Breathe Carolina

• 1. Introduction

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  Breathe Carolina got its name from a dream David Schmitt had in 9th grade, about calming down a woman named Carolina. That dream eventually became a band, a platinum-certified hit, and a legal scandal involving a $114 million fraud case. The duo started in Denver in 2007 as a two-person operation recording songs on GarageBand for fun, and within two years their MySpace page had accumulated over 30 million song plays. What drives a band that began on bedroom software to sign with Columbia Records, chart on the Billboard Hot 100, and survive the arrest of one of its own members? And how did Breathe Carolina keep reinventing itself across five studio albums spanning more than a decade?

• 2. Before the Band

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  Kyle Even was born on the 21st of September 1985, and David Schmitt on the 26th of March 1988. Both spent their early years moving through local Colorado music scenes before they ever met. Even was drawn into music by an older stepbrother who introduced him to alternative rock, and he shifted toward vocals as a teenager. He performed in a Colorado band called Rivendale, which released an EP titled Portrait of Shadows.

  Schmitt came at it differently. He picked up bass at age 12 and later branched out to guitar, playing with a group called As the Flood Waters Rose, which later renamed itself the Autobiography. The two bands crossed paths often enough that As the Flood Waters Rose opened for Rivendale at Rivendale's album release show at Grandpa's Music Box in Thornton, Colorado.

  When both groups broke apart as members left for college, Schmitt had already begun recording his own material on GarageBand. He asked Even to collaborate, and the partnership that formed out of those fragmented bands became Breathe Carolina.

• 3. Rise Records and the Debut

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  Their first EP, Gossip, appeared on iTunes on the 26th of November 2007, and the band's MySpace profile gathered over 10,000 song plays in 2008 alone. Even quit his job as a photographer to tour full-time. Breathe Carolina performed at the Bamboozle Left in April 2008, and by May of that year they had signed with Rise Records.

  Schmitt recorded the debut album entirely on GarageBand in his home studio in Denver. It's Classy, Not Classic was available for streaming on the band's PureVolume page on the 1st of September 2008, before its official release on the 16th. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 186. That fall they headlined a tour with Every Avenue, Brokencyde, and The Morning Of, then supported Pierce the Veil on their Delicious Tour in November.

  The lead single "Diamonds" arrived on the 4th of February 2009, with a music video featuring appearances by Millionaires and Josh White from Umbrella Clothing and This City Is Burning Records. Breathe Carolina also appeared on Punk Goes Pop 2 in March 2009, performing a cover of "See You Again".

• 4. Hello Fascination and Fearless Records

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  In April 2009, Breathe Carolina left Rise Records and signed with Fearless Records, moving immediately into recording sessions with producer Mike Green. Even described Hello Fascination as their vision of everything they were. The first song from the album, "Welcome To Savannah", appeared on the 29th of June 2009, and the title single premiered on the band's MySpace page on the 25th of July.

  Hello Fascination arrived on the 18th of August 2009, peaked at number 43 on the Billboard 200, and sold 11,000 copies in its first week. Critics drew comparisons between the album's vocoder-heavy sound and the work of Daft Punk and Roxette. Breathe Carolina played the Vans Warped Tour in 2009 and joined Family Force 5 on their Dance Rawr Dance 3 tour from September through October.

  In January 2010, the band toured the UK. A clothing line called Blush launched in June 2010, and a deluxe edition of Hello Fascination followed on the 6th of July. The second single, "I.D.G.A.F.", received a music video on the 30th of July. Their cover of Jay Sean's "Down" for Punk Goes Pop 3, released on the 2nd of November 2010, peaked at number 31 on the US Rock Digital Song Sales chart. On the 21st of November 2010, the band released "Mile-High Christmas" for the Tis the Season to Be Fearless compilation.

• 5. Blackout and Columbia Records

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  Hell Is What You Make It was the first album Breathe Carolina recorded as a full band, with sessions taking place in Los Angeles in early 2011. Producers Ian Kirkpatrick and Matt Squire worked on the record alongside Schmitt and Even. The lead single "Blackout" was available for streaming via MTV Buzzworthy on the 13th of June 2011, and the following day it went to digital download.

  On the 16th of June, Breathe Carolina performed "Blackout" for a nationwide television audience on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The song peaked at number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number one on the UK Independent Singles chart. The RIAA certified it platinum. A music video was shot in Los Angeles on the 1st and the 2nd of July and posted to the band's Vevo page on the 20th of September.

  In 2012, the single "Hit and Run" premiered via Alternative Press on the 21st of May, reached number 19 on the US Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart, and sold 20,000 copies its first week. The band also contributed a cover of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" to Punk Goes Pop 5 that year.

• 6. Savages and a Founding Member's Exit

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  On the 25th of October 2013, it was announced that founding member Kyle Even had left the band, citing his new responsibilities as a father. Tommy Cooperman, who had already been touring with the group, was confirmed as an official member. The band had announced the fourth album's title, Savages, back on the 25th of March 2013; Schmitt described it as being about free spirit and doing what you want to do, with heavy EDM influence.

  A mixtape called Bangers dropped on the 6th of July 2013 as a free download via Sol Republic, containing three unreleased tracks. The lead single "Savages" arrived on the 25th of November 2013. The second single, "Sellouts", featured Danny Worsnop from Asking Alexandria and was released on the 18th of February 2014. The third single, "Bang It Out", followed on the 18th of March 2014 and featured Amy Renee Noonan, also known as Queen Herby, from the group Karmin.

  Savages was released on the 15th of April 2014. It sold 14,000 copies in its first week, topped the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart, and peaked at number 22 on the Billboard 200. The band later collaborated with Candyland on a track called "Find Someone", released on SoundCloud on the 9th of September 2014, and co-headlined a tour with Candyland called The Friend Zone Tour in October and November 2014.

• 7. EDM Pivot and the Fraud Case

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  After 2014, Breathe Carolina shifted toward a looser, singles-driven approach within the EDM space. In 2015 they released "Stars & Moon", a collaboration with producer Shanahan and singer Haliene, through Spinnin' Records. The track reached five million Spotify streams and peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, earning heavy rotation on BPM on Sirius XM.

  A series of EPs followed: Sleepless in September 2016 debuted at number four on the US Dance/Electronic Albums chart with 2,000 copies sold in its first week; Coma appeared in July 2017; and Oh So Hard received a second part in February 2018. After Eric Armenta departed in 2017 and Luis Bonet in 2015, the group narrowed to Schmitt and Cooperman.

  On the 14th of December 2022, Cooperman was arrested and charged by the Justice Department and the SEC for his alleged role in a $114 million pump-and-dump scheme carried out from around January 2020 to April 2022. The charges listed two counts of securities fraud, with prosecutors alleging that Cooperman and others used social media platforms including Twitter and Discord to manipulate stock prices. In March 2024, a federal judge dismissed the criminal indictment, citing insufficient evidence to establish a scheme to defraud, though the SEC's civil case remained pending.

• 8. Dead and Beyond

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  Breathe Carolina's fifth studio album, Dead: The Album, was released on the 15th of November 2019 through Spinnin' Records and Big Beat. Schmitt described the record as like a breath of fresh air with a vibe he felt hadn't come from anyone else. The lead single, "Too Good", arrived on the 13th of September 2019. The album debuted at number six on the Billboard Dance Album Sales chart, and the band followed it with an acoustic EP and a remix album under companion titles.

  In 2022, the duo collaborated with Martin Garrix on a single titled "Something". On the 8th of March 2024, they released the EP Raindrops, preceded by two singles, "Drag Me Down" and "Alone Tonight", with Schmitt returning to lead vocals on both.

  At the When We Were Young Festival in Winchester, Nevada on the 18th and the 19th of October 2025, Kyle Even performed with Breathe Carolina for the first time since 2013. On the 4th of December 2025, the band played in Anaheim, California alongside Millionaires and 3OH!3, marking the 15-year anniversary of Streets of Gold. Breathe Carolina is also confirmed to appear at Welcome to Rockville in Daytona Beach, Florida in May 2026.