When AJ Lee returned to WWE earlier this month, Kari Kimmel was given a shock reminder of something she’d almost forgotten.
The 40-year-old singer songwriter, who has had her tracks used in the likes of Ella Enchanted, Vampirina and countless other shows and films, sang on Let’s Light It Up back in 2011.
Amazingly, she exclusively told Metro earlier this week that she and AJ, who will have her first match in over 10 years at Wrestlepalooza tonight, never actually had any contact with each other over the years.
She said: ‘I haven’t, I’ve never reached out. And I thought about it recently, I was like, “I should reach out to her, you know?” So I probably will.
‘I tagged her on a couple of posts, which I’ve never done before, by the way, I’ve never posted about this theme, about AJ Lee – never in my life until, I guess, a couple days ago!’
AJ’s recent comeback with the song blaring out has brought it back to the forefront of fans’ minds, with many hoping Kari could finally sing it live at a future show.
‘I would actually,’ she smiled. ‘The guy that put me up for [the song], he’s still at the WWE. He’s been there forever. And I was like, “Hey, I don’t know if you’re seeing what’s going on?” ‘
‘”Well, you know, I’d be down,”‘ she told him. ‘I would absolutely sing that live. I think it would be so much fun.’
It’s been a surprise for Kari, who hadn’t realised AJ had returned until after her social media accounts blew up with fans referencing the iconic theme.
‘I didn’t have any sort of heads up. I had no idea. I just was getting all these emails and these comments and direct messages,’ she said. ‘It was really cool.
‘And then obviously, I saw the video of her coming out… And that was really cool to hear the song again. Because, honestly, I hadn’t heard it in so long!’
‘I think that [AJ’s] been obviously more than just a wrestler, you know? She’s contributed so much more. And that was really cool to find out.’
It’s been a whirlwind for Kari to see the song come back to the forefront of fans’ minds almost 15 years after it first dropped on Monday Night Raw.
Her own journey with WWE started when she had songs in WWE Films like Knucklehead starring The Big Show, and Triple H-led The Chaperone.
She’s no stranger to that world, having lent her songs to everything from trailers for The Walking Dead to Disney’s Descendants and artists like Gloria Gaynor, while her Glow Music Group helps other artists with sync opportunities.
Around 2011, she was contacted by WWE, who had a song by Jim Johnston – who Kari hailed as a varied and ‘great songwriter’ – which they wanted her to perform on.
‘It was the AJ Lee thing. And at the time, I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t know what I was singing for, it could have been anything,’ she laughed. ‘He asked me if I would sing this song, kind of give it my own spin, and also produce the track.’
Kari – who has also worked with legends like The Beatles icon Sir Ringo Starr – has vowed to never release WWE’s original demo, but she was fascinated to hear it again as she looked back to prepare for our interview.
‘At that time, I’m not sure I even knew that this was going to be a wrestler theme song,’ she admitted. ‘Maybe I knew! But then it came out, it was her theme, and it wound up kind of blowing up.’
Kari admitted she knew ‘literally nothing’ about wrestling before everything took off, but she quickly learned to understand the passion of those who really get it.
‘It was really cool to see how just passionate that audience is,’ she said. ‘It’s almost like Dodger fans, I kind of relate it to that in a way. They’ve got their wrestlers that they support.’
She added: ‘They’re hardcore in the best way possible. So it was really cool to be brought into that world a bit.’
WWE Wrestlepalooza airs tonight at 11:30pm on Netflix.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
