Kevin and Avi shared living quarters at this time so they constantly worked on their timing and craft. The last line was their amazed feeling at how fast and popular they were becoming. A first version of the new song “The Lucky Ones”. They stay humble and amazed at their own success and popularity.
Great recognizing their growth into emulating instruments so well! Yes, they were honoring their quick growth from 2011-2013 as being “bigger than they ever dreamed.” They won “The Sing Off” (Season 3) in 2011. Their first viral video was “Somebody That I Used to Know” in 2012. This “Royals” cover released 2013 & their 2014 Holiday album “That’s Christmas to Me” went double platinum followed by their 2015 original album "Pentatonix" which went gold. They became a household name with the released their cover of Halleluia in 2016. Ben Bram is their arranger & Ed Boyer is their mixers & producer. They’ve been with PTX since the beginning!
Just to add that Ed Boyer is very well-known in the a cappella community as one of the go-to guys to mix and producer a cappella music. Many college a cappella groups rely on Boyer to produce their albums which are key sources of fundraising for them.
This video was the first time I saw PTX. I was watching the Lorde video on YT and YT had a vid of a college choir covered it so I watched it. Then YT suggested PTX's version...watched it and my jaw dropped and have been a big fan ever since. Can't believe it's been 8 years since I started listening to them.
Back in their first couple years, I believe Avi was sitting in with some of his friends' bands when they needed a bass (guitar) sub for shows and their bassist wasn't able to be there. I remember him commenting on Twitter about a few times he sat in vocally. Pretty impressive skill set...
They talked about this at one point: When they first got together for The Sing Off, Avi just hit low notes, and Kevin was doing beats. The further along they got, Avi asked Kevin to help him learn and rehearse sound effects, so he could help Kevin hit low notes really hard, create more of a power-kick sound. They worked on it for years, and got really good at it, to the point that Avi could almost seamlessly double the impact of Kevin's kicks - you would almost think Kevin was kicking and vocalizing bass notes at the same time. It was really impressive. Kevin and Avi both made the other exponentially better, and PTX as a whole benefitted from how advanced their rhythms became.
@@gailseatonhumbert9199 With Fermata Nowhere, yeah, of course it counts. My comment was specifically in the context of Pentatonix's early days, when their arrangements were mostly simple layering. The more dynamic Avi and Kevin got together, the more dynamic the arrangements got overall. What we get to hear nowadays is far more advanced than when they started, it really is something. But you're absolutely correct, Avi was a beast in his own right, he already had a reputation for it in the a capella community. Scott found him from a recommendation a friend gave him when he asked who the best bass they knew of was.
@@declaneric the friend FYI was Ben Bram who already knew Avi. Scott met Ben when he joined the A Cappella group at his college. Same thing with getting to Kevin - Ben contacted the A Cappella group at Yale and got them to contact Kevin.
@@gailseatonhumbert9199 Amazing how just one connection can change the course of your life. They needed a bass and a beatboxer for The Sing Off, but look at what it turned into. No way did they know that the type of music they would put out would be almost historic for a capella, they practically changed an entire genre of music by themselves, with a handful of groups that have helped push it forward in the past several years. And Kevin and Avi had the biggest impact on that. Now, with Matt and his insane synth bass sound, their EDM is taking off. Coffee in Bed is my current favorite. And all of this started with just the right connection at just the right time. Absolutely incredible.
This was released in late summer 2013, two years after their Sing-Off shows began to be broadcast. They had already been doing quite well for an acapella group, charting at #14 with their first EP and their second (and first holiday release) getting some radio play on the holiday music channels. Their tour was selling out the smallish venues they were in, and they announced their first European tour about the time this video came out. So, they were doing quite well, for an acapella group. Then, the rest of 2013 happened! The Evolution of Music video went viral, followed by the Daft Punk video blowing up even more. Their second non-holiday EP hit Billboard’s top ten album chart, then they added two new songs to their 2012 Christmas EP to make it a “deluxe edition,” one (Little Drummer Boy) of which became their highest charting single (#13) that was inescapable that December. In January 2014, their manager started fielding phone calls from just about all of the major record labels, people he had been calling since Epic dropped them two years earlier. A month or so later, RCA signed them for what Entertainment Weekly called “a lucrative sum.” A fun series of YT vids to watch are the first batch of PTXperience, an ongoing behind the scenes look at their 2014 tour. You get to see them start to cope with hitting it big, even though they have yet to go into the stratospheric heights that they hit in 2015 and 2016.
Those bass notes are all Avi, including the kicks. Avi is actually a pretty good beatboxer himself...you could almost call him a "bass boxer"! I always wonder if they realized at the time how appropriate the final line of this song would end up being for them, because it hadn't quite yet happened at the point this was released.
In 2013, they were on the cusp of major stardom. Things really blew up for PTX in 2014 after they signed with RCA and released their first full-length Christmas album, "That's Christmas To Me", which became the 4th best-selling album of 2014 in the U.S., in just the last few months of the year. The only 3 albums that sold better that year were the Frozen soundtrack, Taylor Swift's "1989" and Sam Smith's "In The Lonely Hour".
About Avi's capability in singing bass and backing up Kevin in verbal percussion- the ICCA (The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), is an international competition that attracts hundreds of college a cappella groups each year) and had to change its award from beatboxing to rythmn section to give it to Avi in 2008-9 so I think you could say he came into Pentatonix as someone who could cover bassline and any backup vocal percussion as needed for Kevin from his experience with other groups).
My first thought when you asked ‘bigger...’ question was that was when they signed with RCA, but I think that happened in 2014 so maybe just all the success from RUclips & touring at that point.
They were dropped in 2011 and signed in 2013 for 5 years with RCA. Avi Kaplan left Pentatonix when the record contract ended and ran his own label at first Sequoia Summit Records until he decided to sign with Fantasy Records in 2020.
Jacob, I really appreciate your commentary. I know little about music and your insights have me listening in a different way. You do more than react - you teach! I stop watching many other reactions because you’ve set such a high standard and I feel like those others are not worth my time. And yes, you hit it right: my reaction to you saying when you graduated was, “oh, he’s such a baby!” And then you said it. I lol’d. Thanks for your great work on these. (Edited to fix typo)
I was enjoying Pentatonix music so much, I just purchased every song that I like. You haven't lived until you listen to Halleluiah in the car with a premium subwoofer. AVI rocks his part. #ISupportTheArtists.
I think the costume change was more of a statement toward the dream of being "royal" with all the fancy clothes and jewelry, and then coming out of the day dream and back into their humble "non-royal" selves. I think it's genius, and appropriate. Love your assessment and comments
It’s funny how you mentioned them sounding fuller now compared to then- which I 💯 agree with- Mitch was watching an old performance from the sing off and kind of cringed and said “we were all so exposed” which is what I think he was talking about
This is so funny because on some of the other reactions when you were talking about the Rihanna songs coming out when you were in fifth and sixth grade, I was like oh I think that's about how old I was too. Surprise, we graduated high school the same year, lol.
In the first episode if the Sing Off season 3 when they were introduced, it was Kirstin who said they pick top 40 songs and give it their flavor. And I suppose they see how the song could be arranged vocally and creatively at that
I'm not sure why, but I never really liked the original very much. Sort of a vague feeling of sloppy lead vocals, even though they probably aren't. With Pentatonix doing it, something is fixed, making it a much better song.
Appreciate your enthusiasm and musical knowledge. But some of us have never heard the songs before not to mention a cover. Is hard to appreciate or hear the song when you are interrupting the song every three seconds. I understand the copyright situation but you are overdoing it. I love your comments don't get me wrong. But i have to stop listening to you and go straight to the song itself then get back to your reaction. Is exhausting... Maybe if you try to limit your comments to the song itself. I really don't care what they are wearing or when you graduated from high school for instance. Just saying.
Maybe you should write him a script, so he ONLY says what YOU care to hear. To Hell with what he wants to say or what the rest of his viewers are interested in hearing. Wow. Just WOW. (By the way, the PTX cover AND the original song are available to watch at any time, with no interruptions). Choose!
@@donny1960 No need to get nasty and disrespect my comment. There is a reason there is a comment section in the page. I love his reactions and i want him to be successful with his page. I am a 58 year old man. I am not as sharp as i used to be. But throughout my life i have been open to suggestions and new ideas because i am still learning. I have missed much of what is out there in music and his page has opened my eyes of how much i have missed. You will be my age some day so please be more tolerant with us old folks because you will be one some day. I guess I was listening and supporting with my subscription and viewing time the wrong page. My apologies. BTW. Why the hell are you meddling with this? I am not talking to you. This is none of your damn business. Get a life!
That's a valid opinion, but it's your opinion. I like his style. Thanks for chiming in. Before I watch a reactor I make sure I watch the original video, and then watch the reactor to hear their opinions.
@@My2ndnephew Yes... You are right is my opinion. Why am I talking to you anyways. Please refrain to address me again. Did not request your advise to begin with. Get a life.
PTX fans used to be known for their gentle and open minded comments. Lighten up guys, it's just a video reaction. There's room for differing opinions with out the attacks.
![KSI - Thick Of It (feat. Trippie Redd) [Official Lyric Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/tXEPbotEjZE/mqdefault.jpg)
sometimes I wonder if this song was chosen so mitch could sing "I'm in love with being queen"
😃
That had to be part of the reason! 😂
😂
you might be right. He did have a little smirk on his face.
Kevin and Avi shared living quarters at this time so they constantly worked on their timing and craft.
The last line was their amazed feeling at how fast and popular they were becoming. A first version of the new song “The Lucky Ones”. They stay humble and amazed at their own success and popularity.
Great recognizing their growth into emulating instruments so well! Yes, they were honoring their quick growth from 2011-2013 as being “bigger than they ever dreamed.” They won “The Sing Off” (Season 3) in 2011. Their first viral video was “Somebody That I Used to Know” in 2012. This “Royals” cover released 2013 & their 2014 Holiday album “That’s Christmas to Me” went double platinum followed by their 2015 original album "Pentatonix" which went gold. They became a household name with the released their cover of Halleluia in 2016. Ben Bram is their arranger & Ed Boyer is their mixers & producer. They’ve been with PTX since the beginning!
Just to add that Ed Boyer is very well-known in the a cappella community as one of the go-to guys to mix and producer a cappella music. Many college a cappella groups rely on Boyer to produce their albums which are key sources of fundraising for them.
This video was the first time I saw PTX. I was watching the Lorde video on YT and YT had a vid of a college choir covered it so I watched it. Then YT suggested PTX's version...watched it and my jaw dropped and have been a big fan ever since. Can't believe it's been 8 years since I started listening to them.
Back in their first couple years, I believe Avi was sitting in with some of his friends' bands when they needed a bass (guitar) sub for shows and their bassist wasn't able to be there. I remember him commenting on Twitter about a few times he sat in vocally. Pretty impressive skill set...
They talked about this at one point: When they first got together for The Sing Off, Avi just hit low notes, and Kevin was doing beats. The further along they got, Avi asked Kevin to help him learn and rehearse sound effects, so he could help Kevin hit low notes really hard, create more of a power-kick sound. They worked on it for years, and got really good at it, to the point that Avi could almost seamlessly double the impact of Kevin's kicks - you would almost think Kevin was kicking and vocalizing bass notes at the same time. It was really impressive. Kevin and Avi both made the other exponentially better, and PTX as a whole benefitted from how advanced their rhythms became.
So Avi's award for rythmn section earlier from the ICCA didn't count?
@@gailseatonhumbert9199 With Fermata Nowhere, yeah, of course it counts. My comment was specifically in the context of Pentatonix's early days, when their arrangements were mostly simple layering. The more dynamic Avi and Kevin got together, the more dynamic the arrangements got overall. What we get to hear nowadays is far more advanced than when they started, it really is something.
But you're absolutely correct, Avi was a beast in his own right, he already had a reputation for it in the a capella community. Scott found him from a recommendation a friend gave him when he asked who the best bass they knew of was.
@@declaneric the friend FYI was Ben Bram who already knew Avi. Scott met Ben when he joined the A Cappella group at his college. Same thing with getting to Kevin - Ben contacted the A Cappella group at Yale and got them to contact Kevin.
@@gailseatonhumbert9199 Amazing how just one connection can change the course of your life. They needed a bass and a beatboxer for The Sing Off, but look at what it turned into. No way did they know that the type of music they would put out would be almost historic for a capella, they practically changed an entire genre of music by themselves, with a handful of groups that have helped push it forward in the past several years. And Kevin and Avi had the biggest impact on that. Now, with Matt and his insane synth bass sound, their EDM is taking off. Coffee in Bed is my current favorite. And all of this started with just the right connection at just the right time. Absolutely incredible.
This was released in late summer 2013, two years after their Sing-Off shows began to be broadcast. They had already been doing quite well for an acapella group, charting at #14 with their first EP and their second (and first holiday release) getting some radio play on the holiday music channels. Their tour was selling out the smallish venues they were in, and they announced their first European tour about the time this video came out. So, they were doing quite well, for an acapella group.
Then, the rest of 2013 happened! The Evolution of Music video went viral, followed by the Daft Punk video blowing up even more. Their second non-holiday EP hit Billboard’s top ten album chart, then they added two new songs to their 2012 Christmas EP to make it a “deluxe edition,” one (Little Drummer Boy) of which became their highest charting single (#13) that was inescapable that December. In January 2014, their manager started fielding phone calls from just about all of the major record labels, people he had been calling since Epic dropped them two years earlier. A month or so later, RCA signed them for what Entertainment Weekly called “a lucrative sum.”
A fun series of YT vids to watch are the first batch of PTXperience, an ongoing behind the scenes look at their 2014 tour. You get to see them start to cope with hitting it big, even though they have yet to go into the stratospheric heights that they hit in 2015 and 2016.
I love your reactions...I keep coming back to your page to listen to PTX reactions all the time!!
Those bass notes are all Avi, including the kicks. Avi is actually a pretty good beatboxer himself...you could almost call him a "bass boxer"! I always wonder if they realized at the time how appropriate the final line of this song would end up being for them, because it hadn't quite yet happened at the point this was released.
In 2013, they were on the cusp of major stardom. Things really blew up for PTX in 2014 after they signed with RCA and released their first full-length Christmas album, "That's Christmas To Me", which became the 4th best-selling album of 2014 in the U.S., in just the last few months of the year. The only 3 albums that sold better that year were the Frozen soundtrack, Taylor Swift's "1989" and Sam Smith's "In The Lonely Hour".
Thanks for your reaction! Love any and all Pentatonix!
About Avi's capability in singing bass and backing up Kevin in verbal percussion- the ICCA (The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), is an international competition that attracts hundreds of college a cappella groups each year) and had to change its award from beatboxing to rythmn section to give it to Avi in 2008-9 so I think you could say he came into Pentatonix as someone who could cover bassline and any backup vocal percussion as needed for Kevin from his experience with other groups).
Love this song so much more when PTX does it than the original. Your analysis and comments were spot on!
My first thought when you asked ‘bigger...’ question was that was when they signed with RCA, but I think that happened in 2014 so maybe just all the success from RUclips & touring at that point.
They were dropped in 2011 and signed in 2013 for 5 years with RCA. Avi Kaplan left Pentatonix when the record contract ended and ran his own label at first Sequoia Summit Records until he decided to sign with Fantasy Records in 2020.
Awww, he has little bee earrings 🥰
Jacob, I really appreciate your commentary. I know little about music and your insights have me listening in a different way. You do more than react - you teach! I stop watching many other reactions because you’ve set such a high standard and I feel like those others are not worth my time. And yes, you hit it right: my reaction to you saying when you graduated was, “oh, he’s such a baby!” And then you said it. I lol’d. Thanks for your great work on these. (Edited to fix typo)
Mitch, Kirsten, and Scott are all 21yrs old I believe when they recorded this so yeah their young they were all 19 when they won The Sing Off.
In high school, Mitch was one year behind Scott and Kirsten, age-wise..
I was enjoying Pentatonix music so much, I just purchased every song that I like. You haven't lived until you listen to Halleluiah in the car with a premium subwoofer. AVI rocks his part. #ISupportTheArtists.
I think the costume change was more of a statement toward the dream of being "royal" with all the fancy clothes and jewelry, and then coming out of the day dream and back into their humble "non-royal" selves. I think it's genius, and appropriate. Love your assessment and comments
Ah ok!
It’s funny how you mentioned them sounding fuller now compared to then- which I 💯 agree with- Mitch was watching an old performance from the sing off and kind of cringed and said “we were all so exposed” which is what I think he was talking about
wow that's a really good way to put it1
@@JacobRestituto definitely!
This is so funny because on some of the other reactions when you were talking about the Rihanna songs coming out when you were in fifth and sixth grade, I was like oh I think that's about how old I was too. Surprise, we graduated high school the same year, lol.
Lol! 2013!!
In the first episode if the Sing Off season 3 when they were introduced, it was Kirstin who said they pick top 40 songs and give it their flavor. And I suppose they see how the song could be arranged vocally and creatively at that
wow cool
Their covers have always been better than the original artist versions...
Loved this video thanks 😊 ❤
Scott looks so on point here.
Enjoyed!!
1st Comment, 1st Like, 1st View!! Love your reactions !!
Is this a re upload? I could've sworn you reacted to this before...maybe not.
Becky Hill radio 1 is banging mate highly suggest it
WOW you did not mention Mitch
I have almost 200 ptx reactions, big fan of them, I talk about different members in different videos 😃❤️🙏🏼
👍
:)
Babytonix...
lol
Avi
🤘🏼🤘🏼
3rd
I'm not sure why, but I never really liked the original very much. Sort of a vague feeling of sloppy lead vocals, even though they probably aren't. With Pentatonix doing it, something is fixed, making it a much better song.
first ;)
Appreciate your enthusiasm and musical knowledge. But some of us have never heard the songs before not to mention a cover.
Is hard to appreciate or hear the song when you are interrupting the song every three seconds. I understand the copyright situation but you are overdoing it. I love your comments don't get me wrong. But i have to stop listening to you and go straight to the song itself then get back to your reaction. Is exhausting... Maybe if you try to limit your comments to the song itself. I really don't care what they are wearing or when you graduated from high school for instance. Just saying.
Maybe you should write him a script, so he ONLY says what YOU care to hear. To Hell with what he wants to say or what the rest of his viewers are interested in hearing. Wow. Just WOW. (By the way, the PTX cover AND the original song are available to watch at any time, with no interruptions). Choose!
@@donny1960 No need to get nasty and disrespect my comment. There is a reason there is a comment section in the page. I love his reactions and i want him to be successful with his page. I am a 58 year old man. I am not as sharp as i used to be. But throughout my life i have been open to suggestions and new ideas because i am still learning. I have missed much of what is out there in music and his page has opened my eyes of how much i have missed. You will be my age some day so please be more tolerant with us old folks because you will be one some day. I guess I was listening and supporting with my subscription and viewing time the wrong page.
My apologies.
BTW. Why the hell are you meddling with this? I am not talking to you. This is none of your damn business. Get a life!
That's a valid opinion, but it's your opinion. I like his style. Thanks for chiming in. Before I watch a reactor I make sure I watch the original video, and then watch the reactor to hear their opinions.
@@My2ndnephew Yes... You are right is my opinion. Why am I talking to you anyways. Please refrain to address me again. Did not request your advise to begin with. Get a life.
PTX fans used to be known for their gentle and open minded comments. Lighten up guys, it's just a video reaction. There's room for differing opinions with out the attacks.