His name is Mitch and you just experienced what we like to call a Mitch-Slap! He's a counter tenor with a six octave range. Kevin is the beatboxer. You would enjoy watching "The Kevin Show: Kevin's Fifth." I'm glad to hear you'll be reacting to more PTX! They are all extraordinary, some of us think they might be aliens!
The 2nd singer is Avi Kaplan, who left the group in 2017 and now has a great solo career. Matt Sallee is the current bass singer (far left in Sound of Silence, wearing a white jacket). The 1st singer here, Scott Hoying, has incredible range and does the bass line whenever the bass singer (whether Avi or Matt) has the lead. The lone female is Kirsti (rhymes with thirsty) Maldonado. The guy in the round hat is Mitch Grassi, and the disbelief you feel the first time you hear him is referred to as being Mitch-slapped! 😅 And Kevin Olusola is the beatboxer, who can also play the cello while beatboxing... Called Celloboxing (watch the video called The Kevin Show: Kevin's Fifth (mind blowing)!!
The bass is Avi Kaplan. He is a basso profundo. He left the group in 2017. Avi started a solo career in 2019 with Change on the Rise. I think you would enjoy Avi's music. Thanks for a fun reaction, cheers!
Judith suggested Love Again, which is a great rec. Also, you'd probably really enjoy their Grammy winning Daft Punk medley, and I like the perc in their cover of "Problem," in particular, too - although their are so many examples of Kevin killing it, and Kevin and Avi killing it together, and Kevin and Matt (who replaced Avi in 2017) killing it together. Since you are a musician, you might also appreciate their bts mini documentary "Pentatonix - The Recording of Evergreen." I also think you should really check out "Kevin's Fifth" and "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy Reimagined" which are both live concert videos during Kevin features with Matt assists. If you do the Sugar Plum Fairy one, you should probably also do their Grammy winning Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, since it is sampled in Kevin and Matt's thing. I mean, there is 13 years of content by a bunch of workaholic music geeks, so there is a lot, lol.
The members of #Pentatonix. In this video we have: • First verse: Tall blond guy, Scott Hoying, lyric baritone. In describing a man's vocal range, "lyric" means that the actual range exceeds the nominal range. In Scott's case, he sings everywhere from about the middle of a normal bass range through most of a normal tenor range. Probably five or six octaves. In live performances Scott typically takes over the bass harmony line when their bass has a solo. • Second verse: Bearded guy wearing a stocking cap, Avi (pronounced Ah'-vee, emphasis on the first syllable) Kaplan, lyric bass. Avi is an operatically trained basso profundo - his lowest notes have blown out speakers in live performances - but his range extends to somewhere in the middle of a normal tenor range. If this were a live performance you'd be hearing Scott singing the bass line during Avi's solo, but if you listen carefully you can hear the bass starting up during Scott's solo, and the voice doesn't change as it continues into Avi's solo. So what gives? Early on, they decided that when they're recording in the studio for release on an album, it's worth a small cheat to improve the audio quality. The bass records a separate track that includes the bass harmonies for his solo. And since this is an official video of a song that was released on an album, that's Avi you hear singing bass while he's also soloing in the baritone and tenor parts of his range. • Third verse: The only woman in Pentatonix, Kirstin (also called Kirstie, which rhymes with thirsty) Maldonado. Kirstin sings everywhere from a low alto through coloratura soprano, the highest female range. And she has fantastic whistle notes on top of that. Lately Pentatonix has begun referring to her as an "alto soprano." • Fourth verse: Guy wearing a wide-brimmed hat, Mitch Grassi (pronounced Grah'-see, emphasis on the first syllable), natural contratenor. No one is certain whether Mitch can sing higher than Kirstin or Kirstin can sing higher than Mitch; I suspect that it varies from day to day, though everyone agrees that Kirstin has better whistle notes. Mitch is known for his ethereally beautiful (some say "angelic") high vocals. Shawn Stockman, of Boyz II Men, said Mitch has "one of the prettiest voices I have ever heard in my life." Mitch switches seamlessly from chest voice to mixed voice to head voice. He has a range of just over six octaves. And we call that stunned look people get the first time they realize that the beautiful high voice is coming from a man, "being Mitch slapped." You've just been Mitch slapped. Don't let it worry you; it's happened to all of us, generally more than once because Mitch is full of surprises. • The fifth member of Pentatonix (PTX for short) is Kevin Olusola (pronounced Oh-loosh"-oh-luh', primary emphasis on the second syllable, secondary emphasis on the fourth) beatboxer extraordinaire. There may be a better beatboxer than Kevin, but if so I've never encountered him or her. We don't get to hear Kevin sing as often as we'd like because he's generally too busy being the entire percussion section, but when he does sing he has a lovely tenor voice that occasionally descends to the uppermost reaches of a baritone range. He's also known for the beauty of his falsetto, which goes higher than Mitch's voice. Kevin has perfect pitch. He began piano lessons at age 4, cello at age 6, and alto saxophone at age 10. When he was a teenager he performed at Carnegie Hall twice, once on the cello and once on the saxophone. He beatboxes while playing the cello, which he refers to as "celloboxing." He graduated from Yale in 2011 with a pre-med major and had already been accepted to Yale Medical School when he gave up his dream of becoming a surgeon to pursue his dream of becoming a professional beatboxer instead. He speaks five languages fluently: English, French, German, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese. He's one of the kindest people in the world, and when he laughs the whole planet seems like a brighter place. In 2017 Avi found it necesssary to leave Pentatonix, for a variety of personal reasons. He has since gone on to have a very successful solo career, and I strongly recommend subscribing to his TH-cam channel, which you can find here: youtube.com/@AviKaplanMusic Avi's replacement joined in either late 2017 or early 2018 (depending on how you figure it) and has now been with Pentatonix longer than Avi was. You'll see him in all of their newer videos: • The second black member of Pentatonix is Matt Sallee (pronounced Suh-lee', emphasis on the second syllable), lyric bass. In addition to being the newest member of Pentatonix Matt is also the youngest member, and I'm told that bass voices improve with age. Matt's range seems to be growing on a daily basis right now. His current lowest note seems to be A1, which just barely counts as basso profundo, though not the blowing out speakers variety. But on his high end Matt reaches nearly the top of a normal tenor range. To find his current range I recommend listening to a recent live stream of "Hallelujah." You can find one here: th-cam.com/video/FqphhPapkoc/w-d-xo.htmlsi=tC6Ew07JGeQKQvDL Matt's arrangement of the second verse seems to be designed to show off his full range, and it will blow you away. His lowest notes don't blow out speakers, though they may within a year or two, but on the high end he's near the top of a normal tenor range. I believe Matt has the largest range of any member of Pentatonix, past or present.
I love how far in you went on this comment! I am super detail-oriented, and the commitment to detailed information is unparalleled among any youtube comments I think I've seen, period. I've just one tiny thing to add to it: With reference to the Shawn Stockman quote [thank you for including it btw!] I feel it's very much worth noting that Mitch was only 19 years old when it was said. Ofc you already know this; I just want it to be known more broadly in case Klown never gets to that particular PTX content, or perhaps watches a version of it that omits the judges remarks.
@@gingerbeardedone3318 I put it in a text file so I can just copy and paste - cuts down on typos. (I once found myself typing “Kirstin and Scott didn't meet until 2014” when I meant to say “Kirstin and Scott didn't meet until they were 14.” Super embarrassing if THAT had made it into the comment!) And I still find myself wanting to edit it just a BIT more - comes of having been a magazine editor many years ago. 😉 Whenever I recommend the old videos from _The Sing-Off,_ I include a recommendation that they be watched in order and that the reactor watch the versions that include the introduction of Pentatonix (with the video the cameras following them around had caught), the judges' responses, and anything Pentatonix said backstage afterwards. Those really are essential to get the whole thing, IMO. The criticism the judges made after their second performance, for instance, is the reason why, to this day, they're so careful to enhance the original music rather than to change it. One mistake, in one song, resulting in a slap on the wrist, and they wrote the lesson in stone. Basically, as far as I can tell both the judges and Pentatonix thought of the judges as mentors, and Pentatonix took full advantage of the opportunity. And besides, it's always worth a laugh to hear Sara Bareilles say that she thinks Pentatonix could be competitive, or Ben Folds ask how long they can keep up the surprises (by my count it's now over 12 years with no end in sight). I really wish we had better audio for those old videos, though. I realize stereo is too much to ask for, but it would be nice if NBC could make the masters available.
You need to check out their live performances. Believe me their live performances are just as good or even better than their studio version. Ill recommend live vevo performance of Kiss from a rose. Prepare to be 🤯
This was recorded in the studio for release on their 2016 Christmas album, "A Pentatonix Christmas," so in the official video they're lip-synching to the music they've already recorded. Which, in the case of #Pentatonix, means that they're actually singing the song so they're in proper time and completely synchronized with each other and all their movements are genuine. But the audio track is from the studio recording. This was shot in the Mojave desert outside of Barstow, California. Because it went with a song on that year's Christmas album, they were all dressed in warm winter coats, even though they were filming it in August and the temperature was around 98° Fahrenheit (36.667° Celsius), so they were all miserably hot. Kirstin had injured her foot or ankle and was unable to walk with them; it was as much as she could do to stand in one spot while the men walked up behind her. And they were off-road and afraid that they wouldn't be able to find their way out in the dark, but they really wanted the video to include Mitch's hat eclipsing the setting sun. So they needed to do it as quickly as possible and then leave immediately, which is exactly what they did, and they were VERY relieved to be putting it behind them. And yes, they did manage to make it out before full darkness fell, just barely. So to sum it up, everybody was thoroughly miserable, and we SEE none of that. What we see are five people on a cold winter day in the desert, putting their lone female singer front and center, as if she's the focal point of the song (an effect that's enhanced by the brief cut to Kirstin when Avi sings "Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you"). As always, Pentatonix makes a virtue of necessity.
When You like the voices been added up You should watch their version of "Say something". Or as we Pentaholics say: They don't do covers - they do upgrades. 😆
You do wonderful, insightful and respectful reactions to Pentatonix, one of my absolute favorite musical groups, period. PLEASE do more, and PLEASE start a playlist for them all. They have an extensive catalog and it’s ALL 🔥… I’m subscribing now in anticipation of many more PTX videos!! Thank you! 😊
Great reaction People that truly appreciate music appreciate great music from all genres and you clearly appreciate and understand the process and their talent ( You can see Hallelujah live at the Hollywood Bowl 2022) Suggestions: Daft Punk, Can’t Hold Us, Problem ( the official video is awesome but their live at a radio station is impressive) New Rulesx Are You That Somebody, Gold, Havana, Bohemian Rhapsody, Imagine, The Prayer, Amazing Grace Originals: Sing, Love Again, A Little Space ( with Ateez) Happy Now, They have Behind the Scenes videos for many of their videos My fav is about 15 minutes long “The Recording of Evergreen” It shows them in the 2nd week of recording their album Evergreen ( they received a Grammy nomination but did not win that one) They have 3 Grammys and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Their talent is amazing and they truly enjoy working together to create the best song result.
I have such a crush on Kevin, so it's nice to get a perspective from a beatboxer like him. Great job. If you want to see another side of Kevin, you really should check out their cover of "Kiss from a Rose". It's my favorite Pentatonix performance
I don't believe I've told you how #Pentatonix got started, and it's WAY past time that I did. Kirstin, Mitch, and Scott all grew up in Arlington, Texas. All of them were involved with community musical theater as children, and Mitch met both Scott and Kirstin there (separately) when they were still pre-teens, and became friends with each of them. However, Scott and Kirstin didn't meet each other until they were fourteen and in the same high school class. All three were choir geeks (duh), and they quickly became best friends in high school. And if you're wondering what was in the water in Arlington in the early 1990s that three such remarkably talented people should all be born in such proximity, you aren't the only one. There was some kind of singing contest to meet the stars of _Glee,_ and the three of them wanted to enter, so they formed a trio which they named "The Trio." (I know; not very imaginative. They're somewhat better with that now.) They lost the contest, but they kept The Trio together anyway; they performed at school functions and occasionally on local television. Pentaholics still refer to these three as "the trio," and the trio is the heart of Pentatonix. Kirstin and Scott were a year ahead of Mitch; they graduated in 2010, when Mitch was still in eleventh grade, and both went away for their freshman year of college. Kirstin went to the University of Oklahoma (with a full ride scholarship!), and Scott went to the University of Southern Califonia. Scott is a very outgoing person, so he immediately began looking around for extracurricular activities where he could meet people and make new friends, and he found an award-winning amateur a cappella group named SoCal VoCals, which he joined. While there he met a former member named Ben Bram, who at the time was a coach on NBC's a cappella competition show named _"The Sing-Off."_ A cappella groups would audition for the show, and those that passed appeared throughout the season. There was a panel of three judges, all professional musicians, who would critique each performance. Along the way some groups would be eliminated, narrowing the field, and at the end of the season viewers would be invited to vote on a winner. The winning group would receive $200,000 and a recording contract with Epic, a minor subsidiary of Sony, the show's sponsor. Scott was intrigued. He thought The Trio could be competitive, and if they could get a recording contract they could have a career doing what they most loved, with the people they most loved. So he talked to Kirstin, who thought his idea had promise, and at the end of their first year of college the two of them headed back to Arlington to be there for Mitch's graduation and to talk with Mitch about Scott's idea. Meanwhile, back in Arlington Mitch had been having a very difficult year. His best friends weren't there, and as an out-of-the-closet young gay man with an unusually high voice he was being seriously bullied. And unfortunately, since the bullying was ostensibly for his voice he was quickly developing the notion that there was something wrong with his voice and that no one would want to hear him sing. So when Scott presented his idea Mitch was on board; it was a way to get away from the bullies. He had doubts about his ability to carry his weight in the group, because of the bullying, but he was willing to try, and if Scott and Kirstin said they could win, well, maybe they could. So with everyone agreed, Scott called Ben Bram to find out how to arrange for an audition, and this is where they met their first setback. _The Sing-Off_ had a size requirement; the minimum size allowed was five. The Trio needed two new members and a new name. They were stumped. Ben suggested that they'd profit from adding a rhythm section: a bass and a beatboxer, and he knew the perfect person to recommend for the bass, a guy named Avi Kaplan. They talked to Avi, and he was very interested, so that took care of the bass, but where to find the beatboxer? Ben didn't have any suggestions. So in desperation they typed "beatboxer" into a TH-cam search box and the first hit they got was a black guy playing a classical piece on the cello and beatboxing at the same time. And all of them said, "Wow! He's the one! How can we get in touch with him?" They were in luck. At the time TH-cam had something called TH-cam messages, which would allow private messages between members (now discontinued), so they sent Kevin a private message: "Hey! We really love your stuff, and we wonder if you'd be interested in flying across the country to join four strangers to audition for an a cappella competition show on television?" And Kevin messaged them back: "Normally I'd be there in a heart beat; I love a cappella and have been in a cappella groups before. But right now I'm studying for my final exams for my pre-med major from Yale." Oh. That sounded pretty definite; better keep looking. So they kept looking, and they found someone, but he was no Kevin Olusola. Oh well; you work with what you have. And two weeks later Kevin messaged them again: "Good news! I just graduated. If the gig's still open I can fly out." He arrived the day before their audition. Mitch had to skip his graduation ceremony to attend the audition. But even with just a day of rehearsal they still passed the audition; they were in. Oh, yes, the name. Pentatonix is named for the pentatonic scale, which has five (penta) tones just as Pentatonix has five (Penta) singers. In other words, it's a fancier way of saying they're now "The Quintet." 😂 Pentatonix appeared throughout season three of _The Sing-Off,_ and eventually won. All those performances are available on TH-cam and are well worth watching, preferably in order so you can see how they grew throughout the season. Some of them are as good as anything they've done since (which is saying a lot) and are only available in those old videos. (Note: If you decide to react to these, be sure and watch the versions that contain the show's introduction of Pentatonix just before the performance, and the judges' critiques of the performance, and any comments Pentatonix made backstage.) So, they'd won _The Sing-Off,_ complete with recording contract. Time to move to California permanently and begin recording. And a week later Epic reneged on the contract, saying that they didn't know how to market a cappella. But at this point Pentatonix weren't willing to give up; they WANTED that career they'd been working toward. So they pooled their winnings and lived frugally. The four men shared two apartments, to cut down on expenses. They arranged music and rehearsed every day, and when they had a song ready they used their iPhones to record themselves anywhere they could find good acoustics, and sometimes in places with acoustics that were just okay. And they posted to TH-cam. Their fans from _The Sing-Off_ quickly found them there, and subscribed, and they began to get more views and more subscribers, and to pick up a few patrons. In fact, they were going viral. And Sony noticed, and approached them with an offer: Perhaps Pentatonix would like a recording contract with Madison Gate, another minor subsidiary? Hmmm. 🤔 Would they like a recording contract? Might have to think about that, for a second or two. Darn right they'd like a recording contract! And then came "Daft Punk Medley," and Pentatonix won their first Grammy. And again, Sony took notice, and approached Pentatonix: "We've been thinking about it and we believe you might find a better fit with our flagship label, RCA. Are you interested?" They've been with RCA ever since. They go on tours world wide and perform to sold-out venues. They put out at LEAST one album a year, frequently more. One has gone Gold and one has gone Platinum twice. They have three Grammys and recently received a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. And they are the only a cappella band to have won so much as ONE Grammy, or to be represented on the Walk of Fame. Anyway, one of the most important things to remember about Pentatonix is that they began with three best friends who were so close to each other that they felt like siblings, family, and they still feel that way. Every person who has joined with the trio to form Pentatonix has been incorporated into that family-of-choice. And because they're a family, they take care of each other. They have no one lead singer; when a song calls for a lead singer they choose the member whose voice best suits the song. That way everyone takes the lead sometimes. Everyone gets time in the spotlight, and no one is burdened with having to always lead. They can set their egos aside, because their egos are already getting more recognition than any healthy ego needs, and that leaves them free to do whatever is best for the music. Beyond the raw talent of every member of Pentatonix, the thing that truly makes them a great band is this ability to focus on the music. This is the primary reason that Pentatonix is so much greater than the sum of its parts.
This was my introduction to Pentatonix ~ and to the purely beautiful voice of the basso profundo Avi kaplan {please check out his original solo "Avi Kaplan, All Is Well, Seven Layers Session # 126} ~ great reaction to one of my favorite PTX videos! New sub!
Hallelujah is one of their most soul calling covers. Daft punk is one of their most technically difficult covers to pull off acapella style. They won the first acapella grammy for it. There is one other group to add to the holy trinity of acapella you are currently experiencing, and that's voiceplay. Valhalla calling is probably a good starter.
You might find one of their Evolution Of videos ( Music, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Rihanna, and Ariana Grande) very interesting. They are live ( I believe they take the best of three attempts) and you would be able to see the amazing way they transition between different songs.
This song is one of my fav songs of all time even tho I'm not religious (I am spiritual tho.) As long as whoever is. Singing this song had a pretty voice and emotion in their performancethe the song will land! ❤❤❤❤
The second guy to sing is Avi Kaplan. He is their base singer. It always amazes me that these baso profundo singers can also due tenor. Same with Tim Foust from Home free. Crazy range. Avi is now off doing his own thing, and he is really good. His music leans towards masculine, and a bit primal.
The hat guy is named Mitch, and the face you make when you hear him sing, is called a Mitch slap. If you really want to hear Mitch's voice, do the Prayer, it will mess with your mind. The prayer was originally done by Celine Dione, an Andre Bouchilli. The whisper you hear on the bass is actually a technique called Overtones, he is singing the bass, say a D2. and he is also singing although more quietly say a D6, at the same time. Let me see if I can look up the video where he demonstrates it. Yes singing two different notes at the same time. Way too much talent in this group. If you want to hear Kevin being featured, look up Kevin's Fifth, talk about talent. He is actually a Medical Doctor, and he beat boxes in an accapella group. I think the world is better off this way.
If you want another Video where you hear hoe crazy Mutch and Avi are, you need to see their Cover of 'Aha' by Imogen heap at the Star Vista. I wont spoiler much but its really incredible. And if you havent you need to watch their Mash-Up of Hey Mama/Hit the road Jack. Incredible spontaneous performance
Please, please, please do the live stage performances where Mitch and and Avie got into a range contest for who could go highest or lowest. Mitch won by a hair. Its amazing. They were on tour. Please?
Loving the reaction, and just became a subscriber! I really like the humour of your "BLOCKED, IMAGINE" cover up, which is a great segue into my recommendation for a future [possibly your next] PTX reaction: I would love to see you experience the official video for their sublime cover of the John Lennon classic "Imagine". It might well be my favourite PTX track overall [top 5 for sure; difficult to pick a clear favourite] In answer to your musing about how long they take to put an arrangement together: as long as it takes to bring it up to their established standard of "absolutely incredible". In the case of their cover of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" [edit: another great suggestion for a future reaction!] over five years were spent piecing it together alongside their other projects, between inception and release.
Avi is the bass but he is classically trained and has a nice wide 5+ octave range with an overtone voice to beat. With his overtone singing, he has a whistle voice better than Mariah.
You might appreciate their original Love Again, particularly for the bass & percussion
His name is Mitch and you just experienced what we like to call a Mitch-Slap! He's a counter tenor with a six octave range. Kevin is the beatboxer. You would enjoy watching "The Kevin Show: Kevin's Fifth." I'm glad to hear you'll be reacting to more PTX! They are all extraordinary, some of us think they might be aliens!
The 2nd singer is Avi Kaplan, who left the group in 2017 and now has a great solo career. Matt Sallee is the current bass singer (far left in Sound of Silence, wearing a white jacket). The 1st singer here, Scott Hoying, has incredible range and does the bass line whenever the bass singer (whether Avi or Matt) has the lead. The lone female is Kirsti (rhymes with thirsty) Maldonado. The guy in the round hat is Mitch Grassi, and the disbelief you feel the first time you hear him is referred to as being Mitch-slapped! 😅 And Kevin Olusola is the beatboxer, who can also play the cello while beatboxing... Called Celloboxing (watch the video called The Kevin Show: Kevin's Fifth (mind blowing)!!
Oeeee thank you🫶🫶 always love some "lore"
The bass is Avi Kaplan. He is a basso profundo. He left the group in 2017. Avi started a solo career in 2019 with Change on the Rise. I think you would enjoy Avi's music. Thanks for a fun reaction, cheers!
I totally agree ~ Please react to the incredible Avi Kaplan!
Yes please
1OO % agree!!!!
Judith suggested Love Again, which is a great rec. Also, you'd probably really enjoy their Grammy winning Daft Punk medley, and I like the perc in their cover of "Problem," in particular, too - although their are so many examples of Kevin killing it, and Kevin and Avi killing it together, and Kevin and Matt (who replaced Avi in 2017) killing it together. Since you are a musician, you might also appreciate their bts mini documentary "Pentatonix - The Recording of Evergreen." I also think you should really check out "Kevin's Fifth" and "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy Reimagined" which are both live concert videos during Kevin features with Matt assists. If you do the Sugar Plum Fairy one, you should probably also do their Grammy winning Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, since it is sampled in Kevin and Matt's thing. I mean, there is 13 years of content by a bunch of workaholic music geeks, so there is a lot, lol.
The members of #Pentatonix. In this video we have:
• First verse: Tall blond guy, Scott Hoying, lyric baritone. In describing a man's vocal range, "lyric" means that the actual range exceeds the nominal range. In Scott's case, he sings everywhere from about the middle of a normal bass range through most of a normal tenor range. Probably five or six octaves. In live performances Scott typically takes over the bass harmony line when their bass has a solo.
• Second verse: Bearded guy wearing a stocking cap, Avi (pronounced Ah'-vee, emphasis on the first syllable) Kaplan, lyric bass. Avi is an operatically trained basso profundo - his lowest notes have blown out speakers in live performances - but his range extends to somewhere in the middle of a normal tenor range. If this were a live performance you'd be hearing Scott singing the bass line during Avi's solo, but if you listen carefully you can hear the bass starting up during Scott's solo, and the voice doesn't change as it continues into Avi's solo. So what gives? Early on, they decided that when they're recording in the studio for release on an album, it's worth a small cheat to improve the audio quality. The bass records a separate track that includes the bass harmonies for his solo. And since this is an official video of a song that was released on an album, that's Avi you hear singing bass while he's also soloing in the baritone and tenor parts of his range.
• Third verse: The only woman in Pentatonix, Kirstin (also called Kirstie, which rhymes with thirsty) Maldonado. Kirstin sings everywhere from a low alto through coloratura soprano, the highest female range. And she has fantastic whistle notes on top of that. Lately Pentatonix has begun referring to her as an "alto soprano."
• Fourth verse: Guy wearing a wide-brimmed hat, Mitch Grassi (pronounced Grah'-see, emphasis on the first syllable), natural contratenor. No one is certain whether Mitch can sing higher than Kirstin or Kirstin can sing higher than Mitch; I suspect that it varies from day to day, though everyone agrees that Kirstin has better whistle notes. Mitch is known for his ethereally beautiful (some say "angelic") high vocals. Shawn Stockman, of Boyz II Men, said Mitch has "one of the prettiest voices I have ever heard in my life." Mitch switches seamlessly from chest voice to mixed voice to head voice. He has a range of just over six octaves. And we call that stunned look people get the first time they realize that the beautiful high voice is coming from a man, "being Mitch slapped." You've just been Mitch slapped. Don't let it worry you; it's happened to all of us, generally more than once because Mitch is full of surprises.
• The fifth member of Pentatonix (PTX for short) is Kevin Olusola (pronounced Oh-loosh"-oh-luh', primary emphasis on the second syllable, secondary emphasis on the fourth) beatboxer extraordinaire. There may be a better beatboxer than Kevin, but if so I've never encountered him or her. We don't get to hear Kevin sing as often as we'd like because he's generally too busy being the entire percussion section, but when he does sing he has a lovely tenor voice that occasionally descends to the uppermost reaches of a baritone range. He's also known for the beauty of his falsetto, which goes higher than Mitch's voice. Kevin has perfect pitch. He began piano lessons at age 4, cello at age 6, and alto saxophone at age 10. When he was a teenager he performed at Carnegie Hall twice, once on the cello and once on the saxophone. He beatboxes while playing the cello, which he refers to as "celloboxing." He graduated from Yale in 2011 with a pre-med major and had already been accepted to Yale Medical School when he gave up his dream of becoming a surgeon to pursue his dream of becoming a professional beatboxer instead. He speaks five languages fluently: English, French, German, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese. He's one of the kindest people in the world, and when he laughs the whole planet seems like a brighter place.
In 2017 Avi found it necesssary to leave Pentatonix, for a variety of personal reasons. He has since gone on to have a very successful solo career, and I strongly recommend subscribing to his TH-cam channel, which you can find here: youtube.com/@AviKaplanMusic
Avi's replacement joined in either late 2017 or early 2018 (depending on how you figure it) and has now been with Pentatonix longer than Avi was. You'll see him in all of their newer videos:
• The second black member of Pentatonix is Matt Sallee (pronounced Suh-lee', emphasis on the second syllable), lyric bass. In addition to being the newest member of Pentatonix Matt is also the youngest member, and I'm told that bass voices improve with age. Matt's range seems to be growing on a daily basis right now. His current lowest note seems to be A1, which just barely counts as basso profundo, though not the blowing out speakers variety. But on his high end Matt reaches nearly the top of a normal tenor range. To find his current range I recommend listening to a recent live stream of "Hallelujah." You can find one here: th-cam.com/video/FqphhPapkoc/w-d-xo.htmlsi=tC6Ew07JGeQKQvDL Matt's arrangement of the second verse seems to be designed to show off his full range, and it will blow you away. His lowest notes don't blow out speakers, though they may within a year or two, but on the high end he's near the top of a normal tenor range. I believe Matt has the largest range of any member of Pentatonix, past or present.
I love how far in you went on this comment!
I am super detail-oriented, and the commitment to detailed information is unparalleled among any youtube comments I think I've seen, period. I've just one tiny thing to add to it:
With reference to the Shawn Stockman quote [thank you for including it btw!] I feel it's very much worth noting that Mitch was only 19 years old when it was said.
Ofc you already know this; I just want it to be known more broadly in case Klown never gets to that particular PTX content, or perhaps watches a version of it that omits the judges remarks.
@@gingerbeardedone3318 I put it in a text file so I can just copy and paste - cuts down on typos. (I once found myself typing “Kirstin and Scott didn't meet until 2014” when I meant to say “Kirstin and Scott didn't meet until they were 14.” Super embarrassing if THAT had made it into the comment!) And I still find myself wanting to edit it just a BIT more - comes of having been a magazine editor many years ago. 😉
Whenever I recommend the old videos from _The Sing-Off,_ I include a recommendation that they be watched in order and that the reactor watch the versions that include the introduction of Pentatonix (with the video the cameras following them around had caught), the judges' responses, and anything Pentatonix said backstage afterwards. Those really are essential to get the whole thing, IMO. The criticism the judges made after their second performance, for instance, is the reason why, to this day, they're so careful to enhance the original music rather than to change it. One mistake, in one song, resulting in a slap on the wrist, and they wrote the lesson in stone. Basically, as far as I can tell both the judges and Pentatonix thought of the judges as mentors, and Pentatonix took full advantage of the opportunity. And besides, it's always worth a laugh to hear Sara Bareilles say that she thinks Pentatonix could be competitive, or Ben Folds ask how long they can keep up the surprises (by my count it's now over 12 years with no end in sight).
I really wish we had better audio for those old videos, though. I realize stereo is too much to ask for, but it would be nice if NBC could make the masters available.
Love your enthusiasm! You made this reaction fun. Thanks.
You should do Dart Punk next followed by 90s dance medley to see Kevin in action.
You need to check out their live performances. Believe me their live performances are just as good or even better than their studio version. Ill recommend live vevo performance of Kiss from a rose. Prepare to be 🤯
I'll add the amazing "AHA, the Star Vista, Singapore" Mitch was unleashed!
Their videos "Daft Punk" and "Can't Hold Us" show completely different styles they can do!!
I'll get on to those too :)
Daft Punk and yes, Can’t hold us!!! I almost forgot about that one. Both GREAT choices!!!!!
@@KlownMusicReactsyou will also want to see what Kevin does in their version of Ariana Grande’s Problem
Since you are a beat boxer, I would LOVE your reaction to their Daft Punk medley… pretty pretty please everyone vote with me!! ❤
'Love again' next! 🥰
Great to watch someone who really understands and appreciates what they're doing.
This was recorded in the studio for release on their 2016 Christmas album, "A Pentatonix Christmas," so in the official video they're lip-synching to the music they've already recorded. Which, in the case of #Pentatonix, means that they're actually singing the song so they're in proper time and completely synchronized with each other and all their movements are genuine. But the audio track is from the studio recording.
This was shot in the Mojave desert outside of Barstow, California. Because it went with a song on that year's Christmas album, they were all dressed in warm winter coats, even though they were filming it in August and the temperature was around 98° Fahrenheit (36.667° Celsius), so they were all miserably hot. Kirstin had injured her foot or ankle and was unable to walk with them; it was as much as she could do to stand in one spot while the men walked up behind her. And they were off-road and afraid that they wouldn't be able to find their way out in the dark, but they really wanted the video to include Mitch's hat eclipsing the setting sun. So they needed to do it as quickly as possible and then leave immediately, which is exactly what they did, and they were VERY relieved to be putting it behind them. And yes, they did manage to make it out before full darkness fell, just barely.
So to sum it up, everybody was thoroughly miserable, and we SEE none of that. What we see are five people on a cold winter day in the desert, putting their lone female singer front and center, as if she's the focal point of the song (an effect that's enhanced by the brief cut to Kirstin when Avi sings "Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you"). As always, Pentatonix makes a virtue of necessity.
I don't hit like often, but seeing a Mitch reaction, I do. That's worth a button bump.
When You like the voices been added up You should watch their version of "Say something".
Or as we Pentaholics say: They don't do covers - they do upgrades. 😆
You do wonderful, insightful and respectful reactions to Pentatonix, one of my absolute favorite musical groups, period. PLEASE do more, and PLEASE start a playlist for them all. They have an extensive catalog and it’s ALL 🔥…
I’m subscribing now in anticipation of many more PTX videos!! Thank you! 😊
More coming soon😊
Pentatonix, Little Drummer Boy please - lots of beatboxing
pentatonix daft punk medley or bohemian rhapsody has to be next right?
Avi Kaplan was the beanie guy with the super basso. When he was singing the second verse, Scott Hoying was singing bass. Scotty got range.
Mitch Grassi is the beautiful high singer, counter tenor!
Shallow, Havana - Pentatonix
I admire your beatboxing skills - and in this video - loved how you gestured your interpretation of their layered vocals :)
I loved your reaction to this beautiful cover! You know exactly what Kevin is doing! Thanks so much!
Been seeing a lot of daft punk reccomendations, i'll do it
Thanks very much for the reaction! Your enjoyment was contagious and made me smile ❤
Thanks for doing more PTX. Sat Something, Radioactive, Shallow, Perfect and Kiss from a Rose and maybe a few more have Kevin "Cello-boxing"
Beautiful song by a great songwriter/poet. I think it might be Leonard's Cohen's most covered song. I love this cover.
Their cover of Seal's "Kiss From A Rose" is amazing - Kevin is the only "cello-boxer" I've ever known of! Welcome to the Pentaholics family ❤
Great reaction People that truly appreciate music appreciate great music from all genres and you clearly appreciate and understand the process and their talent ( You can see Hallelujah live at the Hollywood Bowl 2022)
Suggestions: Daft Punk, Can’t Hold Us, Problem ( the official video is awesome but their live at a radio station is impressive)
New Rulesx Are You That Somebody, Gold, Havana, Bohemian Rhapsody, Imagine, The Prayer, Amazing Grace
Originals: Sing, Love Again, A Little Space ( with Ateez) Happy Now,
They have Behind the Scenes videos for many of their videos My fav is about 15 minutes long “The Recording of Evergreen” It shows them in the 2nd week of recording their album Evergreen ( they received a Grammy nomination but did not win that one)
They have 3 Grammys and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Their talent is amazing and they truly enjoy working together to create the best song result.
I have such a crush on Kevin, so it's nice to get a perspective from a beatboxer like him. Great job. If you want to see another side of Kevin, you really should check out their cover of "Kiss from a Rose". It's my favorite Pentatonix performance
I don't believe I've told you how #Pentatonix got started, and it's WAY past time that I did.
Kirstin, Mitch, and Scott all grew up in Arlington, Texas. All of them were involved with community musical theater as children, and Mitch met both Scott and Kirstin there (separately) when they were still pre-teens, and became friends with each of them. However, Scott and Kirstin didn't meet each other until they were fourteen and in the same high school class. All three were choir geeks (duh), and they quickly became best friends in high school. And if you're wondering what was in the water in Arlington in the early 1990s that three such remarkably talented people should all be born in such proximity, you aren't the only one.
There was some kind of singing contest to meet the stars of _Glee,_ and the three of them wanted to enter, so they formed a trio which they named "The Trio." (I know; not very imaginative. They're somewhat better with that now.) They lost the contest, but they kept The Trio together anyway; they performed at school functions and occasionally on local television. Pentaholics still refer to these three as "the trio," and the trio is the heart of Pentatonix.
Kirstin and Scott were a year ahead of Mitch; they graduated in 2010, when Mitch was still in eleventh grade, and both went away for their freshman year of college. Kirstin went to the University of Oklahoma (with a full ride scholarship!), and Scott went to the University of Southern Califonia.
Scott is a very outgoing person, so he immediately began looking around for extracurricular activities where he could meet people and make new friends, and he found an award-winning amateur a cappella group named SoCal VoCals, which he joined. While there he met a former member named Ben Bram, who at the time was a coach on NBC's a cappella competition show named _"The Sing-Off."_ A cappella groups would audition for the show, and those that passed appeared throughout the season. There was a panel of three judges, all professional musicians, who would critique each performance. Along the way some groups would be eliminated, narrowing the field, and at the end of the season viewers would be invited to vote on a winner. The winning group would receive $200,000 and a recording contract with Epic, a minor subsidiary of Sony, the show's sponsor.
Scott was intrigued. He thought The Trio could be competitive, and if they could get a recording contract they could have a career doing what they most loved, with the people they most loved. So he talked to Kirstin, who thought his idea had promise, and at the end of their first year of college the two of them headed back to Arlington to be there for Mitch's graduation and to talk with Mitch about Scott's idea.
Meanwhile, back in Arlington Mitch had been having a very difficult year. His best friends weren't there, and as an out-of-the-closet young gay man with an unusually high voice he was being seriously bullied. And unfortunately, since the bullying was ostensibly for his voice he was quickly developing the notion that there was something wrong with his voice and that no one would want to hear him sing. So when Scott presented his idea Mitch was on board; it was a way to get away from the bullies. He had doubts about his ability to carry his weight in the group, because of the bullying, but he was willing to try, and if Scott and Kirstin said they could win, well, maybe they could.
So with everyone agreed, Scott called Ben Bram to find out how to arrange for an audition, and this is where they met their first setback. _The Sing-Off_ had a size requirement; the minimum size allowed was five. The Trio needed two new members and a new name. They were stumped.
Ben suggested that they'd profit from adding a rhythm section: a bass and a beatboxer, and he knew the perfect person to recommend for the bass, a guy named Avi Kaplan. They talked to Avi, and he was very interested, so that took care of the bass, but where to find the beatboxer? Ben didn't have any suggestions. So in desperation they typed "beatboxer" into a TH-cam search box and the first hit they got was a black guy playing a classical piece on the cello and beatboxing at the same time. And all of them said, "Wow! He's the one! How can we get in touch with him?"
They were in luck. At the time TH-cam had something called TH-cam messages, which would allow private messages between members (now discontinued), so they sent Kevin a private message: "Hey! We really love your stuff, and we wonder if you'd be interested in flying across the country to join four strangers to audition for an a cappella competition show on television?" And Kevin messaged them back: "Normally I'd be there in a heart beat; I love a cappella and have been in a cappella groups before. But right now I'm studying for my final exams for my pre-med major from Yale." Oh. That sounded pretty definite; better keep looking. So they kept looking, and they found someone, but he was no Kevin Olusola. Oh well; you work with what you have.
And two weeks later Kevin messaged them again: "Good news! I just graduated. If the gig's still open I can fly out." He arrived the day before their audition. Mitch had to skip his graduation ceremony to attend the audition. But even with just a day of rehearsal they still passed the audition; they were in.
Oh, yes, the name. Pentatonix is named for the pentatonic scale, which has five (penta) tones just as Pentatonix has five (Penta) singers. In other words, it's a fancier way of saying they're now "The Quintet." 😂
Pentatonix appeared throughout season three of _The Sing-Off,_ and eventually won. All those performances are available on TH-cam and are well worth watching, preferably in order so you can see how they grew throughout the season. Some of them are as good as anything they've done since (which is saying a lot) and are only available in those old videos. (Note: If you decide to react to these, be sure and watch the versions that contain the show's introduction of Pentatonix just before the performance, and the judges' critiques of the performance, and any comments Pentatonix made backstage.)
So, they'd won _The Sing-Off,_ complete with recording contract. Time to move to California permanently and begin recording. And a week later Epic reneged on the contract, saying that they didn't know how to market a cappella. But at this point Pentatonix weren't willing to give up; they WANTED that career they'd been working toward. So they pooled their winnings and lived frugally. The four men shared two apartments, to cut down on expenses. They arranged music and rehearsed every day, and when they had a song ready they used their iPhones to record themselves anywhere they could find good acoustics, and sometimes in places with acoustics that were just okay. And they posted to TH-cam. Their fans from _The Sing-Off_ quickly found them there, and subscribed, and they began to get more views and more subscribers, and to pick up a few patrons. In fact, they were going viral. And Sony noticed, and approached them with an offer: Perhaps Pentatonix would like a recording contract with Madison Gate, another minor subsidiary? Hmmm. 🤔 Would they like a recording contract? Might have to think about that, for a second or two. Darn right they'd like a recording contract!
And then came "Daft Punk Medley," and Pentatonix won their first Grammy. And again, Sony took notice, and approached Pentatonix: "We've been thinking about it and we believe you might find a better fit with our flagship label, RCA. Are you interested?" They've been with RCA ever since. They go on tours world wide and perform to sold-out venues. They put out at LEAST one album a year, frequently more. One has gone Gold and one has gone Platinum twice. They have three Grammys and recently received a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. And they are the only a cappella band to have won so much as ONE Grammy, or to be represented on the Walk of Fame.
Anyway, one of the most important things to remember about Pentatonix is that they began with three best friends who were so close to each other that they felt like siblings, family, and they still feel that way. Every person who has joined with the trio to form Pentatonix has been incorporated into that family-of-choice. And because they're a family, they take care of each other. They have no one lead singer; when a song calls for a lead singer they choose the member whose voice best suits the song. That way everyone takes the lead sometimes. Everyone gets time in the spotlight, and no one is burdened with having to always lead. They can set their egos aside, because their egos are already getting more recognition than any healthy ego needs, and that leaves them free to do whatever is best for the music.
Beyond the raw talent of every member of Pentatonix, the thing that truly makes them a great band is this ability to focus on the music. This is the primary reason that Pentatonix is so much greater than the sum of its parts.
This was my introduction to Pentatonix ~ and to the purely beautiful voice of the basso profundo Avi kaplan {please check out his original solo "Avi Kaplan, All Is Well, Seven Layers Session # 126} ~ great reaction to one of my favorite PTX videos! New sub!
You should watch their live version of this from their Christmas special as a comparison.
Hallelujah is one of their most soul calling covers. Daft punk is one of their most technically difficult covers to pull off acapella style. They won the first acapella grammy for it.
There is one other group to add to the holy trinity of acapella you are currently experiencing, and that's voiceplay. Valhalla calling is probably a good starter.
You might like Can You Feel the Love Tonight. The beatboxing and bass are great. Plus the vocals of course.
I know ren would be amazing even more singing this song he brings it up in hunger
You might find one of their Evolution Of videos ( Music, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Rihanna, and Ariana Grande) very interesting. They are live ( I believe they take the best of three attempts) and you would be able to see the amazing way they transition between different songs.
Love #PTX. Don’t love reactors imposing their own beatboxing/singing on top of them.
There are two people singing the base. Scott, the baritone/tenor, takes over as bass when the bass, Avi, has a solo.
Please react to the making of Evergreen. It would be interesting to hear your comments
YES ABSOLUTELY 💯
The high soprano is Mitch. That sort of double take that people tend to do the first time they hear has a name. It is called getting Mitch slapped.
This song is one of my fav songs of all time even tho I'm not religious (I am spiritual tho.) As long as whoever is. Singing this song had a pretty voice and emotion in their performancethe the song will land! ❤❤❤❤
I'm the exact same, not religious in any way, just a massive love for great performance :)
This song is not about religion even if it may sound like it. Look it up.
Subscribed for more Pentatonix.
Recommend their cover of The Prayer.
The second guy to sing is Avi Kaplan. He is their base singer. It always amazes me that these baso profundo singers can also due tenor. Same with Tim Foust from Home free. Crazy range. Avi is now off doing his own thing, and he is really good. His music leans towards masculine, and a bit primal.
Scott takes over the bass when Avi or Matt are singing.
The hat guy is named Mitch, and the face you make when you hear him sing, is called a Mitch slap. If you really want to hear Mitch's voice, do the Prayer, it will mess with your mind. The prayer was originally done by Celine Dione, an Andre Bouchilli.
The whisper you hear on the bass is actually a technique called Overtones, he is singing the bass, say a D2. and he is also singing although more quietly say a D6, at the same time. Let me see if I can look up the video where he demonstrates it. Yes singing two different notes at the same time. Way too much talent in this group.
If you want to hear Kevin being featured, look up Kevin's Fifth, talk about talent. He is actually a Medical Doctor, and he beat boxes in an accapella group. I think the world is better off this way.
If you want another Video where you hear hoe crazy Mutch and Avi are, you need to see their Cover of 'Aha' by Imogen heap at the Star Vista. I wont spoiler much but its really incredible. And if you havent you need to watch their Mash-Up of Hey Mama/Hit the road Jack. Incredible spontaneous performance
Please, please, please do the live stage performances where Mitch and and Avie got into a range contest for who could go highest or lowest. Mitch won by a hair. Its amazing. They were on tour. Please?
Loving the reaction, and just became a subscriber!
I really like the humour of your "BLOCKED, IMAGINE" cover up, which is a great segue into my recommendation for a future [possibly your next] PTX reaction:
I would love to see you experience the official video for their sublime cover of the John Lennon classic "Imagine".
It might well be my favourite PTX track overall [top 5 for sure; difficult to pick a clear favourite]
In answer to your musing about how long they take to put an arrangement together: as long as it takes to bring it up to their established standard of "absolutely incredible".
In the case of their cover of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" [edit: another great suggestion for a future reaction!] over five years were spent piecing it together alongside their other projects, between inception and release.
Hi klown❤ my mom took her last breathe to this song I blast this song everywhere it screams out my car lmao Idc
Klowniacs ❤
❤❤❤
You just got "Mitch slapped"...
Incredible beat boxing in the Incredible Daft Punk
You Need to hear pentatonix - daft Punk and pentatonix - live again
The daft punk has been suggested a lot! I'll do it :)
Not live again its love again
Homie111 yes we have said it numerous times!!!
Please listen to daft punk en gold and bohimian rapsody, by pentatonix
I just recorded daft punk :)
Avi is the bass but he is classically trained and has a nice wide 5+ octave range with
an overtone voice to beat. With his overtone singing, he has a whistle voice better than Mariah.
👏👏👏🙏💛🍀
⚡⚡🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥⚡⚡
workin for a livin home free !!!
You need to get eshplume to see this!😊
th-cam.com/video/IGjg193h4Ok/w-d-xo.html
You talk too much!
❤❤❤