Kevin Oh-loo-sho-la. So glad you loved the cello solo! If by expert you include those who have performed at Carnegie Hall, well, Kevin has twice! Once playing cello and once playing saxophone! Most Pentaholics consider Kevin to be a savant. He sings, beatboxes, plays cello & Sax, writes, arranges, speaks fluent Chinese & graduated Pre-med from Yale. He has a strong faith and is the one who keeps their lyrics PG-ish! He has a huge heart and his laugh is everything! So glad you’re getting into his KOvers!
He is a 7th Day Adventist that is a very far right religious group that caused problems in the Sing-Off for them over portraying sexual desire or swearing.
@@gailseatonhumbert9199 how does this bit of information fit into the conversation? Confused by the need to mention this. Not trying to be snarky, just curious.
@@gailseatonhumbert9199 He is in a band/group with two members of the LGBTQ community so his views about his friends and associates is made plain by the mutual respect inherent in their association. Really shouldn’t have even been a topic worthy of consideration.
@@Texastigerdigsdetects so? Did his feelings regarding expressing sexuality of any kind not cause issues during the Sing-Off? I believe they did. No "booty" for example. Correct? You assume alot.
@@neotheboxer6015 because of the need to alter lyrics and the intended emotional content of songs they are performing to avoid Kevin's religious belief objections often changing it from the original meaning intended by the song writer for example.
I’m not a cellist (I can’t play any instrument, really), but I’ve heard Kevin 1) placed second in a contest run by Yo Yo Ma for young cellists, and 2) was first cello in the Yale orchestra while he was there. So, yeah, I’d say Kevin’s definitely above average cellist.
(2) is pretty much true (the Yale Symphony Orchestra had rotating principal cellists, of whom he was one). But (1) needs some correcting. It was on online competition not for cellists, but for creativity ("Celebrate and Collaborate With Yo-Yo Ma"), for aspiring musicians to create something new from a given musical theme. Two co-winners were announced, a heavy metal guitarist and a handbell choir arranger. Kevin was named for honorable mention for his celloboxing rendition. (I would say that's third place, as there were two winners above him, but I see that some call it second.) I nitpick about this because the facts seem to have become inflated over the years, and Kevin is good enough not to need any such enhancement. I would say that Kevin plays at the level of a graduate of a first-rate conservatory -- which is extraordinary, because he never attended a conservatory at all. He is a really good cellist.
@@steveeverett1736 well yes, regarding his music ability, but there's more to him than just that, right? I mean, he's just an all around amazing human being. 😍
Out of this world is the best description I can come up with. He was not born here on earth lol...but he is blessings us with his amazing abilities, and I thank him so much for it! Nothing but love for him and his families. 💞
Kevin is an incredible talent. Bach's Prelude is my favorite piece. Normally I cringe at the thought of the Classics being messed with. This is an exception. KO enhanced it. I'm not an expert but from what I understand, beatboxing while playing the cello is extremely difficult and he seems to do it with ease. Great reaction. Thank you for doing both of these videos.
Kevin mentioned in an interview that it took him almost a year to figure out how to make his electric cello sound like a guitar. It was worth it for us!
He has played in International Cello competition and placed second in YoYo Ma’s competition and played Carnegie Hall as a Teenager on Cello and saxophone in other words he is darn good aka great
I have so much more respect for Kevin, the more I learn about him over time. He is more than a triple-threat, he can seemingly do it all - play the cello (Beyonce), beatbox, cello-box (lol), sing, rap, speak multiple languages, etc...etc...etc. He is truly gifted and seems to be a genuinely nice person from what I have seen on top of it all. He is awesome.
I haven’t watched a ton of their vlogs, but in the behind the scenes on tour footage I have seen, Kevin always seems to be practicing beatboxing everywhere he goes, or in one he spoke Mandarin all day. The guy is one of a kind!
As a non-professuonal cellist he is pretty darn amazing. You asked about his breathing, he explains in some video how he actually makes sound as he breathes in, so he literally never has to stop for a breath. You also asked about how long it takes him to learn the beatbox and cello part. I dont know how long it takes him now, but if I am remembering right he said in an interview the first full song he did it took him a year of working on before he was happy with it.
Jacob: Trivia for you: Pentatonix was looking to add something to their group. While on RUclips they saw Kevin with his cello and beatboxing and they snapped him up. He is an accomplished and multi-talented musician.
Kevin is a classic underachiever. Has an undergrad in pre-med (I think), is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, is a virtuoso cellist, can sing, writes music, and is a 3 time grammy winning arranger and performer. Like I said. His parents must be so disappointed. 😂
Kirstin has done Broadway and has a solo EP as well. Mitch I believe is pushing out new solo content as well. I love that they take time to grow as individuals.
Musicians at his level sing in their heads. They know where they are going musically and know how to give a voice to their instruments. Kevin’s solo is not just a series a scale and variations on a specific key, he makes his cello sing. What a talented, beautiful human being! Love Kevin! I really appreciate your reaction and comments. 🤗
Thank you for your reaction to Down. I have watched and listened to this video many times but now, with the information you shared I will appreciate it all the more.
I love Kevin. Interestingly, you were talking about muscle memory; it carries over to many areas. I was visiting an assisted living facility and people who could not remember their own names or find their rooms were proficient at other activities. One man was singing hymns and did not "forget" a word. One lady was crocheting and not missing a stitch. When someone asked her to show them what she was doing, she could not. When thinking about it, she did not even know what crocheting was, but her muscle memory certainly did! I saw where you and Brad had been off doing your thing!
Here is a video of Yo-Yo Ma playing the same piece of music on his cello. It is like any two musicians or even singers performing the same piece of music. The notes are the same, the piece of music is the same, but a lot of it is in how the musician/singer performs the piece - or how they are able to pass along their emotion when they are performing. You can listen to each of these pieces, and see how Kevin and Ma's rendition of the piece is basically the same, but there are subtle nuances. I would describe it like two different people that are driving the same car, but at different times. If you were to be a passenger in each car, you would arrive at the same destination, but because of how they drive, each experience would be slightly different - maybe one driver liked to hit the brakes a little harder, the other a more gradual stop, etc. Same with musicians playing the same piece of music. Anyway, Kevin won second place in a Yo-Yo Ma competition his junior year of college - when he started cello-boxing. And if you thought this was good, please check out Kevin's video of him performing his own composition called "Renegade". It is unbelievable! Here is Yo-Yo Ma performing the same piece Kevin did ruclips.net/video/1prweT95Mo0/видео.html&ab_channel=YoYoMaVEVO
I believe Yo Yo Ma also encouraged Kevin to take a shot at a music career instead of med school after he graduated from Yale. Kevin had been runner up in a competition to travel and perform with Yo Yo Ma.
To hear about how he started and more of his story, check out the podcast episode of "Ugh, you're so good" where he's interviewed. And frankly, that whole podcast series is amazing .
From things I've seen and read bout online, cello is his preferred instrument to play but he also can (obviously) beat-box, so he's like his own drum-kit, and he plays saxophone (there's video of him playing a jazz saxophone piece at Carnegie Hall as a teenager prior to going to college at Yale), and he actually plays piano pretty decently too. Also, regarding his beat-boxing, watch that piece where he plays sax at Carnegie Hall; he's asked to beat-box as a kind of response to different situations, so, like situational beat-box improv. I think that's why there's so much variation throughout his performance here; he's going with what he feels rhythmically on the spot at that particular moment. I bet if he were to do a 2nd take of this video, the beat would differ slightly, based on how he felt during that take... If you've seen Pentatonix play the original song that Scott wrote with his partner 'Thank You' you'll see that Scott can also play piano. I have no idea what instruments any of the others might play (I think Matt plays actual drums), but crazy as it sounds, there's even more musical talent there than just what you see in a Pentatonix production. And that.....is downright mind-blowing. Oh, and last but not least, I really love your reactions. I know a tiny bit about music, (mostly through singing in church choir, reading books, watching you-tube videos, etc.), but I know next to nothing about the production side of things, and having commentary from someone who knows how that all works helps me better appreciate artists who are skilled enough to do what KO did here. It helps me understand how much skill is actually there. Thank you, sir.
In all of their evolution videos, Kevin makes all the transitions from song to song work because he introduces a different, complex, and familiar beat for each song. Some of the songs are only one or two lines, but he transitions through seamlessly. I get tired just thinking about it. The guy is amazing.
Where I come from when someone is as amazing as Kevin and start listing all their activities... Such... He's a Cellist, a beatboxer, a great singer, pre-med graduate (we add) and sells pozole every Sunday! Hahaha, great reaction.
As a cellist, he is quite skillful. He has good posture, good fingering, and excellent bow control and usage. He's also known for having perfect pitch. I believe he's preformed the cello at Carnegie hall. He's an exceptional musician.
He also has a lot of cool snippets on his IGTV, I love BTS's 'Dynamite' by him. An the cello with beatboxing piece ' Juli-o'. Sometimes he does Instagramm live whilst he produces music. So interesting.
One of the other best solos by a stringed instrument played with distortion I've ever seen is Emilie Autumn's song Face The Wall. It's basically just a seven-minute electric violin solo by an artist who was at one point training to be a concert-level violinist. I don't think there's a particularly clear live video unfortunately but she's musically very good at composition and technically quite talented, definitely worth checking out.
Fantastic reaction and analysis!! I've seen him perform this live more than once and each time the audience is almost completely silent during the performance and then erupts in crazy, insane applause when he is done. It's always a highlight of their concerts for me.
He was encouraged to cellobox while in China as an exchange student, but he has been beatboxing for friends and groups since high school. I recommend checking out his track, Renegade for more celloboxing amazement. But everything on his channel is fire, Even his side group, Triptyq, stuff. I'm glad that you did a recent and older video side by side with him though. His early stuff is amazing, but now that he's singing it's on another level.
As far as his cellist chops -- he won 2nd place in a competition judged by Yo Yo Ma (think Jimmi Hendrix of cello) and has performed on cello (and saxophone) in Carnegie Hall. He's really, really good.
Kevin Olusola, the group's beatboxer, is a Yale graduate (pre-med). He speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese, loves classical music, and plays piano, cello, and saxophone. He had performed at Carnegie Hall twice as soloist on the cello and saxophone and has appeared on NPR’s “From The Top.” In 2009, he won second place in an international cello competition hosted by Yo-Yo Ma. In 2011, his “Julie-O” RUclips video was featured by CBS, AOL, Huffington Post and the Washington Post, among others. He was named one of 100 “History Makers in the Making” by TheGrio and was chosen by Quincy Jones to represent him in concert at the 2012 Montreux Jazz Festival alongside Bobby McFerrin and Chick Corea. Due to the reneging on the award of a record contract to Pentatonix after the Sing-Off competition that they won at the end of 2011 Avi and Kevin Olusola became roommates (the 2 straight guys) as did Scott and Mitch (the 2 gay guys who also formed Superfruit). This actually was a happy accident because Avi and Kevin wound up composing music for Pentatonix together. (They did still get the $200,000 prize). One very interesting piece they wrote together was Love Again. Completely out of the musical background of Kevin the instrumentalist and Avi the classical and opera trained singer. Kevin has always had a separate cello solo on Pentatonix live performances.
I was slightly sad when he started in on the Bach because it was so strictly timed and lacked a lot of dynamics like the Yo Yo Ma version. But when he started celloboxing, I realized why. Probably would have been exponentially harder to add those things while also trying to beatbox. This looks like from when he was younger, too, so I imagine he's much better at his technique than he was then. I wonder if he'd be able to add those dynamics in timing and intensity to the cello while also beatboxing. I think so. Kev is a grandmaster at the cello and also the piano and sax, I believe? He's the most multi talented member of PTX in my opinion. (still miss Avi!)
I have heard Kevin explain why he started what he terms, "celloboxing". While he was in China, on a Yale fellowship, he became familiar with a Chinese term which means to add two separate things into something unique. That's when he started his beatboxing while playing the cello. The video he made while "celloboxing" went viral and was how Scott Hoying found Kevin to ask him if he would join Pentatonix.
Kevin has perfect pitch. It's kinda necessary to play cello, which is fretless. But he does. You should watch the original version of Down. You'll Kevin paid homage to the original throughout the video, including the single piano note.
Just watched this video. For Kevin's breathing, I believe he's doing an inward snare beat. In beatboxing, there are inward and outward variations of beats to help beatboxers in finding breath while continuing the beat. So, when he's doing that snare sound he's basically inhaling and the other beats are produced during him exhaling. In theory, a beatboxer could continue the beat for hours as long as he is using inward techniques.
There’s also a video of him being honored at Carnegie Hall at 18 here on YT for his many high school achievements. He played the Saxophone at that time
King Kevin! He’s the reason why so many of us have no talent whatsoever: he took more than his fair share. Have you heard him play the saxophone? I also think you may enjoy this performance with Jacob Szekely (playing Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t she lovely”) : ruclips.net/video/bqvm0oWUmdw/видео.html
Yes! I loved his performance with Jacob Szekely, just wished they gave him a mic for beatboxing because he was doing it at the beginning and then let it go.
By the way, Kevin's standard cello is named Beyonce. The electric cello is Mr. Carter. When youngsters learn to play the cello they put small strips of tape on it so they know were to place their fingers without frets. He's definitely above average.😊 He probably has this piece memorized - one of the most played cello pieces if you study classical for several years.
Kevin has been celloboxing longer than he's been Pentatonix-ing. His viral cellobox video is how PTX discovered him and it's why they invited him into their group. They even paid for his plane ticket to California for The Sing-Off. First time they met as a group was the day before the auditions for the show. The rest, as they say, is history...
Kevin and Avi shared a room on tours. Avi has classical training in opera. Avi taught him how to sing. Since Kevin is Kevin, he train to go beyond your average singer. If you listen, his lyrics are crisp, including vowels.
Kevin could already sing. When he was at Andover, he was in one of their acappella groups (the Yorkies). Avi helped him improve to professional performance level. And yes, having perfect pitch helps!
Kevin is an amazing cellist. Playing this and beatboxing is like walking, chewing gum and doing quantum physics at the same time. Oh. And after Yale, he decided to put medical school on hold to join PTX. His advisor told him med school will always be there. He is also fluent in Mandarin. There is a 4or 5 ish part bio of short videos on his page that is a very interesting insight into him and how insanely smart and talented he is. V
From what I've read Ed Sheeran outgrew the RC loop stations a while ago. They were ok for smaller gigs/venues, but they didn't sound good at bigger places, plus his loops were getting complex with many layers and they were having compression issues. He now runs custom built loopers with a board at his feet running into a plugin called Mobius (not sure what DAW he uses but ableton would make sense for live). Search for ed sheeran chewie monsta, or chewie II to see the boards. They are crazy compared to your average looper.
Real good beatboxers learn to perform some of their sounds on intake of air, so that they can maintain continuity while continuing to breath. I don't beat box, but the amount of mental planning to be able to do that is mind blowing.
Great reaction! There are never strong enough adjectives to describe Kevin's talent. By the way his classical cello that he used in the second video is named Beyoncé. :)
Stop worrying about pausing the video too much. If I want a hear the video uninterrupted I'll go watch the original presentation. I am here for your reaction and knowledge of the music.
Here is a link to a reaction/review by a professional voice teacher (Tara Simmons Studios). ruclips.net/video/54Wjr4rnCuI/видео.html It's great how her perspective is similar is some ways to Mr. Restituto's yet also different in that she focuses purely on the aspects of Kevin's voice while Mr. Restituto focuses more on the technical aspects and equipment. By putting the two together, we can learn so much more about not only Kevin Olusola's technical and vocal talents but also start to see his genius is putting it all together into not just a technical performance but what is truly a journey through the world of music. Read some of the other comments on this video to gain some insight into what kind of talent KO really is.
Conclusion. KO is a crazy good musician and we all adore his music: Be it on cello, singing, saxophone, piano/keyboard, beatboxing, or some sick cra-cray good combination of the above (if i've left any of his musical talents out, please forgive me. Unlike him, i'm only human xD)
I *think* this is the video of Kevin cello-boxing that was found by Scott Hoying pre-Pentatonix when they were looking for a beat-boxer for The Sing-Off: ruclips.net/video/2TK3KvDwubI/видео.html
Kevin is definitely world class. If there remains any doubt, check out his original "Renegade". ruclips.net/video/gouiY85kD2o/видео.html He does several outstanding looping covers, like Harry Styles "Sign of the Times". ruclips.net/video/hBFlhLEU7uU/видео.html I look forward to more from you.
Kevin Oh-loo-sho-la. So glad you loved the cello solo! If by expert you include those who have performed at Carnegie Hall, well, Kevin has twice! Once playing cello and once playing saxophone! Most Pentaholics consider Kevin to be a savant. He sings, beatboxes, plays cello & Sax, writes, arranges, speaks fluent Chinese & graduated Pre-med from Yale. He has a strong faith and is the one who keeps their lyrics PG-ish! He has a huge heart and his laugh is everything! So glad you’re getting into his KOvers!
He is a 7th Day Adventist that is a very far right religious group that caused problems in the Sing-Off for them over portraying sexual desire or swearing.
@@gailseatonhumbert9199 how does this bit of information fit into the conversation? Confused by the need to mention this. Not trying to be snarky, just curious.
@@gailseatonhumbert9199 He is in a band/group with two members of the LGBTQ community so his views about his friends and associates is made plain by the mutual respect inherent in their association. Really shouldn’t have even been a topic worthy of consideration.
@@Texastigerdigsdetects so? Did his feelings regarding expressing sexuality of any kind not cause issues during the Sing-Off? I believe they did. No "booty" for example. Correct? You assume alot.
@@neotheboxer6015 because of the need to alter lyrics and the intended emotional content of songs they are performing to avoid Kevin's religious belief objections often changing it from the original meaning intended by the song writer for example.
I’m not a cellist (I can’t play any instrument, really), but I’ve heard Kevin 1) placed second in a contest run by Yo Yo Ma for young cellists, and 2) was first cello in the Yale orchestra while he was there. So, yeah, I’d say Kevin’s definitely above average cellist.
(2) is pretty much true (the Yale Symphony Orchestra had rotating principal cellists, of whom he was one). But (1) needs some correcting. It was on online competition not for cellists, but for creativity ("Celebrate and Collaborate With Yo-Yo Ma"), for aspiring musicians to create something new from a given musical theme. Two co-winners were announced, a heavy metal guitarist and a handbell choir arranger. Kevin was named for honorable mention for his celloboxing rendition. (I would say that's third place, as there were two winners above him, but I see that some call it second.)
I nitpick about this because the facts seem to have become inflated over the years, and Kevin is good enough not to need any such enhancement. I would say that Kevin plays at the level of a graduate of a first-rate conservatory -- which is extraordinary, because he never attended a conservatory at all. He is a really good cellist.
I don't think there's actually a word in the English language to describe Kevin, but yes, amazing is a good place to start! 😊
possibly 'savant'?
@@steveeverett1736 well yes, regarding his music ability, but there's more to him than just that, right? I mean, he's just an all around amazing human being. 😍
Out of this world is the best description I can come up with. He was not born here on earth lol...but he is blessings us with his amazing abilities, and I thank him so much for it! Nothing but love for him and his families. 💞
Kevin is an incredible talent. Bach's Prelude is my favorite piece. Normally I cringe at the thought of the Classics being messed with. This is an exception. KO enhanced it. I'm not an expert but from what I understand, beatboxing while playing the cello is extremely difficult and he seems to do it with ease. Great reaction. Thank you for doing both of these videos.
Kevin mentioned in an interview that it took him almost a year to figure out how to make his electric cello sound like a guitar. It was worth it for us!
He has played in International Cello competition and placed second in YoYo Ma’s competition and played Carnegie Hall as a Teenager on Cello and saxophone in other words he is darn good aka great
I have so much more respect for Kevin, the more I learn about him over time. He is more than a triple-threat, he can seemingly do it all - play the cello (Beyonce), beatbox, cello-box (lol), sing, rap, speak multiple languages, etc...etc...etc. He is truly gifted and seems to be a genuinely nice person from what I have seen on top of it all. He is awesome.
I haven’t watched a ton of their vlogs, but in the behind the scenes on tour footage I have seen, Kevin always seems to be practicing beatboxing everywhere he goes, or in one he spoke Mandarin all day. The guy is one of a kind!
He is classically trained and played with Yo Yo Ma soooooo yeah, hes an amazing talent all around.
In his performance at Carnegie Hall he plays saxophone but he also give some background information on how she started beatboxing
Here is a link to that video: ruclips.net/video/cg-WQl3YCVY/видео.html . He also talks about and demonstrates beatboxing in the video.
I love his version of Down, and also Sign of the times. I get them stuck in my head.
As a non-professuonal cellist he is pretty darn amazing. You asked about his breathing, he explains in some video how he actually makes sound as he breathes in, so he literally never has to stop for a breath. You also asked about how long it takes him to learn the beatbox and cello part. I dont know how long it takes him now, but if I am remembering right he said in an interview the first full song he did it took him a year of working on before he was happy with it.
He breathes in on the ”k” sound.
In addition to his other great qualities, Kevin has perfect pitch. The band has been filmed leaning on him to give them the right starting note.
Jacob: Trivia for you: Pentatonix was looking to add something to their group. While on RUclips they saw Kevin with his cello and beatboxing and they snapped him up. He is an accomplished and multi-talented musician.
Kevin is a classic underachiever. Has an undergrad in pre-med (I think), is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, is a virtuoso cellist, can sing, writes music, and is a 3 time grammy winning arranger and performer.
Like I said. His parents must be so disappointed. 😂
He also plays the saxophone and played at Carnegie Hall twice, once for cello and the other for saxophone.
I love your reviews/reactions! It's unbelievable all you can get out of these performances! Thanks for reacting to Pentatonix!
I knew you would appreciate his talent, he is ridiculously talented, as you can tell.
Kirstin has done Broadway and has a solo EP as well. Mitch I believe is pushing out new solo content as well. I love that they take time to grow as individuals.
Musicians at his level sing in their heads. They know where they are going musically and know how to give a voice to their instruments. Kevin’s solo is not just a series a scale and variations on a specific key, he makes his cello sing. What a talented, beautiful human being! Love Kevin! I really appreciate your reaction and comments. 🤗
nice!
I played the viola for 4 years... so yes... he's an amazing cellist.
Nice!
Thank you for your reaction to Down. I have watched and listened to this video many times but now, with the information you shared I will appreciate it all the more.
This reaction was so fun to watch!! Knew you’d enjoy his musicality!
I love Kevin. Interestingly, you were talking about muscle memory; it carries over to many areas. I was visiting an assisted living facility and people who could not remember their own names or find their rooms were proficient at other activities. One man was singing hymns and did not "forget" a word. One lady was crocheting and not missing a stitch. When someone asked her to show them what she was doing, she could not. When thinking about it, she did not even know what crocheting was, but her muscle memory certainly did! I saw where you and Brad had been off doing your thing!
Here is a video of Yo-Yo Ma playing the same piece of music on his cello. It is like any two musicians or even singers performing the same piece of music. The notes are the same, the piece of music is the same, but a lot of it is in how the musician/singer performs the piece - or how they are able to pass along their emotion when they are performing. You can listen to each of these pieces, and see how Kevin and Ma's rendition of the piece is basically the same, but there are subtle nuances. I would describe it like two different people that are driving the same car, but at different times. If you were to be a passenger in each car, you would arrive at the same destination, but because of how they drive, each experience would be slightly different - maybe one driver liked to hit the brakes a little harder, the other a more gradual stop, etc. Same with musicians playing the same piece of music. Anyway, Kevin won second place in a Yo-Yo Ma competition his junior year of college - when he started cello-boxing. And if you thought this was good, please check out Kevin's video of him performing his own composition called "Renegade". It is unbelievable! Here is Yo-Yo Ma performing the same piece Kevin did ruclips.net/video/1prweT95Mo0/видео.html&ab_channel=YoYoMaVEVO
I believe Yo Yo Ma also encouraged Kevin to take a shot at a music career instead of med school after he graduated from Yale. Kevin had been runner up in a competition to travel and perform with Yo Yo Ma.
To hear about how he started and more of his story, check out the podcast episode of "Ugh, you're so good" where he's interviewed. And frankly, that whole podcast series is amazing .
He is ...like ... insanely talented my favorite one is "Don't dream it's over"
He is as good of a cellist as he is beatboxer if that answers your question.
Down has to be one of the best musical performances ever recorded. It is flawless from beginning to end and done by one man. Its mind blowing.
🙏🏼
From things I've seen and read bout online, cello is his preferred instrument to play but he also can (obviously) beat-box, so he's like his own drum-kit, and he plays saxophone (there's video of him playing a jazz saxophone piece at Carnegie Hall as a teenager prior to going to college at Yale), and he actually plays piano pretty decently too. Also, regarding his beat-boxing, watch that piece where he plays sax at Carnegie Hall; he's asked to beat-box as a kind of response to different situations, so, like situational beat-box improv. I think that's why there's so much variation throughout his performance here; he's going with what he feels rhythmically on the spot at that particular moment. I bet if he were to do a 2nd take of this video, the beat would differ slightly, based on how he felt during that take... If you've seen Pentatonix play the original song that Scott wrote with his partner 'Thank You' you'll see that Scott can also play piano. I have no idea what instruments any of the others might play (I think Matt plays actual drums), but crazy as it sounds, there's even more musical talent there than just what you see in a Pentatonix production. And that.....is downright mind-blowing. Oh, and last but not least, I really love your reactions. I know a tiny bit about music, (mostly through singing in church choir, reading books, watching you-tube videos, etc.), but I know next to nothing about the production side of things, and having commentary from someone who knows how that all works helps me better appreciate artists who are skilled enough to do what KO did here. It helps me understand how much skill is actually there. Thank you, sir.
In all of their evolution videos, Kevin makes all the transitions from song to song work because he introduces a different, complex, and familiar beat for each song. Some of the songs are only one or two lines, but he transitions through seamlessly. I get tired just thinking about it. The guy is amazing.
Where I come from when someone is as amazing as Kevin and start listing all their activities... Such... He's a Cellist, a beatboxer, a great singer, pre-med graduate (we add) and sells pozole every Sunday! Hahaha, great reaction.
As a cellist, he is quite skillful. He has good posture, good fingering, and excellent bow control and usage. He's also known for having perfect pitch. I believe he's preformed the cello at Carnegie hall. He's an exceptional musician.
He also has a lot of cool snippets on his IGTV, I love BTS's 'Dynamite' by him. An the cello with beatboxing piece ' Juli-o'. Sometimes he does Instagramm live whilst he produces music. So interesting.
One of the other best solos by a stringed instrument played with distortion I've ever seen is Emilie Autumn's song Face The Wall. It's basically just a seven-minute electric violin solo by an artist who was at one point training to be a concert-level violinist. I don't think there's a particularly clear live video unfortunately but she's musically very good at composition and technically quite talented, definitely worth checking out.
Fantastic reaction and analysis!! I've seen him perform this live more than once and each time the audience is almost completely silent during the performance and then erupts in crazy, insane applause when he is done. It's always a highlight of their concerts for me.
You should look for his video playing the saxophone at Carnegie Hall when he was 17 yrs old.
He was encouraged to cellobox while in China as an exchange student, but he has been beatboxing for friends and groups since high school. I recommend checking out his track, Renegade for more celloboxing amazement. But everything on his channel is fire, Even his side group, Triptyq, stuff. I'm glad that you did a recent and older video side by side with him though. His early stuff is amazing, but now that he's singing it's on another level.
I love Triptyq. Their songs and videos are amazing. They are three of the most incredible musicians. Their EP is awesome.
Thanks for sharing this! I need to check them out for sure!
As far as his cellist chops -- he won 2nd place in a competition judged by Yo Yo Ma (think Jimmi Hendrix of cello) and has performed on cello (and saxophone) in Carnegie Hall. He's really, really good.
Yaaas finally some kevin moments ♡ and please do more superfruit!!
Kevin Olusola, the group's beatboxer, is a Yale graduate (pre-med). He speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese, loves classical music, and plays piano, cello, and saxophone. He had performed at Carnegie Hall twice as soloist on the cello and saxophone and has appeared on NPR’s “From The Top.” In 2009, he won second place in an international cello competition hosted by Yo-Yo Ma. In 2011, his “Julie-O” RUclips video was featured by CBS, AOL, Huffington Post and the Washington Post, among others. He was named one of 100 “History Makers in the Making” by TheGrio and was chosen by Quincy Jones to represent him in concert at the 2012 Montreux Jazz Festival alongside Bobby McFerrin and Chick Corea.
Due to the reneging on the award of a record contract to Pentatonix after the Sing-Off competition that they won at the end of 2011 Avi and Kevin Olusola became roommates (the 2 straight guys) as did Scott and Mitch (the 2 gay guys who also formed Superfruit). This actually was a happy accident because Avi and Kevin wound up composing music for Pentatonix together. (They did still get the $200,000 prize). One very interesting piece they wrote together was Love Again. Completely out of the musical background of Kevin the instrumentalist and Avi the classical and opera trained singer.
Kevin has always had a separate cello solo on Pentatonix live performances.
woah
@@JacobRestituto precisely. 🙂
Highly impressive.. just wow
I knew that you were going to enjoy the hell out of Kevin LoL Kevin Olusola is the beast at beatboxing and the cello!
I was slightly sad when he started in on the Bach because it was so strictly timed and lacked a lot of dynamics like the Yo Yo Ma version. But when he started celloboxing, I realized why. Probably would have been exponentially harder to add those things while also trying to beatbox. This looks like from when he was younger, too, so I imagine he's much better at his technique than he was then. I wonder if he'd be able to add those dynamics in timing and intensity to the cello while also beatboxing. I think so. Kev is a grandmaster at the cello and also the piano and sax, I believe? He's the most multi talented member of PTX in my opinion. (still miss Avi!)
I have heard Kevin explain why he started what he terms, "celloboxing". While he was in China, on a Yale fellowship, he became familiar with a Chinese term which means to add two separate things into something unique. That's when he started his beatboxing while playing the cello. The video he made while "celloboxing" went viral and was how Scott Hoying found Kevin to ask him if he would join Pentatonix.
Kevin has perfect pitch. It's kinda necessary to play cello, which is fretless. But he does. You should watch the original version of Down. You'll Kevin paid homage to the original throughout the video, including the single piano note.
Just watched this video. For Kevin's breathing, I believe he's doing an inward snare beat. In beatboxing, there are inward and outward variations of beats to help beatboxers in finding breath while continuing the beat. So, when he's doing that snare sound he's basically inhaling and the other beats are produced during him exhaling. In theory, a beatboxer could continue the beat for hours as long as he is using inward techniques.
HA welcome to the world of "what the heck did I just hear?" Kevin is a freaking alien I swear!! So talented on so many levels🤩
There’s also a video of him being honored at Carnegie Hall at 18 here on YT for his many high school achievements. He played the Saxophone at that time
Wow
King Kevin! He’s the reason why so many of us have no talent whatsoever: he took more than his fair share. Have you heard him play the saxophone? I also think you may enjoy this performance with Jacob Szekely (playing Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t she lovely”) : ruclips.net/video/bqvm0oWUmdw/видео.html
Yes! I loved his performance with Jacob Szekely, just wished they gave him a mic for beatboxing because he was doing it at the beginning and then let it go.
@@FayolaOnline True!
By the way, Kevin's standard cello is named Beyonce. The electric cello is Mr. Carter. When youngsters learn to play the cello they put small strips of tape on it so they know were to place their fingers without frets. He's definitely above average.😊 He probably has this piece memorized - one of the most played cello pieces if you study classical for several years.
🙌🙌🙌 for the KO love!
Yay! Thank you so much for reacting to this.
No problem 😊
Fantastic analysis and reaction, Jacob!
Thanks a ton!
I could listen to his Adele medley all day. Still probably my favorite of all of KO's solo works (ok not a solo, but not with PTX either lol).
Kevin Oh-lu-shu-la..or K.O is a GENIUS!!!🌟
Kevin has been celloboxing longer than he's been Pentatonix-ing. His viral cellobox video is how PTX discovered him and it's why they invited him into their group. They even paid for his plane ticket to California for The Sing-Off. First time they met as a group was the day before the auditions for the show. The rest, as they say, is history...
yes, as a cellist -- yes, he's excellent.
Kevin and Avi shared a room on tours. Avi has classical training in opera. Avi taught him how to sing.
Since Kevin is Kevin, he train to go beyond your average singer. If you listen, his lyrics are crisp, including vowels.
Wow
Kevin could already sing. When he was at Andover, he was in one of their acappella groups (the Yorkies). Avi helped him improve to professional performance level. And yes, having perfect pitch helps!
He is just simply incredible
Soo good
Kevin is an amazing cellist. Playing this and beatboxing is like walking, chewing gum and doing quantum physics at the same time. Oh. And after Yale, he decided to put medical school on hold to join PTX. His advisor told him med school will always be there. He is also fluent in Mandarin. There is a 4or 5 ish part bio of short videos on his page that is a very interesting insight into him and how insanely smart and talented he is. V
I saw a livestream where scott said kevin has a snare he breathes on when someone asked about everyone finding moments to breathe
interesting!
Kevin's solo work, finally!
more to come
From what I've read Ed Sheeran outgrew the RC loop stations a while ago. They were ok for smaller gigs/venues, but they didn't sound good at bigger places, plus his loops were getting complex with many layers and they were having compression issues. He now runs custom built loopers with a board at his feet running into a plugin called Mobius (not sure what DAW he uses but ableton would make sense for live). Search for ed sheeran chewie monsta, or chewie II to see the boards. They are crazy compared to your average looper.
yeah' its wild!!!
KO has more talent musically, instrumentally and educationally then 99% of musicians. He is simply amazing!! His bio on his site says it all.
Wow
Kevin is a legit genius. Yale doctorate. Speaks Mandarin. Plays 4 or 5 instruments I believe. Straight up genius.
Not a doctorate. A Bachelor's. Really what he's accomplished is commendable but be real.
@@biblio253 well excuse my faux pas 🙄
I assume the mix up comes from the fact that he was originally pre-med at Yale before switching to East Asian studies.
He also entered a contest to play with Yoyo Ma and in the world applications came in 2nd so I would say he is protégée genius.
He's played at Carnegie hall doth with cello and saxophone ,he is good!there is a video out there from an early CH appearance
That was awesome. I really appreciate your comments.
Thanks!
And he has perfect pitch! He keeps everyone on point.
wow!!
Look at Kevin's face though. He is so happy.
Yes 💙
Finally!!!! Yes.
He said he breathes on the snares
I like at the end of Down where he’s like....yea, I did that!
Hahah
I would love for you to link the original video in your description box so I can go there more easily.
Kevin was first cellist when he attended Yale (and graduared with a pre-med degree.)
🔥🔥
Real good beatboxers learn to perform some of their sounds on intake of air, so that they can maintain continuity while continuing to breath. I don't beat box, but the amount of mental planning to be able to do that is mind blowing.
Yo Yo Ma said he was one of the finest with feeling that he's heard.
👏🏼
More pentatonix or superfruit please ❤
👏 👏👏👏BRAVO said I in Amazement! KO is a gift to the 🌎
Great reaction! There are never strong enough adjectives to describe Kevin's talent. By the way his classical cello that he used in the second video is named Beyoncé. :)
truth
You should react to his original "Renegade" - its other-wordly.
great!
it is lke God sent his angels down and said give this man all this talent because he will use for the enjoyment of the world and he does
:D
Stop worrying about pausing the video too much. If I want a hear the video uninterrupted I'll go watch the original presentation. I am here for your reaction and knowledge of the music.
thank you!!
Kevin is the “Dimebag” of the cello. #pantera #ko #ptx
Here is a link to a reaction/review by a professional voice teacher (Tara Simmons Studios).
ruclips.net/video/54Wjr4rnCuI/видео.html
It's great how her perspective is similar is some ways to Mr. Restituto's yet also different in that she focuses purely on the aspects of Kevin's voice while Mr. Restituto focuses more on the technical aspects and equipment. By putting the two together, we can learn so much more about not only Kevin Olusola's technical and vocal talents but also start to see his genius is putting it all together into not just a technical performance but what is truly a journey through the world of music. Read some of the other comments on this video to gain some insight into what kind of talent KO really is.
thanks!!
Conclusion. KO is a crazy good musician and we all adore his music: Be it on cello, singing, saxophone, piano/keyboard, beatboxing, or some sick cra-cray good combination of the above (if i've left any of his musical talents out, please forgive me. Unlike him, i'm only human xD)
I *think* this is the video of Kevin cello-boxing that was found by Scott Hoying pre-Pentatonix when they were looking for a beat-boxer for The Sing-Off: ruclips.net/video/2TK3KvDwubI/видео.html
Kevin has perfect pitch.
15:28 Most Beatboxers are masters of circular breathing.
So cool
O-lu-sho-lah because his dad is Nigerian :)
2005 he performed on cello at Carnegie Hall
So cool
The man is a god, I don’t think there is anything he can’t do.
hahah
I would highly recommend his song Renegade
sweet thanks~
The Single note is in the original song
nice
Kevin is definitely world class. If there remains any doubt, check out his original "Renegade".
ruclips.net/video/gouiY85kD2o/видео.html
He does several outstanding looping covers, like Harry Styles "Sign of the Times".
ruclips.net/video/hBFlhLEU7uU/видео.html
I look forward to more from you.
Have you ever listened to Dimash Kudaibergen? If not, YOU HAVE TO DO A REACTION NOW!!!💖
I think Kevin uses ableton live
You should react to "cracked" by ptx
thanks for the idea
He appeared at Carnegie Hall at 18....enough said !!
17, but yeah!
In his spare time he's an ivy league road scholar in medicine and speaks five languages
snappp