The falsetto behind Kirstin near the end of the song is likely Kevin; he's known for the beauty of his falsetto and can actually sing higher than either Kirstin or Mitch (excluding Kirstin's whistle notes). You really should listen to their cover of "Kiss From a Rose," from this same album. It *does* have an instrument (which you'll be able to see) - Kevin's electric cello. He does, of course, continue to handle the percussion even while playing the cello, and you'll also get a clear chance to hear his falsetto.
Minor correction: Scott and Kirstin each had *one year* of college. During that year Scott met Ben Bram and found out about _The Sing-Off._ Mitch graduated from high school that same year, and because they wanted to compete on _The Sing-Off_ Scott and Kirstin didn't return to college. Mitch had to skip his high school graduation ceremony so they could audition for _The Sing-Off._ After passing the audition, the five of them spent the summer at the home of Scott's parents, practicing together and honing their skills before appearing on _The Sing-Off_ that autumn. After winning, and having the recording contract they'd "won" reneged upon by Epic, they plunged immediately into full-time arranging, rehearsing, recording on their phones or tablets, and posting to TH-cam. Then they got their first genuine recording contract, with Madison Gate, and they've been going strong ever since. Because they believe strongly in education the trio have continued taking courses whenever they have the chance, but to the best of my knowledge none of them have graduated from college. Kevin has a Bachelor's degree from Yale, where his major was pre-med. And both Avi and Matt have degrees; I'm not sure offhand what their majors were, but something musical in both cases.
Mitch and Kirstie met and performed together at 8 years old while doing Musical Theater , a now defunct program for Texas Children. After so many years together, they can sound almost alike n even synchronise their vibrato.
Yes, Mitch and Kirstin sound identical in this song; if you aren't actually watching you can't tell when they change. There's a delightful video of Mitch imitating Kirstin; he does it perfectly, speaking as well as singing. Did you notice how high Matt was singing? He's a *bass,* for crying out loud!
Great reaction! You did a great introduction, but to clarify: Kirstin, Scott and Mitch wanted to go on The Sing Off ( a performance for a capella singers) but they needed at least five people. Avi Kaplan (original bass) was recommended by mutual friends. They found Kevin Olusola on TH-cam doing his "cello boxing." Of course, they won the season in 2011. Matt Sallee came in 2017 and in 2023 they performed on The Masked Singer as "Sushi Rolls." They have appeared on America's Got Talent as guests. This version of O Holy Night is classic Pentatonix and one of the best they've ever performed, IMO.
@@AceofBadeReacts Matt was chosen after an audition process . He is the youngest member and though already a great bass singer , his lowest register is still developing . What Matt brought to the group is an impressive range as he can really hit the high notes ..see their live recording of 'Joyful, Joyful ' from the Evergreen tour for an example .
@@AceofBadeReacts As Vicki mentioned, Matt is the youngest member. In 2011, when #Pentatonix appeared on _The Sing-Off,_ Matt was just 17. They actually met a year or two after that (I may be slightly off on that timeline) at one of their workshops for young singers. Matt totally had stars in his eyes for Pentatonix; they inspired him to become a professional singer. Apparently he had fantasies about the group discovering that for some reason they needed two basses. (Yep, not possible. That's how daydreams work - you won't catch *me* criticizing him for that.) So Matt went to Berklee College of Music and graduated shortly before Avi's decision to leave. Ben Bram, who told Scott about _The Sing-Off_ in the first place, and who recommended Avi when they first needed a bass, has been their producer and co-arranger almost since day one, and it appears that he's a big aficionado of bass singers. So when Avi left, Ben was aware of Matt and recommended that they invite him to audition. Matt didn't know for sure who he was auditioning for, because it was a blind audition, but since he knew about Avi's exit he had his suspicions, and his hopes were high. He went into that audition with the bass line from *every* PTX song that had been released already memorized. He was still young. He isn't a basso profundo, like Avi. But he has a very warm, chocolatey bass; his upper range was already quite impressive; and Pentatonix could hear both his professionalism and that his voice was going to become truly spectacular as he grew into his full potential, so they invited him back for a second audition, after which they had just two questions: 1. Would Matt be comfortable with the amount of touring Pentatonix does? 2. Would Matt fit in with the family of choice that is Pentatonix? The answer to the first question was "Yes," but they felt Matt needed to actually experience a tour before making that his final answer, and taking Matt on tour was also the best way to answer the second question. So they invited Matt to join their 2017 winter tour as a featured performer, with the understanding that if everyone was still happy at the end of the tour he would be invited to join officially. So officially, Matt joined in 2018, just before it was time for the group to renew their contract with RCA; that way all five of them could sign.
@@AceofBadeReacts From what I understand, Matt was involved in a college a capella workshop and had, actually, met Avi Kaplan previously. PTX did have try-outs and Matt was recommended to them from mutual friends/colleagues. Once he joined the group, he worked very hard to recreate the bass on ALL previous PTX songs. This group, as a whole, is committed to making the very best songs and performances. Matt, also, plays the drums in their performances. This group is so talented and collaborative. There is a live performance called "Kevin's Fifth", where Kevin plays his electronic cello and Matt assists on the drums. It's a lot of fun!!
Pentatonix published "O Holy Night" in 2012, on their first Christmas album, "PTXmas." Have you noticed that Pentatonix has published a *lot* of Christmas albums? Well, so has Pentatonix. More specifically, Pentatonix has noticed that they're running out of Christmas songs they haven't already covered, but it's hard to break with tradition; they don't want to stop publishing Christmas albums. What to do, what to do? 🤔 Okay, obviously it was time to write some more Christmas songs. So Kirstin and Kevin came up with "Please, Santa, Please." Good. One down, how many more to go? *Thirty?* Oh dear. Hmmm. Clearly *that* isn't a complete solution. Time for a Google search. "Songs that talk about snow." Great! Let's add "Kiss From a Rose." Now we're down to twenty-nine. Drat! Okay, you know what guys? We're just going to have to make it a compilation album this year. We can call it "Greatest Christmas Hits." So that's what they did. But when it came to "O Holy Night" they realized that they could do it a lot better now than they did in 2012, especially since they can make use of Matt's incredible range, so they re-recorded it. Good idea; I think this song is Grammy-worthy, though I doubt that RCA submitted it. And in 2024 they skipped releasing an album entirely. I *suspect* there are two factors at play here: 1. They've always prioritized Christmas albums, and they really are running out of Christmas songs. 2. They've just signed with a new publisher, Republic Records, after RCA arguably cost them a few Grammys by submitting their entire albums to the Academy rather than the few Grammy-worthy songs on the albums.
I knew they did Christmas albums, but yeah it makes sense. There's only so many songs out there to cover, and it takes a while to put together an album of songs that are new.
Excellent Reaction! ❤️ Try Kiss From A Rose 🌹, the live Vevo video. It gives you a taste of when Kevin adds his cello WHILE beat boxing! And they kill it big time!
Favorite holiday or Christmas song? I have three. 1. "O Come All Ye Faithful," #Pentatonix 2. "Pure Imagination / Christmas Time Is Here," Pentatonix 3. "Valhalleluja," Nanowar of Steel. (Note: This is a humorous song by an amateur group from Rome, Italy. It incorporates multilingual puns. It's also *very* loud; start with your volume set low and adjust upward if necessary.)
The falsetto behind Kirstin near the end of the song is likely Kevin; he's known for the beauty of his falsetto and can actually sing higher than either Kirstin or Mitch (excluding Kirstin's whistle notes).
You really should listen to their cover of "Kiss From a Rose," from this same album. It *does* have an instrument (which you'll be able to see) - Kevin's electric cello. He does, of course, continue to handle the percussion even while playing the cello, and you'll also get a clear chance to hear his falsetto.
I did check out a Kiss From a Rose performance a while back with the cello.
They are beyond compare. They just keep getting better
🌟Most ICONIC A capella group EVER!!!
Minor correction: Scott and Kirstin each had *one year* of college. During that year Scott met Ben Bram and found out about _The Sing-Off._ Mitch graduated from high school that same year, and because they wanted to compete on _The Sing-Off_ Scott and Kirstin didn't return to college. Mitch had to skip his high school graduation ceremony so they could audition for _The Sing-Off._
After passing the audition, the five of them spent the summer at the home of Scott's parents, practicing together and honing their skills before appearing on _The Sing-Off_ that autumn. After winning, and having the recording contract they'd "won" reneged upon by Epic, they plunged immediately into full-time arranging, rehearsing, recording on their phones or tablets, and posting to TH-cam. Then they got their first genuine recording contract, with Madison Gate, and they've been going strong ever since.
Because they believe strongly in education the trio have continued taking courses whenever they have the chance, but to the best of my knowledge none of them have graduated from college. Kevin has a Bachelor's degree from Yale, where his major was pre-med. And both Avi and Matt have degrees; I'm not sure offhand what their majors were, but something musical in both cases.
Thank you for the information. The document I have has been updated
@AceofBadeReacts Any time.
Mitch and Kirstie met and performed together at 8 years old while doing Musical Theater , a now defunct program for Texas Children. After so many years together, they can sound almost alike n even synchronise their vibrato.
Is it Kirstie or Kirstin?
@@AceofBadeReacts Kirstin! Nickname Kirstie
This is the upload without the watermark. It was originally blocked and I wanted to get it out before Christmas
Yes, Mitch and Kirstin sound identical in this song; if you aren't actually watching you can't tell when they change.
There's a delightful video of Mitch imitating Kirstin; he does it perfectly, speaking as well as singing.
Did you notice how high Matt was singing? He's a *bass,* for crying out loud!
They all hit notes that were just incredible here
PTX knows how to use SILENCE an amazing affect on their music!
TX for this. Such a amazing group that made Acapella famous. Best ever group. From a absolute Pentaholic. Greetings from South Africa
Thanks for the reaction. My favorite PTX Christmas song is “That’s Christmas to me” one of their early original Christmas songs.
Great reaction! You did a great introduction, but to clarify: Kirstin, Scott and Mitch wanted to go on The Sing Off ( a performance for a capella singers) but they needed at least five people. Avi Kaplan (original bass) was recommended by mutual friends. They found Kevin Olusola on TH-cam doing his "cello boxing." Of course, they won the season in 2011. Matt Sallee came in 2017 and in 2023 they performed on The Masked Singer as "Sushi Rolls." They have appeared on America's Got Talent as guests. This version of O Holy Night is classic Pentatonix and one of the best they've ever performed, IMO.
I have added that info to the document. How did they meet Matt?
@@AceofBadeReacts Matt was chosen after an audition process . He is the youngest member and though already a great bass singer , his lowest register is still developing . What Matt brought to the group is an impressive range as he can really hit the high notes ..see their live recording of 'Joyful, Joyful ' from the Evergreen tour for an example .
@@AceofBadeReacts As Vicki mentioned, Matt is the youngest member. In 2011, when #Pentatonix appeared on _The Sing-Off,_ Matt was just 17. They actually met a year or two after that (I may be slightly off on that timeline) at one of their workshops for young singers.
Matt totally had stars in his eyes for Pentatonix; they inspired him to become a professional singer. Apparently he had fantasies about the group discovering that for some reason they needed two basses. (Yep, not possible. That's how daydreams work - you won't catch *me* criticizing him for that.)
So Matt went to Berklee College of Music and graduated shortly before Avi's decision to leave. Ben Bram, who told Scott about _The Sing-Off_ in the first place, and who recommended Avi when they first needed a bass, has been their producer and co-arranger almost since day one, and it appears that he's a big aficionado of bass singers. So when Avi left, Ben was aware of Matt and recommended that they invite him to audition.
Matt didn't know for sure who he was auditioning for, because it was a blind audition, but since he knew about Avi's exit he had his suspicions, and his hopes were high. He went into that audition with the bass line from *every* PTX song that had been released already memorized.
He was still young. He isn't a basso profundo, like Avi. But he has a very warm, chocolatey bass; his upper range was already quite impressive; and Pentatonix could hear both his professionalism and that his voice was going to become truly spectacular as he grew into his full potential, so they invited him back for a second audition, after which they had just two questions:
1. Would Matt be comfortable with the amount of touring Pentatonix does?
2. Would Matt fit in with the family of choice that is Pentatonix?
The answer to the first question was "Yes," but they felt Matt needed to actually experience a tour before making that his final answer, and taking Matt on tour was also the best way to answer the second question. So they invited Matt to join their 2017 winter tour as a featured performer, with the understanding that if everyone was still happy at the end of the tour he would be invited to join officially. So officially, Matt joined in 2018, just before it was time for the group to renew their contract with RCA; that way all five of them could sign.
@@AceofBadeReacts From what I understand, Matt was involved in a college a capella workshop and had, actually, met Avi Kaplan previously. PTX did have try-outs and Matt was recommended to them from mutual friends/colleagues. Once he joined the group, he worked very hard to recreate the bass on ALL previous PTX songs. This group, as a whole, is committed to making the very best songs and performances. Matt, also, plays the drums in their performances. This group is so talented and collaborative. There is a live performance called "Kevin's Fifth", where Kevin plays his electronic cello and Matt assists on the drums. It's a lot of fun!!
Pentatonix published "O Holy Night" in 2012, on their first Christmas album, "PTXmas."
Have you noticed that Pentatonix has published a *lot* of Christmas albums? Well, so has Pentatonix. More specifically, Pentatonix has noticed that they're running out of Christmas songs they haven't already covered, but it's hard to break with tradition; they don't want to stop publishing Christmas albums. What to do, what to do? 🤔
Okay, obviously it was time to write some more Christmas songs. So Kirstin and Kevin came up with "Please, Santa, Please." Good. One down, how many more to go? *Thirty?* Oh dear.
Hmmm. Clearly *that* isn't a complete solution. Time for a Google search. "Songs that talk about snow." Great! Let's add "Kiss From a Rose." Now we're down to twenty-nine. Drat! Okay, you know what guys? We're just going to have to make it a compilation album this year. We can call it "Greatest Christmas Hits."
So that's what they did. But when it came to "O Holy Night" they realized that they could do it a lot better now than they did in 2012, especially since they can make use of Matt's incredible range, so they re-recorded it. Good idea; I think this song is Grammy-worthy, though I doubt that RCA submitted it.
And in 2024 they skipped releasing an album entirely. I *suspect* there are two factors at play here:
1. They've always prioritized Christmas albums, and they really are running out of Christmas songs.
2. They've just signed with a new publisher, Republic Records, after RCA arguably cost them a few Grammys by submitting their entire albums to the Academy rather than the few Grammy-worthy songs on the albums.
I knew they did Christmas albums, but yeah it makes sense. There's only so many songs out there to cover, and it takes a while to put together an album of songs that are new.
Excellent Reaction! ❤️ Try Kiss From A Rose 🌹, the live Vevo video. It gives you a taste of when Kevin adds his cello WHILE beat boxing! And they kill it big time!
I did check that one out a while back. It was really awesome
Favorite holiday or Christmas song? I have three.
1. "O Come All Ye Faithful," #Pentatonix
2. "Pure Imagination / Christmas Time Is Here," Pentatonix
3. "Valhalleluja," Nanowar of Steel. (Note: This is a humorous song by an amateur group from Rome, Italy. It incorporates multilingual puns. It's also *very* loud; start with your volume set low and adjust upward if necessary.)
Very cool
I think I would rather hear Avi's live version.
th-cam.com/video/5cvb2qOU0o0/w-d-xo.html
Just something more pure about it