Who's who in Pentatonix: Tall blond guy (white haired in this video, but that was temporary): Scott Hoying, lyric baritone. Scott's actual range begins somewhere in the middle of a normal bass range and extends through the tenor range. I believe he has a range of five or six octaves. The only woman in Pentatonix: Kirstin (also known as Kirstie, which rhymes with thirsty) Maldonado, mezzo soprano. Mezzo is the lowest soprano range, just above alto, and Kirstin is considered a mezzo soprano because that's her preferred range. Her actual range, however, begins at the bottom of the alto range and extends through a high, coloratura soprano range. And on top of that she has whistle notes that are off the chart. Again, a range of probably five or six octaves. Bearded guy with corn rows: Avi (pronounced Ah'-vee, emphasis on the first syllable) Kaplan, lyric bass. Avi is an operatically trained basso profundo; his lowest notes have actually blown out speakers in live performances. But his actual range extends to the middle of the tenor range. Also, Avi resigned from Pentatonix in 2017 for personal reasons. He has since gone on to have a very successful solo career; you can find his channel here: youtube.com/@AviKaplanMusic I highly recommend subscribing. Avi's replacement is the second black man whom you saw/heard in "Sound of Silence," Matt Sallee (pronounced Suh-lee', emphasis on the second syllable). Matt is another lyric bass, and it's hard to say what his range is because it seems to still be growing. I believe he is or soon will be another basso profundo, but his range extends almost to the top of the tenor range. The other white guy in this video is Mitch Grassi (pronounced Grah'-see, emphasis on the first syllable), countertenor. No one is certain whether Mitch sings higher than Kirstie or vice versa; I suspect that it varies from one day to the next. What is certain is that Mitch has one of the most beautiful voices on the planet. He's known for his ethereal, angelic high notes. He switches seamlessly from chest voice to mixed voice to head voice to falsetto. He has a range of just over six octaves, but is most comfortable at the high end of his range. The fifth member of Pentatonix is Kevin Olusola (pronounced Oh-loosh"-oh-luh', primary emphasis on the second syllable, secondary emphasis on the fourth). If you were to write a novel about a fictional a cappella band that takes the world by storm, your editor might let you get away with Mitch, and Avi, and the rest, but he or she would draw the line at Kevin. Kevin is a polymath. Polymaths are the people geniuses look at and say, "Boy, I wish I had a brain like that." Leonardo da Vinci was a polymath. Richard Feynman was a polymath. Isaac Asimov was a polymath. Kevin Olusola is a polymath. He has a pre-med degree from Yale, and was accepted to Yale Medical School before he decided to become a professional musician instead. He speaks five languages: English, French, German, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese. He has perfect pitch. He's been classically trained since childhood on piano, saxophone, and cello. When he was a teenager he performed at Carnegie Hall, twice, once on the saxophone and once on the cello. He beatboxes while playing the cello, a technique he refers to as "celloboxing." And when he laughs the whole world seems like a brighter place. Kevin is generally too busy being the entire percussion section of Pentatonix to sing, but he does sing every once in a while. He has a lovely tenor voice which occasionally descends to the upper end of the baritone range, and is known for the great beauty of his falsetto. He's also been known to rap on occasion, and is an accomplished dancer. Two other things: 1. When you hear pentaholics refer to "the trio," they mean Mitch, Kirstie, and Scott. If I tried to go into the backstory here my comment would get too long for RUclips to handle, so I'll leave it for another time. 2. Mitch and Kirstin change their appearance frequently. Think of them as chameleons and you won't be far off. People sometimes think they see someone new in Pentatonix when it's really Kirstin or Mitch. So with these two, rely on the voice, not their looks, to identify them. Avi is the ONLY person who has ever left Pentatonix, and Matt is the ONLY new member (though at this point Matt has been with Pentatonix for as long as Avi was, and shows no sign of ever leaving, so he's not really "new" any more).
If you liked this one I would recommend checking out an original of theirs called 'Love Again' it's very Daft Punkesque with the EDM groove to it! The girl is Kirstin or Kirsty (Rhymes with Thirsty), Tall guy with the white hair is Scott, Kevin is the beatboxer, Mitch is the dark haired one with the high voice. He is a natural Counter Tenor and can go as high as Soprano and the Dark haired guy with the mustache goatee is Avi (Ah-Vee) and he's a natural Baso Profundo who left the group in 2017 for personal and family reasons, he was replaced by Matt the other black guy who has a really nice higher register he can go up to
Pentatonix is so crazy talented, they feel almost alien, and Mitch IMO is an alien from a galaxy *WTF* 🤣😂🤣I haven't checked your playlist for Pentatonix yet, but if you haven't already, would love you to react to their Evolution of Michael Jackson!!!
Okay, I'm running short of time, but here's a SHORT history of Pentatonix. Mitch, Scott, and Kirstie all grew up in Arlington, Texas. All three were involved in community musical theater when they were children, which is where Mitch met both of the others; I think he was 8 or 9 years old at the time. Scott and Kirstie didn't meet each other until they were in the same class in high school, however. In high school, they were all choir geeks (duh), and quickly became best friends. They formed a trio (not so creatively named "The Trio") to enter a competition to meet the cast of _Glee._ They lost the competition, but kept The Trio together and performed at school functions and occasionally on local television. Scott and Kirstie were a year ahead of Mitch, and graduated in 2010. Scott went to college in southern California, and Kirstie went to college in Oklahoma, but at the end of their freshman year they both came back to Arlington, because Scott had an idea. While at college Scott had been looking for extracurricular activities where he could meet people and make some new friends and he'd joined an a cappella group named SoCal VoCals, where he'd met a man named Ben Bram. At the time, Ben was a coach on an a cappella television competion show on NBC, named _The Sing-Off._ A cappella groups would audition, and those who made it onto the show would perform several times throughout the season. After the twelfth performance voting would be opened to viewers, and the winning group would win $200,000 and a recording contract with a minor subsidiary of the show's sponsor, Sony. Scott wanted The Trio to audition for _The Sing-Off._ If they could win it, they could make a career for themselves doing something they loved, and the three best friends could stay together. He apparently didn't have much trouble talking Mitch and Kirstie into it, and then he called Ben Bram to find out how to get an audition, which is when they ran into their first problem: _The Sing-Off_ had a size limit. Bands had to have at least five members. The Trio needed two new members and a different name. Ben suggested that they'd do well to add a rhythm section: a bass and a beatboxer. For a bass he recommended a guy he knew named Avi Kaplan, and Avi agreed to join them, but Ben had no idea where they should look for a beatboxer. So in desperation they went to RUclips and typed "beatboxer" into the search engine. And the first hit they got was this black guy playing the cello and beatboxing at the same time. And they all said "Wow! That's the guy! Let's get him!" But how? Well, at the time RUclips had something called RUclips Messenger, which would allow private messages between users (no longer available), so they messaged Kevin. "Hey, we really like what you do, and would you be interested in flying across the country to audition for an a cappella television show with a group of strangers?" And Kevin messaged them back: "Normally I'd be right there; I love a cappella and have been involved with it before. But right now I'm studying for my finals for my pre-med degree from Yale." Oh dear. That sounded pretty definitive. Better find someone else. But no one else was that good. And two weeks later they got another message from Kevin. "Good news. I got the degree. If the gig's still open I can fly out and join you." The name Pentatonix is a reference to the pentatonic scale, a scale with five (penta) notes just as Pentatonix has five (Penta) singers. (And judging by history, we're lucky they didn't call themselves "The Quintet.") Kevin arrived the day before their audition. Mitch had to skip his high school graduation ceremony to attend the audition. But they aced it, and were on the show. They appeared throughout season 3 of _The Sing-Off_ (that was the 2011 season), and eventually won. They all moved to California to take up their duties and begin recording music, and a week later the recording label dropped them, saying that they didn't know how to market a cappella. But after all that, Pentatonix wasn't willing to give up on their dream. So they pooled their winnings; the men shared two apartments; they lived frugally; and they got busy arranging and performing music. They used their iPhones to record themselves anywhere they could find good acoustics, and then they posted to RUclips, where they quickly gained a following and began to get some patrons. And Sony took notice, and offered them another recording contract with a slightly more prestigious subsidiary, which they grabbed. And then came their "Daft Punk Medley." They recorded the audio in one of their closets, for the good acoustics. The location where they'd planned to record the video fell through at the last minute, so they recorded it in one of their kitchens. Their total budget was $400, and it brought them their first Grammy. And again, Sony took notice. This time Sony suggested that, just maybe, they'd be interested in a contract that Sony thought would make a better fit for them, Sony's premier label, RCA. Pentatonix has been with RCA ever since, and doing very well indeed. All of their performances on _The Sing-Off_ are available on RUclips, and they're fascinating to watch, preferably in order so you can see how they grew during the season. If you're interested in reacting to them I can provide you with links. There are a couple of the performances that are as good as anything they've come up with since (which is saying a LOT), and are available only on the recordings from _The Sing-Off._
This song/video won them their first of three Grammy's. Here's a clip from the win, shot on Scott's (the tall blonde one) parents' TV as they watched from home. ruclips.net/video/2BNaVcMMJvM/видео.html
Glad to hear you're sticking with the Pentatonix journey. Yep, the trio of Scott, Kirstie, and Mitch grew up in the same town in Texas, and they added Avi and Kevin to audition for The Sing Off season 3, eleven years ago, which they won, and Pentatonix hasn't stopped since. Avi left the group amicably in 2017, and Matt replaces him, so depending on where a song you react to exists on their timeline, it could be either Avi or Matt on bass. There are no other changes in personnel, but be aware that Kirstie and Mitch change up their style regularly, so you may not recognize it's them at first, but it always is.
Pentatonix They won The Sing Off in 2011. They made a guest starring appearance on America′s Got Talent as non−competitors a couple of years after that. The founding members are:- Scott Hoying (tall blond guy, natural baritone but has an impressive five−to−six octave range, can go all the way up to high tenor and down to bass, sings the bass lines when the usual bass singer takes the lead);
Kirstin "Kirstie" (Rhymes with "Thirsty") Maldonado (the only female member, natural mezzo soprano, but can go down to low alto and as high as upper soprano, also can sing in whistle notes that are off the scale); For a time in 2018 between the group’s tours, had the female lead on Broadway in the production of “Kinky Boots”. Mitch Grassi (a true contra−tenor, can hit high notes in his chest voice with ease and go WAY higher in his falsetto, also with ease); Avriel "Avi" Kaplan (dark beard and long hair), true basso profundo, trained as an opera singer, also can go up into the tenor range; and Kevin "KO" Olusola (beatboxer extraordinaire, also is a world−class cellist who plays cello on some of their songs, has a beautiful high tenor voice and gets occasional lead vocal solos as well, graduated pre−med from Yale and speaks several languages including Mandarin Chinese). Kirstie, Scott & Mitch grew up together in Arlington, Texas, and began performing together as children in local youth musical theater. They ended up in high school together and performed in the choir. While there, they formed an a cappella group called The Trio which had several performance videos go viral on RUclips, most notably a cover of Lady Gaga′s "Telephone". The three of them are best friends and consider themselves to be almost siblings. Scott & Kirstie (who were a class year ahead of Mitch) both graduated high school in 2010 and went their separate ways to different colleges, Scott at USC and Kirstie at Oklahoma. While at USC, Scott joined a USC−based a cappella group called the SoCal VoCals, where he met alumnus Ben Bram, who was now an arranger and vocal coach for the NBC TV show The Sing Off, an a cappella competition show. Ben convinced Scott to get The Trio to audition for the show. The three reunited (Mitch had to skip high school graduation ceremonies to go) in Los Angeles for the audition. They found out that the rules had changed, so they needed at least five members to audition. Ben put them together with Avi (a native of Visalia, California), who he knew from Avi′s performing days at Mount San Antonio College in California. They found Kevin (from Kentucky) through one of his RUclips videos that had gone viral featuring him playing the cello and beatboxing at the same time, a talent that Kevin coined as "Cello−Boxing". Kevin arrived in Los Angeles literally the day before the audition! Scott came up with the name "Pentatonix" after the pentatonic scale. They performed a re−arrangement of "The Telephone" for the audition and passed, despite having been together as a five−piece group for less that 24 hours! They won The Sing Off that season (all of the performances are available on RUclips), in which they received a substantial cash prize AND a record contract with Epic Records. They pooled their prize winnings together and all moved to Los Angeles, and all got apartments right next door to each other in the same building. But just a week later, Epic dropped them because the marketing people didn′t think an a cappella group could sell records. Instead of giving up, they were determined and began recording their own songs on RUclips, hiring Ben Bram as their producer and arranger. These usually consisted of the five of them sitting on a couch and performing cover songs live. Several of the videos went viral, and Sony (the parent company of Epic) decided to give them another chance by placing them on one of their smaller labels, Madison Gate. They released two secular EPs and one Christmas EP on Madison Gate, all of which were strong sellers. But when their cove r of a medley of songs by Daft Punk not only went super−viral, but also won them their first Grammy, they were promoted all the way up to RCA Records, Sony′s top label. They began writing and producing their own songs in addition to their covers, began putting out a Christmas album just about annually (which has become their best−selling genre), and have had multi−platinum album sales, sold−out world tours, and have won two additional Grammys. Avi began getting burned out with all of the touring and heavy recording schedule, was suffering from anxiety and personal problems, and learned that his mother had been diagnosed with cancer in 2017. He announced he was departing from the group and taking some time away from the music industry. Matt Sallee (from Baltimore) joined them in September 2017. He did only become official when they renewed their RCA contract in February 2018, but he recorded with them in September as a featured artist and went on their Christmas tour as a featured artist, as well. When he attended the audition for the group, he had already mastered the Bass part for most if not all their past catalogue. He was successful and has proved that he fits in well with the group. If you think there have been other changes to the line up - look again. This is the ONLY change. Kirstie and Mitch are like chameleons and change looks frequently. After a year away from music, Avi has now returned as a phenomenal solo artist in the Folk/Americana/Roots genre. Ben Bram has been in charge of their production, including arranging and directing from the beginning. He is often referred to as the sixth member. Scott and Kevin are major players in the arrangements, but every member contributes. A good watch is "The Recording of Evergreen" where a camera was invited into the studio for the second week of recording/ Also, all members are songwriters for both Pentatonix and their own solo work. Ed Boyer who mixes everything of theirs (even the HWB Livestream) is the one who pulled Ben Bram into the sing off in the first place. They were nominated for a 4th Grammy for their album Evergreen, but didn't win. Kirstie became a new mum which caused a pause in touring after their Evergreen Christmas tour 2021. Mid March 2023 Kirstie has announced that she is engaged to Ben Hausdorff, their videographer. No dates YET! They have a star on the Hollywood walk of fame installed in February 2023. They are the only a capella group with a star! They came 3rd in the 2023 Masked Singer performing as "California Rolls" being unmasked in May 23. Things you need to know because if you get these wrong Pentaholics will come after you with pitch forks and torches! Ha Ha!! 1- There is NO Auto-Tune; what you hear is actually what they sing. They really are that good. One exception is the 90's Dance Medley where Cher used autotune as an effect - so they had to. 2- What produces everything that you hear in the video, you see in the official video. If there is an instrument used in the music, you see it on screen. In the 2022 Christmas album, there are some instruments not featured throughout the album. 3- They never release something on video they can’t reproduce with the exact same quality live on-stage.
Great reaction! Please check out their "evolution" videos where they take 10-25 songs and put them together seamlessly in one video! A couple favorites are Evolution of Music, Evolution of Michael Jackson and Evolution of Rihanna. As others probably mentioned, if you watch a PTX video dated after 2017, you'll see that the bass guy in this one, Avi Kaplan, was replaced by a young black guy, Matt Sallee, who is also a wonderful bass. The first two evolution videos I mentioned are with Avi and the last one is with Matt. The other four singers have been with the group since they started in 2011. Looking forward to more PTX reactions - and you said Pentatonix exactly right!
Amazing Grace, Can You Feel The Love Tonight, The Prayer, Say Something, and if you're a tad in the Christmas spirit, O Come All Ye Faithful (hands down the best version you'll ever hear)
They just released a new cover of Creep that is a must see. It's Phenomenal! I personally like the live version from The Masked Singer after they were unmasked. It gives me chills every time!
Great reaction! I am enjoying taking this ride with you into the world of Pentatonix! This group you just listened to is who I call BabyTonix because it was before 2017 - They had a member change from Avi (the guy with the beard and very low voice), to Matt who is an amazing singer and just fits the Pentatonix family perfectly, so as you walk this path, know that the other four (Mitch, Kevin, Scott and Kirsty will change their looks (some drastically as they grow up), but it's still the same people - there are NO other changes - They were recently on The Masked Singer as The California Rolls (they wanted to try something new and different) so they do have music behind them as they sing (they are not supposed to let the audience know who they are), anyway, after they removed their masks they sang CREEP, which has become one of my favorite songs from them, but it has to be THIS one with them in costume - anyway, click here if you are interested in reacting to this - I think you will appreciate it - ruclips.net/video/u8yZ4ZW9Pwk/видео.html
PTX won their first Grammy for this.
Who's who in Pentatonix:
Tall blond guy (white haired in this video, but that was temporary): Scott Hoying, lyric baritone. Scott's actual range begins somewhere in the middle of a normal bass range and extends through the tenor range. I believe he has a range of five or six octaves.
The only woman in Pentatonix: Kirstin (also known as Kirstie, which rhymes with thirsty) Maldonado, mezzo soprano. Mezzo is the lowest soprano range, just above alto, and Kirstin is considered a mezzo soprano because that's her preferred range. Her actual range, however, begins at the bottom of the alto range and extends through a high, coloratura soprano range. And on top of that she has whistle notes that are off the chart. Again, a range of probably five or six octaves.
Bearded guy with corn rows: Avi (pronounced Ah'-vee, emphasis on the first syllable) Kaplan, lyric bass. Avi is an operatically trained basso profundo; his lowest notes have actually blown out speakers in live performances. But his actual range extends to the middle of the tenor range. Also, Avi resigned from Pentatonix in 2017 for personal reasons. He has since gone on to have a very successful solo career; you can find his channel here: youtube.com/@AviKaplanMusic I highly recommend subscribing.
Avi's replacement is the second black man whom you saw/heard in "Sound of Silence," Matt Sallee (pronounced Suh-lee', emphasis on the second syllable). Matt is another lyric bass, and it's hard to say what his range is because it seems to still be growing. I believe he is or soon will be another basso profundo, but his range extends almost to the top of the tenor range.
The other white guy in this video is Mitch Grassi (pronounced Grah'-see, emphasis on the first syllable), countertenor. No one is certain whether Mitch sings higher than Kirstie or vice versa; I suspect that it varies from one day to the next. What is certain is that Mitch has one of the most beautiful voices on the planet. He's known for his ethereal, angelic high notes. He switches seamlessly from chest voice to mixed voice to head voice to falsetto. He has a range of just over six octaves, but is most comfortable at the high end of his range.
The fifth member of Pentatonix is Kevin Olusola (pronounced Oh-loosh"-oh-luh', primary emphasis on the second syllable, secondary emphasis on the fourth). If you were to write a novel about a fictional a cappella band that takes the world by storm, your editor might let you get away with Mitch, and Avi, and the rest, but he or she would draw the line at Kevin. Kevin is a polymath. Polymaths are the people geniuses look at and say, "Boy, I wish I had a brain like that." Leonardo da Vinci was a polymath. Richard Feynman was a polymath. Isaac Asimov was a polymath. Kevin Olusola is a polymath. He has a pre-med degree from Yale, and was accepted to Yale Medical School before he decided to become a professional musician instead. He speaks five languages: English, French, German, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese. He has perfect pitch. He's been classically trained since childhood on piano, saxophone, and cello. When he was a teenager he performed at Carnegie Hall, twice, once on the saxophone and once on the cello. He beatboxes while playing the cello, a technique he refers to as "celloboxing." And when he laughs the whole world seems like a brighter place.
Kevin is generally too busy being the entire percussion section of Pentatonix to sing, but he does sing every once in a while. He has a lovely tenor voice which occasionally descends to the upper end of the baritone range, and is known for the great beauty of his falsetto. He's also been known to rap on occasion, and is an accomplished dancer.
Two other things:
1. When you hear pentaholics refer to "the trio," they mean Mitch, Kirstie, and Scott. If I tried to go into the backstory here my comment would get too long for RUclips to handle, so I'll leave it for another time.
2. Mitch and Kirstin change their appearance frequently. Think of them as chameleons and you won't be far off. People sometimes think they see someone new in Pentatonix when it's really Kirstin or Mitch. So with these two, rely on the voice, not their looks, to identify them. Avi is the ONLY person who has ever left Pentatonix, and Matt is the ONLY new member (though at this point Matt has been with Pentatonix for as long as Avi was, and shows no sign of ever leaving, so he's not really "new" any more).
If you liked this one I would recommend checking out an original of theirs called 'Love Again' it's very Daft Punkesque with the EDM groove to it! The girl is Kirstin or Kirsty (Rhymes with Thirsty), Tall guy with the white hair is Scott, Kevin is the beatboxer, Mitch is the dark haired one with the high voice. He is a natural Counter Tenor and can go as high as Soprano and the Dark haired guy with the mustache goatee is Avi (Ah-Vee) and he's a natural Baso Profundo who left the group in 2017 for personal and family reasons, he was replaced by Matt the other black guy who has a really nice higher register he can go up to
Pentatonix is so crazy talented, they feel almost alien, and Mitch IMO is an alien from a galaxy *WTF* 🤣😂🤣I haven't checked your playlist for Pentatonix yet, but if you haven't already, would love you to react to their Evolution of Michael Jackson!!!
more Pentatonix please. they are awesome.
Pentatonix is the GOAT! Check theor cover of New Rules x Are You That Somebody and also their cover of Can't Hold Us. Complete fire 🔥
Okay, I'm running short of time, but here's a SHORT history of Pentatonix.
Mitch, Scott, and Kirstie all grew up in Arlington, Texas. All three were involved in community musical theater when they were children, which is where Mitch met both of the others; I think he was 8 or 9 years old at the time. Scott and Kirstie didn't meet each other until they were in the same class in high school, however.
In high school, they were all choir geeks (duh), and quickly became best friends. They formed a trio (not so creatively named "The Trio") to enter a competition to meet the cast of _Glee._ They lost the competition, but kept The Trio together and performed at school functions and occasionally on local television.
Scott and Kirstie were a year ahead of Mitch, and graduated in 2010. Scott went to college in southern California, and Kirstie went to college in Oklahoma, but at the end of their freshman year they both came back to Arlington, because Scott had an idea. While at college Scott had been looking for extracurricular activities where he could meet people and make some new friends and he'd joined an a cappella group named SoCal VoCals, where he'd met a man named Ben Bram. At the time, Ben was a coach on an a cappella television competion show on NBC, named _The Sing-Off._ A cappella groups would audition, and those who made it onto the show would perform several times throughout the season. After the twelfth performance voting would be opened to viewers, and the winning group would win $200,000 and a recording contract with a minor subsidiary of the show's sponsor, Sony.
Scott wanted The Trio to audition for _The Sing-Off._ If they could win it, they could make a career for themselves doing something they loved, and the three best friends could stay together. He apparently didn't have much trouble talking Mitch and Kirstie into it, and then he called Ben Bram to find out how to get an audition, which is when they ran into their first problem: _The Sing-Off_ had a size limit. Bands had to have at least five members. The Trio needed two new members and a different name.
Ben suggested that they'd do well to add a rhythm section: a bass and a beatboxer. For a bass he recommended a guy he knew named Avi Kaplan, and Avi agreed to join them, but Ben had no idea where they should look for a beatboxer. So in desperation they went to RUclips and typed "beatboxer" into the search engine. And the first hit they got was this black guy playing the cello and beatboxing at the same time. And they all said "Wow! That's the guy! Let's get him!" But how? Well, at the time RUclips had something called RUclips Messenger, which would allow private messages between users (no longer available), so they messaged Kevin. "Hey, we really like what you do, and would you be interested in flying across the country to audition for an a cappella television show with a group of strangers?"
And Kevin messaged them back: "Normally I'd be right there; I love a cappella and have been involved with it before. But right now I'm studying for my finals for my pre-med degree from Yale."
Oh dear. That sounded pretty definitive. Better find someone else. But no one else was that good. And two weeks later they got another message from Kevin. "Good news. I got the degree. If the gig's still open I can fly out and join you."
The name Pentatonix is a reference to the pentatonic scale, a scale with five (penta) notes just as Pentatonix has five (Penta) singers. (And judging by history, we're lucky they didn't call themselves "The Quintet.")
Kevin arrived the day before their audition. Mitch had to skip his high school graduation ceremony to attend the audition. But they aced it, and were on the show. They appeared throughout season 3 of _The Sing-Off_ (that was the 2011 season), and eventually won. They all moved to California to take up their duties and begin recording music, and a week later the recording label dropped them, saying that they didn't know how to market a cappella.
But after all that, Pentatonix wasn't willing to give up on their dream. So they pooled their winnings; the men shared two apartments; they lived frugally; and they got busy arranging and performing music. They used their iPhones to record themselves anywhere they could find good acoustics, and then they posted to RUclips, where they quickly gained a following and began to get some patrons. And Sony took notice, and offered them another recording contract with a slightly more prestigious subsidiary, which they grabbed. And then came their "Daft Punk Medley." They recorded the audio in one of their closets, for the good acoustics. The location where they'd planned to record the video fell through at the last minute, so they recorded it in one of their kitchens. Their total budget was $400, and it brought them their first Grammy. And again, Sony took notice. This time Sony suggested that, just maybe, they'd be interested in a contract that Sony thought would make a better fit for them, Sony's premier label, RCA. Pentatonix has been with RCA ever since, and doing very well indeed.
All of their performances on _The Sing-Off_ are available on RUclips, and they're fascinating to watch, preferably in order so you can see how they grew during the season. If you're interested in reacting to them I can provide you with links. There are a couple of the performances that are as good as anything they've come up with since (which is saying a LOT), and are available only on the recordings from _The Sing-Off._
This song/video won them their first of three Grammy's. Here's a clip from the win, shot on Scott's (the tall blonde one) parents' TV as they watched from home. ruclips.net/video/2BNaVcMMJvM/видео.html
PTX 🔥❤️🙌
Pentatonix is incredible. I’m glad you’re going down the rabbit hole! Subbed to follow you down it! 💛xo
Same! Love following reactors down the PtX rabbithole!!!!
Glad to hear you're sticking with the Pentatonix journey. Yep, the trio of Scott, Kirstie, and Mitch grew up in the same town in Texas, and they added Avi and Kevin to audition for The Sing Off season 3, eleven years ago, which they won, and Pentatonix hasn't stopped since. Avi left the group amicably in 2017, and Matt replaces him, so depending on where a song you react to exists on their timeline, it could be either Avi or Matt on bass. There are no other changes in personnel, but be aware that Kirstie and Mitch change up their style regularly, so you may not recognize it's them at first, but it always is.
I like Mad World, Havana and New Rules! Actually love everything they do.,
Pentatonix
They won The Sing Off in 2011. They made a guest starring appearance on America′s Got Talent as non−competitors a couple of years after that.
The founding members are:-
Scott Hoying (tall blond guy, natural baritone but has an impressive five−to−six octave range, can go all the way up to high tenor and down to bass, sings the bass lines when the usual bass singer takes the lead);
Kirstin "Kirstie" (Rhymes with "Thirsty") Maldonado (the only female member, natural mezzo soprano, but can go down to low alto and as high as upper soprano, also can sing in whistle notes that are off the scale); For a time in 2018 between the group’s tours, had the female lead on Broadway in the production of “Kinky Boots”.
Mitch Grassi (a true contra−tenor, can hit high notes in his chest voice with ease and go WAY higher in his falsetto, also with ease);
Avriel "Avi" Kaplan (dark beard and long hair), true basso profundo, trained as an opera singer, also can go up into the tenor range; and
Kevin "KO" Olusola (beatboxer extraordinaire, also is a world−class cellist who plays cello on some of their songs, has a beautiful high tenor voice and gets occasional lead vocal solos as well, graduated pre−med from Yale and speaks several languages including Mandarin Chinese).
Kirstie, Scott & Mitch grew up together in Arlington, Texas, and began performing together as children in local youth musical theater. They ended up in high school together and performed in the choir. While there, they formed an a cappella group called The Trio which had several performance videos go viral on RUclips, most notably a cover of Lady Gaga′s "Telephone". The three of them are best friends and consider themselves to be almost siblings.
Scott & Kirstie (who were a class year ahead of Mitch) both graduated high school in 2010 and went their separate ways to different colleges, Scott at USC and Kirstie at Oklahoma.
While at USC, Scott joined a USC−based a cappella group called the SoCal VoCals, where he met alumnus Ben Bram, who was now an arranger and vocal coach for the NBC TV show The Sing Off, an a cappella competition show. Ben convinced Scott to get The Trio to audition for the show. The three reunited (Mitch had to skip high school graduation ceremonies to go) in Los Angeles for the audition.
They found out that the rules had changed, so they needed at least five members to audition. Ben put them together with Avi (a native of Visalia, California), who he knew from Avi′s performing days at Mount San Antonio College in California. They found Kevin (from Kentucky) through one of his RUclips videos that had gone viral featuring him playing the cello and beatboxing at the same time, a talent that Kevin coined as "Cello−Boxing".
Kevin arrived in Los Angeles literally the day before the audition! Scott came up with the name "Pentatonix" after the pentatonic scale. They performed a re−arrangement of "The Telephone" for the audition and passed, despite having been together as a five−piece group for less that 24 hours!
They won The Sing Off that season (all of the performances are available on RUclips), in which they received a substantial cash prize AND a record contract with Epic Records. They pooled their prize winnings together and all moved to Los Angeles, and all got apartments right next door to each other in the same building.
But just a week later, Epic dropped them because the marketing people didn′t think an a cappella group could sell records.
Instead of giving up, they were determined and began recording their own songs on RUclips, hiring Ben Bram as their producer and arranger. These usually consisted of the five of them sitting on a couch and performing cover songs live.
Several of the videos went viral, and Sony (the parent company of Epic) decided to give them another chance by placing them on one of their smaller labels, Madison Gate. They released two secular EPs and one Christmas EP on Madison Gate, all of which were strong sellers.
But when their cove r of a medley of songs by Daft Punk not only went super−viral, but also won them their first Grammy, they were promoted all the way up to RCA Records, Sony′s top label.
They began writing and producing their own songs in addition to their covers, began putting out a Christmas album just about annually (which has become their best−selling genre), and have had multi−platinum album sales, sold−out world tours, and have won two additional Grammys.
Avi began getting burned out with all of the touring and heavy recording schedule, was suffering from anxiety and personal problems, and learned that his mother had been diagnosed with cancer in 2017. He announced he was departing from the group and taking some time away from the music industry.
Matt Sallee (from Baltimore) joined them in September 2017. He did only become official when they renewed their RCA contract in February 2018, but he recorded with them in September as a featured artist and went on their Christmas tour as a featured artist, as well. When he attended the audition for the group, he had already mastered the Bass part for most if not all their past catalogue. He was successful and has proved that he fits in well with the group.
If you think there have been other changes to the line up - look again. This is the ONLY change. Kirstie and Mitch are like chameleons and change looks frequently.
After a year away from music, Avi has now returned as a phenomenal solo artist in the Folk/Americana/Roots genre.
Ben Bram has been in charge of their production, including arranging and directing from the beginning. He is often referred to as the sixth member. Scott and Kevin are major players in the arrangements, but every member contributes. A good watch is "The Recording of Evergreen" where a camera was invited into the studio for the second week of recording/
Also, all members are songwriters for both Pentatonix and their own solo work.
Ed Boyer who mixes everything of theirs (even the HWB Livestream) is the one who pulled Ben Bram into the sing off in the first place.
They were nominated for a 4th Grammy for their album Evergreen, but didn't win.
Kirstie became a new mum which caused a pause in touring after their Evergreen Christmas tour 2021. Mid March 2023 Kirstie has announced that she is engaged to Ben Hausdorff, their videographer. No dates YET!
They have a star on the Hollywood walk of fame installed in February 2023. They are the only a capella group with a star!
They came 3rd in the 2023 Masked Singer performing as "California Rolls" being unmasked in May 23.
Things you need to know because if you get these wrong Pentaholics will come after you with pitch forks and torches! Ha Ha!!
1- There is NO Auto-Tune; what you hear is actually what they sing. They really are that good. One exception is the 90's Dance Medley where Cher used autotune as an effect - so they had to.
2- What produces everything that you hear in the video, you see in the official video. If there is an instrument used in the music, you see it on screen. In the 2022 Christmas album, there are some instruments not featured throughout the album.
3- They never release something on video they can’t reproduce with the exact same quality live on-stage.
They received a grammy for this arrangment
Recommend their cover of Can You Feel The Love Tonight.
The editor of this video deserved an award too. It's incredible.
I adore Home Free. PTX is more my preferred lane of music.
Hope you continue the PTX rabble hole.
Thank you for sharing your time with us. ☮️
Great reaction! Please check out their "evolution" videos where they take 10-25 songs and put them together seamlessly in one video! A couple favorites are Evolution of Music, Evolution of Michael Jackson and Evolution of Rihanna. As others probably mentioned, if you watch a PTX video dated after 2017, you'll see that the bass guy in this one, Avi Kaplan, was replaced by a young black guy, Matt Sallee, who is also a wonderful bass. The first two evolution videos I mentioned are with Avi and the last one is with Matt. The other four singers have been with the group since they started in 2011. Looking forward to more PTX reactions - and you said Pentatonix exactly right!
Nice reaction. Thank you. More Pentatonix reactions please.
Love Again, Popspring 2016, Can’t Hold Us, …oh so many ahead of you. They are the absolute MASTERS of arranging!!
Amazing Grace, Can You Feel The Love Tonight, The Prayer, Say Something, and if you're a tad in the Christmas spirit, O Come All Ye Faithful (hands down the best version you'll ever hear)
And yes the were on the TV show the Sing-Off and had to add Kevin and Avi fir the tv competition
They just released a new cover of Creep that is a must see. It's Phenomenal! I personally like the live version from The Masked Singer after they were unmasked. It gives me chills every time!
I’d love to see you check out one of their live videos - “Evolution of Beyoncé” and “Gold” both have live official videos and they’re incredible!
Great reaction! I am enjoying taking this ride with you into the world of Pentatonix! This group you just listened to is who I call BabyTonix because it was before 2017 - They had a member change from Avi (the guy with the beard and very low voice), to Matt who is an amazing singer and just fits the Pentatonix family perfectly, so as you walk this path, know that the other four (Mitch, Kevin, Scott and Kirsty will change their looks (some drastically as they grow up), but it's still the same people - there are NO other changes - They were recently on The Masked Singer as The California Rolls (they wanted to try something new and different) so they do have music behind them as they sing (they are not supposed to let the audience know who they are), anyway, after they removed their masks they sang CREEP, which has become one of my favorite songs from them, but it has to be THIS one with them in costume - anyway, click here if you are interested in reacting to this - I think you will appreciate it - ruclips.net/video/u8yZ4ZW9Pwk/видео.html
Great Reaction!!
I was subscribed to you already, but now that you're doing PTX and Home Free...I'll be watching you even more!
Nice reaction!
Kanye heard that sample from Daft Punk, liked it, used it, then had to pay up to deft punk since he didn't get permission lol
This was in Avi's closet, notice he has no shirt on, lol, Cost $400
Suggest you listen to their evolution of Micheal Jackson
made in kitchen with 400 dollars
I like old Daft Punk but I thought that was cheesy and over-relied on Get Lucky (their most pop song IMO)
you could def check out old Daft Punk just not Get Lucky!