Carly Bins

Carly Bins is a 16-year-old singer/songwriter out of Detroit, and she is a great example of where that genre could be heading. Lots of talent, very solid songwriting (especially for her age), and a stage presence that is very well honed. She’ll have the opportunity to move in a variety of different directions, and she has the talent to succeed wherever she chooses to go moving forward. Highlights for her included her cover of the 90’s anthem “Torn” as well as a recently written song of her own called “Natural Disasters.” She’ll be someone to look out for. - 411mania.com

Singer-songwriter Carly Bins has a confidence well beyond her age. At only 16-years-old, Carly’s already accomplished more than most of us ever dream of, and she’s just getting started. Her incredible voice and guitar playing make her sound like an acoustic version of Regina Spektor. She’s making it the old-fashioned way, earning it at a slow and steady pace. As you can see in the video above, Carly’s been playing many crappy events to make it to Electric Forest. Luckily, there likely won’t be any random people walking behind her stage or Honda Civics roaring by during the crescendo of her touching songs. She’ll start off the final day of Electric Forest on The Observatory stage from 2pm – 2:45pm. - howwasitdetroit.com

"For those of you who are already in love with her sound, she's 16 years old. Unbelievable. Your voice sounds so mature.... Incredibly talented local Michigan teenager..." - Jennifer Ann Wilson, Reporter

The 2015 Fifth Third Bank Michigan State Fair winner Carly Bins’ four-song EP “3 a.m.” is now available on iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby, Google Music Store, Spotify and Rhapsody.

The EP, a recording that contains more music than a single but not long enough to qualify as a full studio album or LP, was produced by Bins’ mentors Chuck Alkazian and Nadir Omowale from Pearl Sound Studios in Canton.

Ever since her earliest stage performance as a tiny 6-year-old in a denim skirt singing “Pieces of Me” by Ashlee Simpson in her elementary school’s annual talent show, Bins has lived to perform. She took piano lessons but fell in love with the guitar in fifth grade when she started working with guitar teacher Justin Lee from Broughton Music Center in downtown Northville.

Now 16 and an 11th grader at Northville High School, Bins is an accomplished singer and songwriter. In addition to being involved in three choirs at school, Bins mainly writes material for her acoustic guitar, but also creates music for and plays both the electric guitar and ukulele.“Most of my songs are about things gone wrong like relationships, crushes and friendships,” Bins said laughing. “People compare me to Taylor Swift, but I can’t help it; I’m a teenage girl.”

Bins’ upcoming summer 2016 festival gigs include Electric Forest, LaureLive and performances during the Fifth Third Bank Michigan State Fair, which will take place Sept. 1-5 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.

“My favorite part has been all the learning that has happened,” Bins said. “My mentors have taught me so much, and I’m thankful for all the advice and help I’ve gotten.”

Bins plans to major in the music industry. She said that no matter what happens in her solo career, she wants to be involved in music in some way since she “loves it so much.”

For more information on Bins and her music, visit www.carlybins.com. - O&E Media

There’s a new superstar in town (well, actually the whole state) and her name is Carly Bins.

She was crowned the winner of the Fifth Third Bank Michigan State Fair Superstar Contest, sponsored by Pepsi-Cola, after her three-song performance Friday evening.

“It’s still a little overwhelming,” Bins said Tuesday. “I can’t believe I won. I’m so grateful.”

But now that she’s done a television interview and has some others coming up, she said it’s starting to settle in a bit more.

Bins, who turned 16 on Aug. 30, went up against 15 other performers, all required to do two originals and cover Jill Jack’s Pure Michigan song.

“For Pure Michigan, I worked a lot with my voice teacher on how to convey it right,” Bins said. “I rewrote one of the verses, made the song faster and used a ukulele. I made it totally different.”

Her two originals were The Bullet and Mistakes. The latter, which she penned last year, is about “a relationship gone very wrong with a girl realizing her boyfriend is just using her and that she needs to get out of the situation,” Bins said.

The Bullet was written several years ago by Bins and tells of her real-life situation dealing with toxic friends.

“Both are my songs, so I know them like the back of my hand,” said Bins, who performed solo during the competition and as the winner playing two sets Sunday, all on the state fair’s main stage.

She said she wasn’t that nervous performing the three songs, mainly because she had practiced a lot. But it was a little nerve-racking because she didn’t see or hear her competition.

“I had absolutely no idea who I was up against or what they were like,” Bins said. The competition was spaced out with 45 minutes to an hour between acts because some had backup bands that had to get on stage.

All the contestants were given 25 tickets to hand out and Bins was able to give them all away.

“I had a bunch of friends and family who came and cheered really loud,” Bins said, “which was good for me because I was able to be energetic and give a good performance.”

She said she was confident, but went into the contest with a game plan: “Just go out and be your best,” she said. “You’ll be fine, whatever happens.”

Between Friday’s competition and Sunday’s showcase, Bins squeezed a set in at Arts Beats & Eats in Royal Oak in Saturday’s high temperatures.

Background

Bins has been singing since her elementary school’s talent show, when she was just 6. Now the Northville High School junior has a long list of notable gigs, including the Meridian Winter Blast, Northville’s Arts & Acts, Brighton’s Fine Arts & Acoustic Music Festival and South Lyon’s Pumpkinfest.

Along the way, she’s garnered two wins in Northville’s Talent for the Title competition (2014 as a singer-songwriter and 2012 with the all-girl Unusual Symphony) and she was a top five finalist in the Local 4 Super Singer Competition last year.

She also is a member of Northville High’s TrebleMakers, an all-girl a cappella group. Bins, whose voice is described as a cross between Melissa Etheridge and Taylor Swift, writes mainly for acoustic guitar, but also plays ukulele and a bit of piano.

cstone@hometownlife.com | Twitter: @TheNoviNews

Superstar bounty

The State Fair Superstar contest offers a purely Michigan mentoring twist on the standard pop music talent contest formula, with the winner receiving:

○songwriting advice plus artist and repertoire coaching from award-winning artist/producer Nadir Omowale;

○live performance booking consultation from 2 Stones Events;

○production of a three-song EP at world famous Pearl Sound Studios of Canton, with internationally renowned sound engineer and producer Chuck Alkazian;

○cash prize and Indie Music Business Coaching from new Music Mentor Jill Jack. - Novi News

“One day when you’re huge and you’re this big star, don’t forget that you met this guy.” - Roop Raj, Reporter, Fox 2 Detroit

“That [winning a competition like the 2015 Michigan State Fair Superstar] was bound to happen sooner or later...Carly is driven....congratulations...” - Barry Gabel, Senior Vice President, LiveNation

“You’re very fun and you have a great voice. I think you’re gonna have a real big future.” - Brent Morin (actor), Judge