CARTHAGE — If you haven’t seen a video on Facebook of Hoosiers Kristin and Danny Adams belting out in their car, you’re missing out, fans say.
The couple became an Internet sensation with their lip-synced video of Whitney Houston’s 1987 pop hit “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” taped in their driveway.
Two years and 94,000 views later, the two make a living off their videos, vlogs (video blogs) and speaking engagements.
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The couple, who now live in Indianapolis, will be the featured speakers at “Dinner with Danny and Kristin: Laughter is the Best Medicine” at 6 p.m. Saturday at Carthage Community Church, 511 E. Second St.
Watch any Kristin and Danny mash-up video, for example “Songs of Summer Lip Sync,” and you’ll see a variety of musical genres from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. And with each lip-synced clip, the two change costumes and characters.
The idea to do a video was Kristin’s. As she tells it, she and her husband were driving when “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” came on the radio. They both started singing along.
“I looked at Danny and said, ‘Babe, we should totally do a lip-sync to this,’” Kristin said.
By week’s end, they had completed their first film.
Although the Internet sometimes makes it seem easy to become a success overnight, Kristin and Danny say they’ve paid their dues.
As a sophomore at Texas Christian University, Kristin successfully auditioned to become a member of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleading team. In 2002, she successfully auditioned to appear on American Idol’s first season, though she didn’t win the competition. For the second season, she was hired to work on-air as a special corespondent. From there, she went on to Hollywood for a 15-year career as a professional host for programs including Starz Movie News and Access Hollywood.
Danny grew up in Indianapolis. He toured throughout the Midwest with his family’s performance group. He was a two-time All-American football player at Olivet Nazarene University before moving to California in an attempt to break into show business.
The couple met at a party in Los Angeles.
“Danny came up to me and started a friendly, non-creepy conversation,” Kristin recalls, “which can be kind of a rarity in L.A.”
The two became good friends, started dating and sealed the deal with a 2008 marriage. The rest, they say, is history.
Lip-synced mash-ups on YouTube aren’t the only kind of videos the couple makes. Mixed in with the musical mash-ups are videos of the couple discussing the challenges of married life, on-site videos of adventures from their family vacations and current trends.
Production on a single video — including song selection, costuming, filming and editing — usually takes about a week, Kristin said. Tasks are divided equally with Danny selecting the songs and handling the costumes and props. Kristin, with her background in hosting, takes the lead on video chats.
Occasionally, there are bumps in the road — or creative differences, as they call it — but the pair have learned to work off each other strengths.
“When it comes to being creative we both have learned to throw every idea out on the table because you never know where something may lead,” Kristin said. “The more we create, the more we grow in trusting one another’s instincts.”
In an effort to commit to a regular production schedule, the duo’s website and YouTube channel promise weekly videos posted every Friday. But with growing fame and a calendar crowded with speaking engagements, Kristin admits ‘weekly’ is a pretty high bar, but so far, they’re keeping up with their ambitious production schedule.
“The most we will plan is six to eight weeks out,” Kristin said. “But things are always changing with us, mostly because it’s difficult to plan creativity — it usually just happens.”
These days, Kristin and Danny juggle their time between videos, two young children and public speaking engagements.
Many of those speaking engagements take place at churches. The couple views their videos and talks as a form of ministry, they say.
Sally Campbell, wife to the Rev. Roger Campbell, pastor at Carthage Community Church, saw Kristin and Danny several months ago at Brown’s Chapel Wesleyan Church in Greenfield and really enjoyed them. She wanted to bring them to her own church, she said.
“They walked around and talked about daily things and funny things and how God impacts their lives,” Campbell said.
Campbell admits she doesn’t usually enjoy comedians, but she found herself laughing throughout the Adams’ presentation.
The sign-off tagline at the end of each video is, “Laughter is the best medicine.” They take it from Proverbs 17:22, which reads, “A merry heart does good like medicine.”
“That is truly the heart of our ministry. To use laughter and lighthearted videos to invite people to know God,” she said.
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What: “Dinner with Danny and Kristin: Laughter is the Best Medicine” at 6 p.m. Saturday at Carthage Community Church, 511 E. Second St.
When: 6 p.m. Saturday
Where: Carthage Community Church, 511 East 2nd Street, Carthage
Cost: $20/person or $35/couple
Contact Sally at [email protected] with “tickets” in the subject line or call 317-440-2783.
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