• 2008-

  Nataly DawnVocals, bass, piano

  Jack ConteKeyboards, drums, various other instruments
• Nataly Dawn (real name: Natalie Knutsen) and Jack Conte both graduated from Stanford University. They were both part of the campus music scene and met in 2005 when she opened for his band at the campus coffeehouse, CoHo. They started dating and making music together a year later.
• Pomplamoose's primary platform is YouTube. All of their songs come with videos of varying complexity that they post there on a regular basis. They started doing this in 2008 when there weren't many "creators" on the platform posting quality material consistently - it was before the era of the "YouTube star."
  
  Their methodical approach gradually built them a huge fanbase that connected with them on an intimate level, quite a contrast to the YouTube sensations that had a viral video but were soon forgotten (we're talking to you, "Chocolate Rain" guy). By the time other performers realized YouTube could build a career, it was saturated, but Pomplamoose was already out to a commanding lead with enough subscribers to sustain them as long as they kept making music.
• Jack Conte is the co-founder of the crowdfunding platform Patreon, which launched in 2013. He formed the company with his former roommate at Stanford, Sam Yam.
  
  Pomplamoose served as a test case for Patreon, which asks fans to sign up for subscriptions for ongoing perks instead of making one-time donations. Patreon worked out very well for Pomplamoose, which had a very dedicated fanbase by that point. Being an authentic user helped Conte maintain quality control - if something was buggy, he was likely to find it and fix it.
• Pomplamoose is entirely independent and have always rejected offers to join record labels. They handle their own publicity and distribution, eschewing press releases and other industry traditions. Their official bio simply reads: "Jack Conte & Nataly Dawn make music together and with their friends."
• Their name is a play on the French word for grapefruit, pamplemousse. Nataly Dawn moved to France with her parents when she was nine years old and earned a degree in French literature from Stanford in 2009.
• Dawn and Conte got married in 2016. As you might expect, their wedding video was posted online and viewed over 200,000 times.
• When they started, they did everything themselves, playing all the instruments, doing the mixing, editing the videos, etc. Over time they built a team to help with various tasks and expand their output. In 2017 they started releasing a video every week, recording four at a time once a month at one-day sessions in Los Angeles.
• In 2010 they appeared in Christmastime commercials for Hyundai performing "Deck The Halls" and "Jingle Bells." The commercials emulates the look of their videos, with split screens and shots of Nataly and Jack performing.
  
  Earlier that year, their cover of "Mr. Sandman" was used in a Toyota commercial.
• Nataly Dawn releases solo albums from time to time; her first was How I Knew Her in 2013. These song's aren't a good fit for Pomplamoose because they're very personal and expressive, often stemming from her meditation practice. In a 2022 Songfacts interview with Dawn, she said: "If you do it just a little bit each day, you will, slowly, be able to feel more presence and joy. There are weeks when I can write from that place and it's because I've been practicing for weeks to actually be present while I'm writing and then there are weeks when I can't. I'm aware of the ongoing nature of it now, that there is no arrival. You don't just get somewhere and then it's good."

Comments

More Songfacts:

Anybody Seen My Baby?The Rolling Stones

k.d. lang is a credited writer on the Rolling Stones song "Anybody Seen My Baby?" because it sounds so much like her hit "Constant Craving."

Just Can't Get EnoughThe Black Eyed Peas

The Black Eyed Peas shot the video for "Just Can't Get Enough" in Japan just a week before a devastating earthquake hit the country.

EnchantedTaylor Swift

A perfume called Wonderstruck was named after a line in Taylor Swift's song "Enchanted": "I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home."

Rum and Coca-ColaThe Andrews Sisters

The '40s hit "Rum and Coca-Cola" is really about American soldiers soliciting prostitutes in Trinidad.

Summer BreezeSeals & Crofts

On the surface, "Summer Breeze" by Seals & Crofts is just a song about a guy coming home from work, but the duo claimed it had a deeper meaning about finding direction in one's personal life.

Detroit Rock CityKiss

Kiss sing about "movin' fast on 95" in "Detroit Rock City," but I-95 doesn't go through Detroit (I-75 does) so they published the lyric as "Movin' fast, doin' 95."

Editor's Picks

Rickie Lee JonesSongwriter Interviews

Rickie Lee Jones on songwriting, social media, and how she's handling Trump.

Cheerleaders In Music VideosSong Writing

It started with a bouncy MTV classic. Nirvana and MCR made them scary, then Gwen, Avril and Madonna put on the pom poms.

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce PavittSong Writing

The man who ran Nirvana's first label gets beyond the sensationalism (drugs, Courtney) to discuss their musical and cultural triumphs in the years before Nevermind.

Sarah BrightmanSongwriter Interviews

One of the most popular classical vocalists in the land is lining up a trip to space, which is the inspiration for many of her songs.

Mac Powell of Third DaySongwriter Interviews

The Third Day frontman talks about some of the classic songs he wrote with the band, and what changed for his solo country album.

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.