. The album features live renditions of songs fromCrush Songs, as well as "Hideaway" fromWhere the Wild Things Are and "The Moon Song" fromHer.[26][27]
On January 11, 2018, Karen O released the song "Yo! My Saint", featuring guest vocals fromMichael Kiwanuka, in support ofKenzo's Spring Summer 2018 collection.[28]
In 2008, Karen O debuted a side project called Native Korean Rock with fellow New York City musicians, with two intimate performances at Union Pool inBrooklyn on July 21.[29][30] The following year, she contributed backing vocals, screaming animal sounds and noises to the songs "Gemini Syringes", "I Can Be A Frog" and "Watching the Planets" onThe Flaming Lips' albumEmbryonic. In 2011, she contributed vocals on the song "Pinky's Dream" on the David Lynch debut albumCrazy Clown Time. In 2012, she collaborated with experimental rock groupSwans on the song "Song for a Warrior" on their albumThe Seer. She also lends vocals to the song "GO!" onSantigold's 2012 albumMaster of My Make-Believe.
On the collaboration project withN.A.S.A. onThe Spirit of Apollo, she appears on the track "Strange Enough", together withOl' Dirty Bastard andFatlip. Karen O has also collaborated withJames Iha on his second solo LP,Look to the Sky, in 2012. In 2014, her cover of "A Marshmallow World" was featured inTarget's holiday commercials.[31] In 2015, her cover ofAnimotion's "Obsession" was used as the opening theme for theStarz miniseriesFlesh and Bone. On May 5, 2015, a song by Karen O in tribute toNellie Bly was used as part of aGoogle doodle commemorating Bly's 151st birthday.[32] The same year,Microsoft approached Karen O to pen a theme song forSquare Enix's gameRise of the Tomb Raider, which resulted in the song "I Shall Rise".[33]
Lux Prima is the collaborative album from Karen O and musician-producerDanger Mouse, released March 15, 2019. The two originally met to discuss collaboration in 2007 as mutual admirers, but did not collaborate until 2016 due to scheduling and availability, resulting in the albumLux Prima three years later.[34]
"An Encounter with Lux Prima"[35] was an immersive art piece and communal listening experience soundtracked by Karen O and Danger Mouse's collaborative albumLux Prima.[36] The installation premiered at Los Angeles' Marciano Art Foundation in April 2019, where it played to sold-out audiences.[citation needed] The piece saw the duo collaborate with a number of artists, including creative director Barnaby Clay, sound designer Ren Klyce, lighting designer Tobias Rylander and visual artist Davy Evans, in collaboration with George Lucas' Skywalker Sound and Meyer Sound on audio design and build, as well as MSG's Obscura Digital on projection mapping.[citation needed]
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Karen O was featured in the track "Cut Me Up" byHar Mar Superstar for the soundtrack to the 2005 horror filmHouse of Wax. For the filmJackass Number Two, Karen O collaborated with electronic artistPeaches andJohnny Knoxville to record a track entitled "Backass"; forJackass 3D, she coveredRoger Alan Wade's "If You're Gonna Be Dumb" under the alternative title of "If You're Gonna Be Dumb, You Gotta Be Tough". In 2007, she also contributed vocals to a version ofBob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" for theI'm Not There film soundtrack.[37] She performed a short song at the end of theTim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! episode "Brothers Cinco". She also performed the track "Strange Love" on the albumFrankenweenie Unleashed! (Music Inspired by the Motion Picture).
Karen O andSpike Jonze teamed on a 2005Adidas commercial,Hello Tomorrow, after Jonze had directed the video for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' 2004 single "Y Control". Karen O composed all songs onthe soundtrack of Jonze's 2009 filmWhere the Wild Things Are (except a cover of theDaniel Johnston song "Worried Shoes") withCarter Burwell. She is listed on the soundtrack as "Karen O and the Kids".[38] The song "All Is Love", written by Karen O andNick Zinner and included in this soundtrack, was nominated forBest Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media at the2010 Grammy Awards.[39] Karen O also contributed "The Moon Song" to Jonze's 2013 filmHer,[40] which was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Original Song.[41]
Karen O collaborated withTrent Reznor andAtticus Ross on a cover version ofLed Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" for the soundtrack to the 2011 filmThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, for which Reznor and Ross composed the score.[42] Jonze shot the video for Karen O & Danger Mouse's "Woman" live in one take as the duo performed onThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Karen O is well known for her energetic live performances,[5] and her vocals which have been described as "ethereal" and "yelping" at times.[43][44] She is also noted for her fashion, often wearing outfits made by her friend, fashion designerChristian Joy. In 2007, she was placed at number three onSpinner's "Women Who Rock Right Now" list.[45] In 2023,Rolling Stone ranked Karen O at number 184 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.[46]
Karen O has datedSpike Jonze andLiars lead singer Angus Andrew, the latter of whom was the subject of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' song "Maps".[47] In December 2011, she married directorBarnaby Clay.[48] Their son was born in August 2015.[49]
During a tour for the 2003Livid Festival in Australia, at a sideshow at The Metro in Sydney, Karen O accidentally danced off the stage and was reluctantly taken to a hospital. A few days later, at the Sydney leg of the Livid Festival, she appeared in a wheelchair pushed onstage byAngus Andrew.[50]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [51] | US Indie [52] | US Rock [53] | AUS Hit. [54] | BEL (FL) [55] | BEL (WA) [56] | IRL [57] | SCO [58] | UK [59] | UK Indie [59] | ||
| Crush Songs |
| 44 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 81 | 184 | 72 | 63 | 61 | 11 |
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Sales [60] | US Alt. [61] | US Indie [52] | US Rock [53] | AUS DL [62] | BEL (FL) [55] | FRA [63] | SCO [64] | UK [59] | UK Indie [59] | ||
| Lux Prima (withDanger Mouse) |
| 25 | 18 | 4 | 39 | 28 | 104 | 173 | 17 | 35 | 7 |
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Live from Crush Palace |
|
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [51] | US Alt [61] | US Rock [53] | UK DL [59] | UK OST [59] | ||
| Where the Wild Things Are (as Karen O and the Kids) |
| 35 | 10 | 15 | 89 | 11 |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Bub. [65] | US Rock [66] | AUS Hit. [67] | CAN Rock [68] | FRA [69] | IRL [57] | JPN [70] | MEX [71] | UK Sales [72] | UK Indie Break. [73] | |||
| "All Is Love" (Karen O and the Kids) | 2009 | —[A] | — | — | — | — | — | 77 | 10 | — | — | Where the Wild Things Are: Motion Picture Soundtrack |
| "Immigrant Song"[75] (withTrent Reznor andAtticus Ross) | 2011 | 8 | —[B] | 8 | 43 | — | — | — | 49 | — | — | The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo |
| "The Moon Song" (withEzra Koenig) | 2014 | — | 27 | — | — | 194 | 88 | — | 34 | — | 13 | Non-album single |
| "Rapt"[77] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | — | Crush Songs | |
| "I Shall Rise"[78] | 2015 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "Yo! My Saint"[79] (featuringMichael Kiwanuka) | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 41 | — | — | |
| "Anti-Lullaby"[80] | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Hanna: Season 1 (Music from the Amazon Original Series) |
| "Bullet With Butterfly Wings"[81] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Woman"[82] (withDanger Mouse) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Lux Prima | |
| "Lux Prima"[83] (with Danger Mouse) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | — | ||
| "Turn The Light"[84] (with Danger Mouse) | — | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Under Pressure"[85] (with Willie Nelson) | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 18 | — | Non-album singles |
| "Super Breath"[86] (with Danger Mouse) | 2024 | — | —[C] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [88] | MEX [71] | |||
| "Hello Tomorrow" (Adidas version)[89] (Squeak E. Clean featuring Karen O) | 2005 | 85 | — | Non-album single |
| "Strange Enough"[90] (N.A.S.A featuring Karen O,Ol' Dirty Bastard, andFatlip) | 2010 | — | — | The Spirit of Apollo |
| "Pinky's Dream"[91] (David Lynch featuring Karen O) | 2012 | — | 37 | Crazy Clown Time |
| "Let It Grow"[92] (Maximum Balloon featuring Karen O andTunde Adebimpe) | 2015 | — | — | Non-album single |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| MEX [71] | |||
| "Strange Love" | 2012 | 41 | Frankenweenie Unleashed! |
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Cut Me Up" | 2004 | Har Mar Superstar | The Handler[93] |
| "The DNA Will Have Its Say" | 2005 | Some Girls | The DNA Will Have Its Say |
| "Hologram World" | 2007 | Tiny Masters of Today | Bang Bang Boom Cake[94] |
| "Highway 61 Revisited" | The Million Dollar Bashers | I'm Not There: Original Soundtrack[95] | |
| "Strange Enough" | 2009 | N.A.S.A.,Ol' Dirty Bastard,Fatlip | The Spirit of Apollo[96] |
| "Watching the Planets" | The Flaming Lips | Embryonic | |
| "Communion" | 2010 | Maximum Balloon | Maximum Balloon[97] |
| "If You're Gonna Be Dumb, You Gotta Be Tough" | None | Jackass 3D: Music from the Motion Picture[98] | |
| "Go!" | 2012 | Santigold | Master of My Make-Believe[99] |
| "Song for a Warrior" | Swans | The Seer[100] | |
| "Strange Love" | None | Frankenweenie Unleashed![101] | |
| "The Moon Song" (studio version duet) | 2014 | Ezra Koenig | "The Moon Song (Music from and Inspired by the Motion PictureHer)"(single)[102] |
| "The Moon Song" (end title credit) | None | ||
| "Rattlesnakes" | Walter Martin,Nick Zinner | We're All Young Together[103] | |
| "Sing 2 Me" | Walter Martin | ||
| "Living in a Trance" | 2017 | None | Resistance Radio: The Man in the High Castle Album[104] |
| "Talisa" | Daniele Luppi,Parquet Courts | Milano[105] | |
| "Flush" | |||
| "Pretty Prizes" | |||
| "The Golden Ones" | |||
| "Sorrow Is My Name" | None | Vanity of Vanities: A Tribute to Connie Converse[106] | |
| "Dial D For Devotion" | 2020 | The Avalanches | We Will Always Love You |
In 2006, Karen O was nominated for theGAFFA-Prisen Award for Best Foreign Female Act.[107]
Karen O was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Original Song for co-writing "The Moon Song" withSpike Jonze for the filmHer.[41]
On a wintry evening in late November [2008], Karen O celebrated her 30th birthday by ...
Karen O: Actually, I was born inSeoul.
Zauner: You were born in Seoul, that's right! Your Wikipedia used to sayBusan.
Karen O: Does it still say that?
Zauner: Yeah, it still says that.
Karen O: We changed it two years ago. I guess they went back—
Zauner: Busan really wants to claim you [laughs].
— Rolling Stone, Karen O and Michelle Zauner on Smashing Expectations and the Power of ‘No’
twsJunG112 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).... ethereal vocals over charmingly ramshackle folk-pop arrangements ...
... singer Karen O yelps her mandate over slabs of marbled synths ...
