• 2000-

  Karen OVocals2000-

  Nick ZinnerGuitar, Keyboards2000-

  Brian ChaseDrums2000-
• Vocalist Karen Lee Orzolek, better known by her stage name Karen O, is the daughter of a Polish dad and a Korean mom. She grew up in New Jersey.
• Before forming Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Karen O studied at Oberlin, the same arts college in Ohio that Girls writer Lena Dunham attended. It was there that she met drummer Brian Chase.
• Karen O soon transferred to New York University and met guitarist Nick Zinner in a grubby 2nd Avenue bar in 2000. The dive closed in June 2011 and the band included a dedication to it on their Mosquito album.
• Karen O and Zinner originally formed a folky acoustic duo called "Unitard." During this time they also shared a loft with future members of the band Metric.
• The pair felt drawn to the art punk scene and recruited Chase for a new rock trio. They quickly earned a significant buzz for their arty and garage punk and got gigs supporting The Strokes and The White Stripes as well as a major label deal with Interscope.
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs are best known for their ballad "Maps," which was included on their debut album, Fever To Kill. "The only reason I wanted to be on a major label was for people to hear 'Maps,'" Karen O told Spin Magazine.
• "Maps" was voted the best alternative love song of all time in 2009 by the British music magazine, the NME.
• Another notable track is "Zero," which was ranked by both Spin and the NME as the Best Song of 2009.
• Karen O, wrote and performed the soundtrack to Spike Jonze's children's film Where The Wild Things, for which she earned a Grammy nomination. "Since as early as fifth or sixth grade I wanted to do stuff for kids.," said the singer. "That's my biggest goal, to focus on children's entertainment."
• One of Indie Rock's most attractive women, Karen O has won such honors as Spin's Sex Goddess award (2004, 2005), Blender's Rock's Hottest Woman (2006) and NME's Hottest Woman (2010).
• Karen O married film and music-video director Barnaby Clay in late 2011. She sang the Mosquito track "Wedding Song" to her husband at their marriage reception. She told NME that she wrote the tune especially for their nuptials. "We didn't have vows at my wedding," she said. "I feel really awkward about saying stuff - so saying it in a song made perfect sense."
• Nick Zinner is an accomplished photographer and several exhibits of his work have been mounted. He was commissioned by Lee Jeans in January 2011 to shoot their Winter '11 advertising campaign.
• After completing their 2013 album Mosquito, they left Interscope Records and took a long break, returning in 2022 with Cool It Down. In 2015, Karen O had her first child, a son named Django.

Comments

More Songfacts:

The PowerSnap!

Snap! were two German producers. When they needed a rapper, they found one on the American army base there and had him rap on "The Power."

Addicted To LoveRobert Palmer

The models in Robert Palmer's iconic "Addicted To Love" video were chosen in part because they couldn't play music, so they're all playing and moving to different rhythms.

We Are Never Ever Getting Back TogetherTaylor Swift

"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift earned an entry in the 2014 edition of the Guinness Book of Records for the fastest-selling digital single. It reached the #1 spot on iTunes just 50 minutes after its release.

Why Should I Love You?Kate Bush

The Kate Bush song "Why Should I Love You?" is a collaboration with Prince. He completely re-worked her demo, so Bush spent a lot of time piecing it back together to keep her imprint.

ShoutThe Isley Brothers

Otis Day And The Knights, the fictional band created to perform "Shout" in the movie Animal House, became a real band, performing the song at colleges and other venues.

(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The BayOtis Redding

Otis Redding often ad-libbed vocals at the end of songs, but for "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" he just whistled instead - it became some of the most famous whistling in song history.

Editor's Picks

Muhammad Ali: His Musical Legacy and the Songs he InspiredSong Writing

Before he was the champ, Ali released an album called I Am The Greatest!, but his musical influence is best heard in the songs he inspired.

Martin PageSongwriter Interviews

With Bernie Taupin, Martin co-wrote the #1 hits "We Built This City" and "These Dreams." After writing the Pretty Woman song for Go West, he had his own hit with "In the House of Stone and Light."

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Penny Ford of Snap!Songwriter Interviews

The original voice of Snap! this story is filled with angry drag queens, video impersonators and Chaka Khan.

A Monster Ate My Red Two: Sesame Street's Greatest Song SpoofsSong Writing

When singers started spoofing their own songs on Sesame Street, the results were both educational and hilarious - here are the best of them.

Jules Shear - "All Through The Night"They're Playing My Song

Shears does very little promotion, which has kept him secluded from the spotlight. What changed when Cyndi Lauper had a hit with his song? Not much, really.