The music world has seen many a cappella formations, but certainly none like Pentatonix. The career launch for the US quintet took place in November 2011 when Mitch Grassi (countertenor), Scott Hoying (baritone), Avriel Kaplan (bass), Kirstie Maldonado (mezzo-soprano), and Kevin "K.O." James Olusola (beatboxing) won the third season of the NBC show "The Sing-Off." Since then, the band has garnered hundreds of millions of YouTube views (details below) with their breathtaking arrangements of major pop classics and fantastic original compositions, selling over half a million copies of their previous releases, making it into the Top Ten of the US Billboard charts, and filling concert halls around the world to capacity. Recently, Pentatonix signed a record deal with the Sony Music label RCA.
On September 19, 2014, the band's first full-length album "PTX" will finally be released in Germany, featuring spectacular interpretations of contemporary hits like Macklemore's "Can’t Hold Us," Lorde's "Royals," and Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know," as well as the legendary Daft Punk medley "Daft Punk" and four original pieces.
The initiative to participate in the show originally came from Scott Hoying. As a freshman at the University of Southern California, he decided to sign up for the audition and asked his friends Kirstie and Mitch, whom he knew from childhood in Arlington, Texas, to join him. As a singing trio, they had already found success in high school and had also made waves online with their cover of the Lady Gaga/Beyoncé hit "Telephone." With the intention of giving the group's sound depth and a unique dynamic, Scott set out to find more singers. The first new addition was Avi, who had earned a reputation as one of the most talented bass singers in Southern California in the years prior. On YouTube, he eventually discovered Kevin, through his "Cello-Boxing" video (simultaneous beatboxing and cello playing) titled "Julie-O."
Just in time — that is, 24 hours before the first show — all members met for the first time and immediately impressed the audience. Throughout the show, Pentatonix worked on perfecting their sound (and their chemistry) and naturally developed their trademark sound as well as a knack for arrangements that optimally showcased the individual strengths of the five.
Despite an almost dizzying variety of musical styles (the band cites pop, jazz, R&B, indie, folk, dubstep, and electronica as inspirations), the five vocal artists consistently manage to magically blend all genres into their sound, as seen in their modern interpretation of the Buggles classic "Video Killed The Radio Star" or the epic adaptation of the 2008 hit "The Dog Days Are Over" by Florence And The Machine. In a short time, Pentatonix established themselves as a serious musical force, equipped with great self-confidence and assertiveness that ultimately secured them victory in the competition.
After "The Sing-Off" ended, the group toured North America twice, regularly performing in sold-out venues, including in New York and San Francisco. Their first European tour saw tickets sell out in no time. They performed for Quincy Jones at the Fox Theater in Atlanta and as "Featured Performers" for Diana Ross at the famous Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The quintet was also invited to many TV shows, including appearances on Ellen, the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the Katie Couric Show, The Talk, the American Music Awards Red Carpet Show, and — attention — on Sesame Street. Online publications such as Perez Hilton, RyanSeacrest.com, The Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, and The New York Times have also covered the phenomenon of Pentatonix.
In addition to their live shows, the band's own YouTube channel is the biggest viewer and listener magnet: over 5.9 million subscribers and 512 million views are the more than impressive numbers of the band's audiovisual online presence. Among the most popular clips are the unique performance of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know" (29 million views) and Lorde's "Royals" (38 million views), as well as the incomparable "Evolution Of Music," which takes fans on a 36-song journey through music history in just four minutes (over 43 million views). Or the seven-song medley "Daft Punk" (over 82 million views), which recorded almost twenty million views in the first three weeks alone. (In Germany, some videos are blocked due to the well-known YouTube issues. Nevertheless, a dedicated Pentatonix channel was created specifically for Germany, where the videos should still be visible).
The collaboration with American violinist Lindsey Stirling, with whom they recorded a cover of the Imagine Dragons song "Radioactive," has been viewed by more than forty million people on the two artist channels and won the YouTube Music Awards in the category "Best Response Video." The group has over 1.4 million Facebook fans and 332,000 Twitter followers.
PENTATONIX are:
SCOTT HOYING
Simon is a songwriter and pianist. He has been on stage since he was eight years old. After graduating from Martin High School in Arlington, Texas, he enrolled at USC in Los Angeles, where he joined the popular campus a cappella group SoCal VoCals. He was involved in a variety of musical projects, was a finalist on the CBS show "Star Search," and sang the US national anthem and "God Bless America" at numerous professional and college sports events, including home games for the Texas Rangers, Dallas Cowboys, and Dallas Mavericks.
MITCH GRASSI
Mitch is the youngest member of Pentatonix and recently graduated from high school (he was still a student during the recordings for "The Sing-Off"). In addition to his involvement in musical theater in Arlington, he has a passion for underground club and electronic music. Mitch participated in many singing and talent competitions and won first place in the "Teen Talent Follies" contest in Arlington with his interpretation of the Scott Alan song "Kiss The Air." Besides his role as a singer in Pentatonix, Grassi is dedicated to perfecting his DJ and production skills.
KIRSTIE MALDONADO
Before joining Pentatonix, Kirstie studied musical theater at the University of Oklahoma. She honed her voice during her eight years as a touring singer at the Arlington Theatre, where she learned to sing eight-part harmonies. She began her classical training in high school and was a member of the Texas All State Choir for three years. For four years, she was a choir member and dance captain and played countless roles in local productions.
AVI KAPLAN
Avi studies classical music, plays guitar, and composes and arranges music for choir and a cappella. He hails from Visalia, California, and moved to Walnut in 2007 to attend Mt. San Antonio College, which is world-renowned for its choir and a cappella tradition. In 2008, he joined the award-winning men's a cappella group Fermata Nowhere — the first participants from a community college to win the coveted ICCA Award. Avi won the award in his first year in the category "Best Rhythm Section." In his third year at Mt. San Antonio, Avi joined Sincopation, an award-winning jazz ensemble that had already won the Monterey Jazz Festival Competition in its first year. He has performed all over the world, including at New York's Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.
KEVIN "K.O." JAMES OLUSOLA
Kevin grew up in the small town of Owensboro, Kentucky, as the son of a Nigerian psychiatrist and a Grenadian nurse. He began learning piano, cello, and saxophone at an early age. After graduating from Phillips Academy Andover High School, he earned a degree in Southeast Asian Studies from Yale University. As part of a research scholarship, he spent eighteen months in Beijing, where he learned Chinese. In college, Kevin began developing his "Cello-Boxing" style. In 2011, CBS, AOL, The Huffington Post, and The Washington Post reported on Kevin's "Julie-O" cello-boxing YouTube video. Kevin was named one of the hundred "History Makers in the Making" by the NBC magazine TheGrio. Music legend Quincy Jones personally selected him for a performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2012, where he performed alongside Bobby McFerrin and Chick Corea.
http://www.ptxofficial.com
http://www.facebook.com/Pentatonix
[Official Video] Daft Punk - Pentatonix
http://youtu.be/3MteSlpxCpo
[Official Video] Royals - Pentatonix (Lorde Cover)
http://youtu.be/E9XQ2MdNgKY
Evolution of Music - Pentatonix
http://youtu.be/lExW80sXsHs
[Official Video] Can't Hold Us - Pentatonix (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis cover)
http://youtu.be/OglS3Q0Zxik
On September 19, 2014, the band's first full-length album "PTX" will finally be released in Germany, featuring spectacular interpretations of contemporary hits like Macklemore's "Can’t Hold Us," Lorde's "Royals," and Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know," as well as the legendary Daft Punk medley "Daft Punk" and four original pieces.
The initiative to participate in the show originally came from Scott Hoying. As a freshman at the University of Southern California, he decided to sign up for the audition and asked his friends Kirstie and Mitch, whom he knew from childhood in Arlington, Texas, to join him. As a singing trio, they had already found success in high school and had also made waves online with their cover of the Lady Gaga/Beyoncé hit "Telephone." With the intention of giving the group's sound depth and a unique dynamic, Scott set out to find more singers. The first new addition was Avi, who had earned a reputation as one of the most talented bass singers in Southern California in the years prior. On YouTube, he eventually discovered Kevin, through his "Cello-Boxing" video (simultaneous beatboxing and cello playing) titled "Julie-O."
Just in time — that is, 24 hours before the first show — all members met for the first time and immediately impressed the audience. Throughout the show, Pentatonix worked on perfecting their sound (and their chemistry) and naturally developed their trademark sound as well as a knack for arrangements that optimally showcased the individual strengths of the five.
Despite an almost dizzying variety of musical styles (the band cites pop, jazz, R&B, indie, folk, dubstep, and electronica as inspirations), the five vocal artists consistently manage to magically blend all genres into their sound, as seen in their modern interpretation of the Buggles classic "Video Killed The Radio Star" or the epic adaptation of the 2008 hit "The Dog Days Are Over" by Florence And The Machine. In a short time, Pentatonix established themselves as a serious musical force, equipped with great self-confidence and assertiveness that ultimately secured them victory in the competition.
After "The Sing-Off" ended, the group toured North America twice, regularly performing in sold-out venues, including in New York and San Francisco. Their first European tour saw tickets sell out in no time. They performed for Quincy Jones at the Fox Theater in Atlanta and as "Featured Performers" for Diana Ross at the famous Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The quintet was also invited to many TV shows, including appearances on Ellen, the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the Katie Couric Show, The Talk, the American Music Awards Red Carpet Show, and — attention — on Sesame Street. Online publications such as Perez Hilton, RyanSeacrest.com, The Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, and The New York Times have also covered the phenomenon of Pentatonix.
In addition to their live shows, the band's own YouTube channel is the biggest viewer and listener magnet: over 5.9 million subscribers and 512 million views are the more than impressive numbers of the band's audiovisual online presence. Among the most popular clips are the unique performance of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know" (29 million views) and Lorde's "Royals" (38 million views), as well as the incomparable "Evolution Of Music," which takes fans on a 36-song journey through music history in just four minutes (over 43 million views). Or the seven-song medley "Daft Punk" (over 82 million views), which recorded almost twenty million views in the first three weeks alone. (In Germany, some videos are blocked due to the well-known YouTube issues. Nevertheless, a dedicated Pentatonix channel was created specifically for Germany, where the videos should still be visible).
The collaboration with American violinist Lindsey Stirling, with whom they recorded a cover of the Imagine Dragons song "Radioactive," has been viewed by more than forty million people on the two artist channels and won the YouTube Music Awards in the category "Best Response Video." The group has over 1.4 million Facebook fans and 332,000 Twitter followers.
PENTATONIX are:
SCOTT HOYING
Simon is a songwriter and pianist. He has been on stage since he was eight years old. After graduating from Martin High School in Arlington, Texas, he enrolled at USC in Los Angeles, where he joined the popular campus a cappella group SoCal VoCals. He was involved in a variety of musical projects, was a finalist on the CBS show "Star Search," and sang the US national anthem and "God Bless America" at numerous professional and college sports events, including home games for the Texas Rangers, Dallas Cowboys, and Dallas Mavericks.
MITCH GRASSI
Mitch is the youngest member of Pentatonix and recently graduated from high school (he was still a student during the recordings for "The Sing-Off"). In addition to his involvement in musical theater in Arlington, he has a passion for underground club and electronic music. Mitch participated in many singing and talent competitions and won first place in the "Teen Talent Follies" contest in Arlington with his interpretation of the Scott Alan song "Kiss The Air." Besides his role as a singer in Pentatonix, Grassi is dedicated to perfecting his DJ and production skills.
KIRSTIE MALDONADO
Before joining Pentatonix, Kirstie studied musical theater at the University of Oklahoma. She honed her voice during her eight years as a touring singer at the Arlington Theatre, where she learned to sing eight-part harmonies. She began her classical training in high school and was a member of the Texas All State Choir for three years. For four years, she was a choir member and dance captain and played countless roles in local productions.
AVI KAPLAN
Avi studies classical music, plays guitar, and composes and arranges music for choir and a cappella. He hails from Visalia, California, and moved to Walnut in 2007 to attend Mt. San Antonio College, which is world-renowned for its choir and a cappella tradition. In 2008, he joined the award-winning men's a cappella group Fermata Nowhere — the first participants from a community college to win the coveted ICCA Award. Avi won the award in his first year in the category "Best Rhythm Section." In his third year at Mt. San Antonio, Avi joined Sincopation, an award-winning jazz ensemble that had already won the Monterey Jazz Festival Competition in its first year. He has performed all over the world, including at New York's Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.
KEVIN "K.O." JAMES OLUSOLA
Kevin grew up in the small town of Owensboro, Kentucky, as the son of a Nigerian psychiatrist and a Grenadian nurse. He began learning piano, cello, and saxophone at an early age. After graduating from Phillips Academy Andover High School, he earned a degree in Southeast Asian Studies from Yale University. As part of a research scholarship, he spent eighteen months in Beijing, where he learned Chinese. In college, Kevin began developing his "Cello-Boxing" style. In 2011, CBS, AOL, The Huffington Post, and The Washington Post reported on Kevin's "Julie-O" cello-boxing YouTube video. Kevin was named one of the hundred "History Makers in the Making" by the NBC magazine TheGrio. Music legend Quincy Jones personally selected him for a performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2012, where he performed alongside Bobby McFerrin and Chick Corea.
http://www.ptxofficial.com
http://www.facebook.com/Pentatonix
[Official Video] Daft Punk - Pentatonix
http://youtu.be/3MteSlpxCpo
[Official Video] Royals - Pentatonix (Lorde Cover)
http://youtu.be/E9XQ2MdNgKY
Evolution of Music - Pentatonix
http://youtu.be/lExW80sXsHs
[Official Video] Can't Hold Us - Pentatonix (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis cover)
http://youtu.be/OglS3Q0Zxik
