Yeah, I love that you're doing this, but you should totally check out the official video too. There's so much that you can't hear here with the phone mic only, especially Avi b/c the low stuff is harder to pick up. And yes, he does all sorts of effects including wind/whooshes. Kirsten & Scott add some too near the end.
As great as this version is, you still need to check out the official video. The work Kevin and Avi do is better appreciated with the sound balancing allowed over mics. And, yes, Avi does sound effects as well through the use of overtones.
I agree, this is absolutely fantastic but being recorded with a phone the sound quality is not the best. Specially for the lower notes. Although I have to say that l don't think in this occasion Avi was going that low.
@@Haghenveien he goes as low as he does in the official music video but because there are no mics and the phone isn't right next to him to pick him up, the notes just disappear before the phone's mic can pick him up. Low notes are very loose and they disappear really fast especially with as much sound as the rest of the group makes. And as amazing as Avi is he's not a tuba which is always a single instrument in an orchestra and it displaces more air than the entire string section which is almost fully half of the orchestra.
@@super_siri I'm not sure about that. I agree that it's difficult for the phone to catch the sound when it comes to low notes. But for some reason I'm under the impression that he didn't go that low in that occasion. Not because he can't do those notes live. I'm not implying that in any way. I just think he chosed not to go crazy low in that occasion. I pretty sure he went low enough, he just wasn't trying to break the ground. I don't know, it's just an impression . I can be completely wrong, though and I wouldn't be surprised.
This is one of the performances that we true Pentaholics steer people toward when argue autotune. It's obviously not as polished as the recorded version, but still fabulous.
And that's the thing. Even without relying on "autotune", once you start using microphones and amplifiers, it's much easier to get the sound mix/balance right making it easier to hear the bass and beat-boxing (which are usually going to be harder to hear than the higher pitches will be). Add in that because it's "off mic", they also don't have the advantages of "in-ears" or headphones making it easier to hear each other. As such staying in tune and time is even harder for this kind of thing.
@@charliecampbell6851 I mean your not enirwly wrong but no it does not prove their point. It proves that they do not need auto tune to sound this amazing, it just sounds more polished when recording
@@FlusteredBushStudios it absolutely does prove their point. Their famous ‘low bass’ guy not even being audible below low d off mic is extremely noticeable, and they are pitchy in a lot of the song, which is the whole argument about auto tune/mellonine. They use it, and it makes them sound better than otherwise. It’s fine with me that they do, but it pisses me off to no end to see comments on every video ‘wow they’re so good no autotune’ when it’s fairly obvious they use it. All of the notes always lock in on the beat and their voices sound more electronic than usual, along with a bit of popping and buzzing that you get from mellonine.
Oooh. I love that you hear "Dude in the Middle" doing harmony in this. Scott often has a weird line right in the middle where he fills in the harmony and also often riffs there too. It's amazing, and no one ever points that out (his riffing at the end of "Hallelujah" is a great example where you can really hear it). I TRULY believe that his ability to do that is part of why they won the Sing-Off. Kirsten and Mitch could jump up to the higher notes and he would just hang out in these middle spots, keep it strong and full, and then he'd just jump out again for the lead line where needed. The fact that this group doesn't get stuck in the mold of Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass arrangements is why they're so amazing.
I totally agree, I try singing Scott's parts and it is very hard to go from a somewhat soft flat tone to then the lead or riffing and back. Alot of times he also only sings like half a line of a sentence one way and the other half another way. One of the best examples to me of that is "Somebody That I Used to Know".
@@ktay2124 Exactly! You need to dissect them to really see all that they pack into a song. And since most people focus on the melody line, they miss Scott's forays into that mid-space. It's such a fun challenge to choose one of their parts and sing JUST that part. ("Someone That I Used to Know" is such a good song too. Sigh. It's so hard to recommend them, right? There's always just one more. And one more. Oh, and I forgot this last one ... LOL!)
@@jessegirlb Yeah, there are many to recommend and so few to have issue with. For example "NO" at first listen, I literally was like No😏, but then I found myself listening to it on repeat, trying to sing it and loving it. PTX is such a rabbit hole 😊
Gold also will convince you Mitch must be an alien - find the video of Kiiara doing 'singing' it in the studio first. See how she had to do it. Then watch PTX version. whoo!
@@kristinhowk8231 That is quite true, however no one wins an arrangement Grammy without an accompanying performance that demonstrates to voters how the arrangement sounds, and the video itself is a masterpiece.
Also, as much as this live no-mic performance is wonderful to prove their talent, it is on a phone. It is very hard to really hear what Avi and Kevin are doing throughout most of this. The finished recording with properly balanced mics will let you hear what you've missed and show you some things, especially with Kevin, that is lost without a mic. Please do watch it. It will not in anyway take away from the awesomeness of this performance, only enhance it.
@@魚-c3d Kevin does some, of course, but often he's got so many percussive sounds to make that he wouldn't be able to. Avi does it on a number of songs, often while producing that bass sound too; akin to overtone singing. You can see it a bit easier in Bohemian Rhapsody, and in the "closet" version of this one :)
DUDE IN THE MIDDLE is ❤ Scott Hoying - baritone, bass (handles. bass when Avi or Matt have a lead) Scott also hits AMAZING fallsetto is known as King Rifter and does FABULOUS vocal runs...also is EXTREMELY SOULFUL!!❤
From what I understand, not only does Scott (guy in the middle) manage that difficult middle harmony, he also has about a 4 octave range. Awesome artist (well, actually, aren't they all). An original you might enjoy is "Love Again", costumed in technogoth style (at least that's what I think the style is called). Avi is astounding - you get a thorough exposure to his base voice. Great song, great performances. Hope you review it.
Just saw this comment so I'm dropping this clip if you haven't seen it. Its such a cool little demo of how Avi and Kevin worked together. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xnbwR9sIOPI.html
@@leslihaughan5877 its great isnt it? It impressed me when I saw it because I remember Kevin saying he had to speed learn all the effects they wanted in the sing off . Avi had worked as a team with a beatboxer in college and they won all kinds of awards. It struck me that Avi must have had the background to guide Kevin in those early days. Not to take anything away from Kevin at all. Just that Avi had that background to help them both succeed.
You need to watch the official video. It won them their first Grammy. It looks awesome but was done on a shoestring budget and has over 9 million views!
I saw the astonishing studio version first (over and over again) and asked myself what was ‘real’ and what was computer edited. Later on I stumbled on this unplugged version and saw how good they really are. There are a lot of unplugged unedited versions of their songs on the net like Gold, Ride, No etc. Put them in a small room or give them a good mike and they are sublime. Nothing else needed. Here the sound characteristics are not so ideal and still the performance is quit enjoyable... And I like the comments here too. I’ve learned to listen better while consuming first reaction video’s, especially those made by other musicians or music teachers. Thanks.
@@TempleMusicAcademy As unreal as this was, and it’s an enjoyable performance (an understatement, for sure), it is less than half as awe-inspiring as the official music video. This performance was great, just captured by phone audio, and does almost no justice to Avi and Kevin’s parts. Also the vision they had for the music video helps illustrate why this arrangement was made, how much they were inspired by Daft Punk (and their work on Tron movies), and why this arrangement won a Grammy, and made the Grammies change a category just to let Pentatonix win it. “A Cappella” was not in the wording of the category until they took that category by force.
Soooo glad you enjoyed it! Hands up for Ben Bram who contributes so much to their arrangements. Pure talent, pure joy. They make my listening days better. Thank you for all your great observations and comments. 🤗
Avi absolutely contributes to the “effects” he is known to overtone sing to add that special something. Many videos out where he demonstrated this. Would love to see a reaction to one of those. Dog Days is a group performance that you can hear it really well.
To my knowledge, they do these private, off-mic performances at every show for their VIP ticket holders. I was a VIP in December 2019 for their Christmas tour - our private song was "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen".
I didn't see where you may have watched the studio version of this one (that they won their first Grammy for)... now that you know they definitely do this all themselves, PLEASE watch to get the best balance and sound of all of them put in one place...( arranged by their producer, Ben Bram).
Thank you for pointing out "No Auto-Tune." So many people will mention something to the effect of the awesomeness being created in post. These 5 are world class musicians who may do what they do better than anyone else ever has.
I like that you pointed out Scott’s harmonies. Some might not hear it but Scott being my fave and because I’ve listened to him since their Sing Off days, it’s easier for me to pick him out.
You're right, I found my ear listening for Kirstie in that last rewind even though I tried to pay complete attention to Scott, so thank you for helping me appreciate Scott's abilities more because in the group, I sometimes forget how talented he really is. When I hear his solo stuff, like "I'ma Tell My Momma On You" (which I hope you react to someday!!), I'm reminded, but because he so often gets the lead and I sang mezzo-soprano in my high school women's choir, I do sometimes forget that he gets those seemingly easy leads for an incredible reason, so thank you for that!!
Dude, now that you’ve heard them live and know they don’t need any ‘added extras’ for this, you NEED to watch and react to the official video! It is truly amazing to see, and showcases each of them so much more clearly
This is my absolute favorite off mic performance of Pentatonix on RU-vid. Thank you for reacting to it and pointing out so much of the awesomeness of Pentatonix. This is the video I send to people when they say it’s too much autotune or too edited. I’ve heard them sing off mic 6 feet in front of me, they are the real deal in every aspect
So fun seeing how gleeful you are over this! I know they are awesome, but hearing your comments helps me understand why. I love the official video of this, their Grammy was well deserved. They also got one for their arrangement of Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy which is crazy good and it's just the 5 of them, I know you would really appreciate it. The official video is very cool. Great reaction!
In an interview with "3Fm" that you can look up, they broke down all the parts in the beginning of the Daft Punk medley. Avi does sound effects with Kevin WHILE maintaining his bass notes. o.o
Loved this thanks! The official video is pretty crazy too, but honestly I Love this live performance! They also do original music, not just covers, a pretty awesome one is Love Again (kinda has a steampunk, EDM vide...if you can imagine that done a cappella 🤯). Love your reactions!
There is a backstage performance of love again also. There were three mics so the film would have sound. I think it was with entertainment tonight, but not 100% sure.
What you said about Scott was fascinating! You're totally correct, my ears were focusing on Kirsty and Mitch, and I actually found it very hard to focus on Scott instead. When I did, I could totally see what you were saying - so interesting!
I highly recommend seeing them live once the world opens up again. They are amazing live. My wife bought us tickets to see them, I hadn't ever heard of them and wasn't sure how an a capella group was going to be live... It was an incredible experience.
Their performances on The Sing Off were all incredible and they quickly became the front runners as no other group could match their ingenuity in the arrangements and effects they could pull off live. I think it was this shorter medley on the show that really amazed many in not sounding like a traditional a cappella group. If I remember right, they were the smallest group, but consistently had a larger and fuller sound than most of the other groups. I love seeing you nerd out over their talent!
I really love how you break it down musically and show us how incredible their parts are. they are not always appreciated for the effort they put into this
Yes, Avi does some effects in this ("wind" effect) and other songs. Dude on the far right is the wonderful Kevin, dude in the middle is Scott and yes, he quite often does the most difficult thing in their arrangements. Super talented people here! 👏
First, I love your reactions. 😃 Second, would you consider reacting to their official video for this one? Even though it’s an officially recorded video, I still think you can nerd out just from watching Kevin (beat boxer). Third, would you consider reacting to Kevin’s cover of Down? He’s an accomplished cellist (amount other things), and he produced an amazing version on camera. Crazy incredible.
I one got into a 'discussion' on another reactors page, one of the comments had been how he could not believe we liked them so much because it was 'obvious' that it was heavily edited, layered and autotuned. It went back in forth to included him telling me I was not 'educated' enough to understand how the music industry worked, or how to recognize auto tune (btw, this was on Hallejeauh) I finally directed him to this video and asked him to point out the auto tune, suffice to say, never heard back from him again!
This was great! Please react to the official video as well, if you haven't seen it already. The music is as amazing as ever, but the visual composition of the official video is out of this world. And they filmed in in Avi's closet and only spent somewhere between $400-$500 on it.
IF you haven't done it already yet, their live version of "Aha" will blow you away! (Live at the Star Vista in Singapore...yes it's filmed on a phone camera) BUT react to the official video version & then do the live performance (in the same video preferably lol) hearing the official version first will give you an entirely new level of respect for the live version😁
Please watch the finished video. You can really dissect each person's individual efforts as well as the whole amazing piece. They won a grammy for that version which is crazy because the studio they were supposed to record in, fell through and they ended up recording the vocals in Kevin and Avi's kitchen and filming the video in their closet, lol.
As a vocalist, to this day & despite the fan recording audio mic not being able to handle Avi, etc... Pentatonix AHA live Singapore at Star Vista is one of the craziest, BEST things I've EVER heard from anyone. I've prob listened to it too many times to count & for every reason, mind blowing!!!!! Even if you just listen on your own, it's a MUST experience imho. Get your security blanket & good headphones ready tho. Off the charts harmonies, timing, that choral intro, the craaaaaazy hard syncopation, highs of highs, lows of omg... Mitch & his sass & Kevin's beat boxing madness, just... WOW WOW WOW. Enjoy. :)
from left to right: Avi (bass, sometimes lead vocal, sometimes effects and vocal percussion), Kirstin (mezzo, lead vocals), Scott (baritone, lead vocals, sometimes bass), Mitch (counter tenor, lead vocals), Kevin (beatboxer, tenor, cello player in a handful of PTX videos). Might be fun for you to check out how PTX began - almost 10 years ago on the NBC show "The Sing Off". They won season 3! (Scott, Mitch and Kirstin has been friends since they were about 10 - but Avi and Kevin were completely new to the group)
WOW! I had never seen this version before. My love for PTX just shot up 1000%. Your reaction and analysis also added a ton to understanding the demands of this performance. Again, wow, wow, wow! Fabulous in every single way!
The dude on the far right is a worldclass beatboxer and Cellist and also speaks fluent Mandarin. He makes his own music which you should check out if you haven't. His channel is called KO. His songs are amazing, both covers and originals.
Avi can do this thing called overtone. Where he sings a lower note with like whistle range notes at the same time. There are a couple videos of him dosing it live. He also can sing and low note and whistle at the same time. You should watch the video where he sings the lion sleeps tonight in overtone. It’s very cool.
Another incredible video to react to would be the “Without You’ Live Garage cover” from back just after they won the ding off. Where they sing in a parking garage. It’s breathtaking
This is why we're here. Super fans of dope vocal musicality have scoured the web for fan videos like this, and they exist, and you'll need out over those too. Back stage/back yard vocals, mobile phone as the only mic, you might replay to hear everything, but you can. Makes you appreciate the master tracks that much more!!!!!! Video suggestions coming, those vids are hard to find, but they exist
If you watch the Grammy winning video, you will be even more amazed. It is spectacular, done in their closet for $400, and fantastic ! You must see it !! Then you will see who sings what, and this will be even more impressive. It's a mash up of Daft Punk ! Watch them sitting on a couch singing Kiiara's GOLD... !
😄👍 Its a Medley! This is why you hear the changes they are singing several Daft Punk Songs! Avi is the AMAZING bass but does sound effects as well!! K.O is KILLING that beatboxing!! "The Trio" Slaying The Harmonies!! EXTREMELY TALENTED ALL 5 OF THEM!! 💥ALSO PLEASE REACT to their official Daft Punk video. It's visually stunning!!
God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman is another one of the songs where Scott the one in the middle does some notes that you can barely here similar to his role here
One of the best cover they made for me after Avi left was "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" (i really loved this song, both sentiment for lion king and song itself) they NAILD it and made it my most fav version of this song, is so much worth to hear it!
First of all, fantastic reaction, and thank you SO much for finding this video!! LOVE!! Secondly, your sign is FANTASTIC lol! "Surely, not everybody was kung fu fighting." xD
Another live performance that I love is their performance (very Pentoxified) of Silent Night. They sang it in the alcove of a church, and they make it new. You might want to wait a month or so, but anytime will work. They also do wonderful versions of The First Noel, Mary Did You Know and Carol of the Bells, and an amazing vocal instrumental of Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, for which they won their second of 3 Grammys.
Man, I was hoping you'd do both if you wanted to watch this performance. Hearing this properly mic'd is essential. Plus the official video was such a triumph for them! Please still react to the official video!
Love this reaction! And also these are the private performances they do for their VIP crowds at concerts. So they do it prior to the concert and they take it very light! They usually don’t go crazy and tire their voices. So when you think like this, it is impressive! Yes this was inside a green room.
Holy shit. I've never seen this. It was awesome Man Kevin is so amazing. I legit can't pick a favorite Scott makes them feel full and well rounded, so Kirstie and Mitch don't sound EXTREME. I hope i got that right. I never noticed it until you pointed it out. Thank you!
I LOVE your reaction videos!! I watch a lot of Pentatonix reactions and you have SO much knowledge to share about the music. I love what you have to say. The good thing is that they have soooo many videos out there.
Please do their Silent Night video. It was done live on a cathedral, I believe. They sound so good! And of course there is Aha! in Singapore. For that one, realize that Kevin is there, just not on camera. Amazing performance by Mitch, but the others are also so good doing all the background syncopation. I'm always amazed at how exact they are with their individual counts. The stops and starts are perfect.
Kinda made chuckle when you said to focus on the middle dude....I'm like ok...what? Reminds me of my second soprano roles...love the reaction! Keep it up!
I always enjoy your commentary; I'm not musically inclined in the least, so I enjoy picking up things here & there from your reaction. I think you'd enjoy Kevin's (the beatboxer) cover of "Down" by Marian Hill. It's phenomenal.
Another group to introduce yourself to is Voctave. You can start with "Disney Love Medley" with Kirsten Maldonado as a featured soloist in that one. She's amazing, and it's a great introduction to the completely underrated Voctave. They're so good!
For more stacked harmonies and carefully timed breaths, if at a slower speed, try Silent Night (Live). They did it on whim in a church somewhere in Europe and the acoustics are phenomenal.
I'm so glad you pay attention in Scott's voice! In the most of times peoples don't comment of him and it's makes me sad because he is a incredible artist and deserves more credits for your vocal conquests
Love it! im (one) of those that asked for this version, simply because he once (vocally wished he could see a live performance) and this is one of the best of them out there :D Also as for Scott's (Middle guy :D ) part being super hard to manage. You should watch their live version of God rest ye merry gentlemen [Either at Rachael Ray show // Jimmy Kimmel] Both are breathtaking
The live version of Aha from the Singapore show is a really good one to see just how much better their live performances can be vs their studio versions.
When you pointed out that Scott had the hardest part of the harmony and we were probably focusing on Kirstie and Mitch I was so confused at first haha I always focused on Scott, probably because I used to sing the same parts of the harmony in a small group and I'm used to it. Great video, it's the first one I've seen from you and I immediately subscribed :)
Thrilled you reacted to this, yes Avi does some pretty amazing effects alongside Kevin. He also does overtone singing, there is a clip on RU-vid when he does a demonstration in a live concert, it's amazing.
Avi has always been my absolute favorite ❤️ he does have solo music out there definitely worth reacting to. I would recommend Change on the Rise to start with ❤️ his voice is amazing!
I absolutely love your reactions, I know very very little about the technicalities of making this sort of music, I just listen to it and go yeah that sounds awesome, it’s really interesting to listen to you explain certain aspects of what they’re doing and letting us non-musical folk know just how difficult it is to do. For me personally it brings a new depth and appreciation for what I’m listening to and my respect for them grows each time I hear them so thank you 😊
