What a fun, upbeat song! Pentatonix could sing the phone book and it would be spectacular! Pull up a chair, pour yourself a cup of jo and join me for this musical journey!
Every song from the Lucky Ones album is fire. So many good songs. Do Problem, Sing and Can’t Hold Us. I like that they’re playing with creative outputs. When they do any manipulation it’s to fit the song, not to correct their pitch.
Pentatonix is ultimately a pop band. They are a mostly acapella pop band, but they are still pop. Their arranger, Ben Bram, said in an interview that especially their original albums are always going to be more layered and produced, because they want those to be eligible for airplay. And there’s nothing wrong with that! They aren’t on The Sing-Off anymore - they’re allowed to throw some production and instruments in there sometimes. I want them, as creators, to be able to be creative. And while I hope they never completely depart from their acapella roots, I also hope their fans can allow them to spread their creative wings to experiment beyond that.
One of the things that I love about them is the transparency in their production. When they do use effects or instruments they are up front about it. They don't try to hide what they do. I feel like it's also very fitting whenever they do go out of their norm. In their 90's Dance Medley they use some voice effects to better match the originals.
Oh, it's even better than that. In the 90's Dance Medley, they used Auto-Tune on the snippet of Cher's "Believe" Any guesses as to what the first song ever to use Auto-Tune was? They are masters of music.
When Matt’s bass line came in at first I thought it was Kevin’s cello. But, whenever the cello is in use you always see it in the video. He does an excellent job at emulating a cello or string bass. If you listen you can hear the bow strokes. I love the bass on this. Listen for the last pass where he skips a beat. I love it.
More PTX songs for you to checkout. Gold - a Kiara cover where Mitch does vocally what Kiara had to do with electronic enhancements. Love Again - a PTX original similar to their Daft Punk medley. Then there is Aha (An Imogen Heap cover) Live in Singapore at the Star Vista! This is what you get when Mitch has 2 Red Bull’s prior to the performance. Also Avi goes a little nuts and takes out some of the sound system. Shallow (a Bradley Cooper/Lady Gaga cover) highlights Scott and Kirstie vocally and has Kevin giving the most beautiful playing of Beyoncé, that’s the name of his cello. He also does celloboxing in it too. If you want Songs where Kirstie has the lead then it’s Say Something or Be My Eyes. There’s more but that’s a good start.
Their Gold cover......was pure GOLD. I love how they were all 5 sitting on a couch with the camera just on them. (Not moving) You can see what brilliant talent each bring!
My man was scared to Say it was edited due to the pentaholics reactions sometimes😂. Their last original album where this song is from is all vocal but heavily edited vocals because they were having fun with it so yeah this was heavily produced. But it's totally cool. These guys have given us straight fire and were by very far absolutely alone on top of the Acapella mountain for 10 straight years. We can allow them to cheat and have fun and push the boundaries of the genre on one album. Especially when the result is this good. But great reaction. I love all yours
Thanks for doing this reaction for Louise. Great reaction. Pentatonix is so creative. This is one of my favourite PTX originals - great lyrics -- and you said it 'ear candy'. I would love for you to react to another PTX original "Can't Sleep Love" the recorded version and then the live at Popspring 2016 - as a back-to-back reaction. Also, "Lucky Ones" the album title track and "Happy Now", both from the same album as "Coffee in Bed".
I'm so glad PTX don't shy away from showing us their extraordinary talents over and above pure a cappella. There is no doubt they are a premium a cappella group, but they have so many other talents it would be criminal not to use them and let us experience them too. With Ben Bram and Ed Boyer on the team, they are magical and according to Scott, they have a lot more in the pipeline for the next few years! I love your reactions, and I'm glad you mentioned Matt's contribution. I hardly dare mention this but it might be an idea to use a frame with Matt in it as I feel he's worked so hard, and we're grateful to him for doing such a seamless job in helping the group keep going, and going so well. Thanks for your great reactions.
Usually, they do add more studio work on their originals just to be competitive with other artists. Still, a bop and they still do great live versions.
One of my other RU-vid passions is Chef Frank of Protocooks. Now bear with me. He has this recipe for a short rib ragu and it is SO complex but soooo good. He uses orange peel, basil stems, chili flakes, garlic, onions, carrots, celery, parmesan cheese rinds... the works. Layers of flavor, he calls it. I've made it five times and it's amazing every time. In a way, it reminds me of what Pentatonix does. Sure, you can just use sauce from a jar, but when you take your time and use the right ingredients, and the right technique and truly master your craft.... it's so much better. As you said, Matt could have gone for a straight tone, but the undulation was what brought it up to the next level. They do that. A lot. Their bag of tricks is limitless. They didn't just master the craft of A Cappella. They RAISED the BAR by a quantum level. And now I want ragu :)
No synthesizer in this one, though there is one song on this album that has synthesizer listed in the credits along with a couple other instruments... so you aren't wrong to wonder. This was definitely an experimental album for them and they used a lot more effects and studio additions. I'm not sure if I offered before, but I made a list of all the PTX songs I've found and made it public, if you're interested. It might be helpful because I marked which songs have added instruments (including synthesizers) in their credits along with some other information and links to the videos and some live performances. Since RU-vid tends to block outside links, I made a throwaway "video" and linked the Google Sheet in the description: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-yAcWwFahUeE.html
I’m not saying they didn’t use vocal effects because they told us they did but the part that you thought Kirstie’s voice was manipulated actually to me sounds like Mitch is harmonizing with her in that part. Like their harmony is creating a dissonance in the sound. Also Mitch has been known to be able to recreate electronic sounds as I’m sure you saw in bohemian rhapsody and Daft Punk. One that really shows their electronic sound without vocal effects is their original song Love again. It’s like daft punk but more techno. They even sang it in an interview and only Kevin was on a microphone so you know it’s all straight voices. I urge you to watch their official video and then the live performance from the interview.
The best part of your reaction is the fact that you wish Louise to get better by watching your reaction...I 'm sure she was thrilled when you said THIS ONE'S FOR YOU LOUISE and it made her happy. As you said,life is life...I say Pentatonix is Pentatonix hahahaaa...perfect as usual... I'm sure your reactions will make more people happy :)
Glad to see you in the New Year. Try the Lucky Ones, it's off the same album as Coffee in Bed. Also if you get a chance to see their Sing Off performances you'll see their progress from then to now. And they did the synthesizing in the performances.
Oh Chris... I will have pain in my cheeks later becouse I cant stop smiling. Thank you! 💛💛💛 I love your reaction. And you where amazed by the two beasts Kevin and Matt together that you hardly said anything about the lyrics. Becouse its sweet lyrics on this one. But I understand you becouse they did this so great. I loved how you smiled and giggled all thru this song. No mather what this day has in store for me it will be a good day. Thanks to you 💛 I will remember your words in my heart. Thank you honey 😘
I would love for you to react to "sing". I also thing you are ready for the Avi and Mitch show ." Aha " vista in Singapore. It's a cell phone recording. KO is there but putting up his cello. Avi goes so deep he burst the speakers. You will be amazed
Avi Kaplan was featured on Home Free's cover of Johnny Cash's song "Ring Of Fire". Avi and Tim share the bass lines and show their high and low ranges.
Oh, I'm so glad you got around to this one (in their HUGE catalogue!) Currently sitting here in the UK with COVID (whole family - me, husband and son - got it for Christmas. Cheers, Santa!) but this is definitely cheering me up. This song is definitely one of their most creative of their recent stuff, and a hot favourite off the album it comes from. And yes, Matt and Kevin absolutely kill it in this one! Oh, and while this recorded version does have some effects added on it, there is a live version of this (on the Jimmy Kimmel show,) and it doesn't sound that much different from this one. It's worth a listen for the comparison.
Is it time for Bohemian Rhapsody by PTX yet? I know that it is one of your all time favorites and I'm dying to see your reaction. After you see the video, you'll have to see their documentary they made of how they made the Bohemian Rhapsody video. It'll help you understand their process and how they make these vocal sounds that you believe to be synthesized better. It's an older one with Avi and they didn't have much money back then to do any fancy tricks so you get a real feel of their vocal capacity. I was blown away by it and I'm sure you will too. Good job again, as usual. I enjoy watching your thoughtful analysis and pure enjoyment. :)
Thank you for your enthusiastic reaction. Matt does some awesome bass lines here, you are so right. This is from the album "The Lucky Ones" and he has a lot of cool bass lines on this record. Every song on that record is an original. I hope you can react to the songs on that album, even if it's just the music without the video. I look forward to your next PTX reaction.
They did a couple of live appearances when this released, the socially distanced "live" version on Hoda and Jenna gives a clearer view of who is doing what
So happy you've started to learn their names. Here are a couple of terms that you've probably heard as well. When Mitch surprises you, you're Mitch Slapped. When Kevin surprises you, you're K.O.'d (which is a fun double entendre, since those are also his initials). Another reactor I watch (Schnell Jordan) calls Scott "Butterscott" because his voice is smooth like butter. PLEASE feel FREE to Binge React. You don't have to edit the video all at once, and don't have to release them all at once either, but if it helps you get your fix of new PTX then by all means do it. You can even tell us you've filmed your reactions to such and such songs and that they'll be released on such and such date, and we'll be eagerly waiting. And if you don't want anyone to know you just watched five PTX videos in a row, have a change of shirts ready in between each take, we'll never know :) I'm going to re-iterate my request of "Wizard of Ahhhs" on Todrick Hall's channel. Assuming you know the original movie, you'll love it. They're so creative in that one, which probably isn't surprising at all at this point.
Thanks for this one. It was fun to listen to. I am going to go find it so I can watch it. I have a suggestion for you, not for a reaction but just for your enjoyment. You often mention that you're an old guy (though not as old as I am) so you may remember Elvira by the Oak Ridge Boys. If you haven't already seen it, check out Elvira with Home Free and Oakridge Boys together. It's fun to watch the interaction between the members of each group while they sing and it's fun to listen to.
A great original from their Lucky Ones album that pushes the limits of their vocal abilities is Petals. There is no video, and they most definitely use a piano, but it is FIRE! They have talked in interviews that this album was going to push the boundaries of a capella. At this point, they aren't competing with other a capella groups - they are working extremely hard to be mainstream artists. They will never forget their roots, and said that 95 percent of what they do is a capella, but they need to grow as artists
Oh yeah, they totally played with effects in this, but it was still their voices. More like they put an echo here and there, doubled up the voices sometimes, that kind of thing.
OMG that intro. You are having FUN trying to figure out how to post PTX videos without getting blocked! Although frustrating, it's still a puzzle, and puzzles are fun to solve. I hope we get to see some of the ones that didn't make it through some day. Your analyses are really entertaining. Is this the first original of theirs that you've heard?
Awesome reaction. From what I know and have read its just their voices. They have to be able to recreate for their concerts. Cant wait for your next reaction. Some where along the line Id like for you to react to Adele. Thanks for all you do😃❤
Hi another great PTX reaction. This one is good for a pick-me-up. I'm getting in early with a song for Christmas. If you listen to no other songs this year you must listen to "Sabaton" "Christmas Truce" and yes it is about THE Christmas truce of 1914. Is it the the best Christmas song ever? but for the grace of God it could be!
Have you ever checked out any Ninja Sex Party? Their song "The Mystic Crystal" has an amazing animated/real life music video, the music is phenomenal and the singing is so good. There is a lot of humor in their stuff as well. I think you'd really dig it! Keep up with the great reactions. 😻
Idk if anyone has ever mentioned it but if you like the way Scott & Mitch's voices go together then you should check out the songs from album they did as a duo under the name Superfruit, album is Future Friends. To me this song has the kind of sound that it could have come from that album. It isn't a capella, but it is very fun. They have a RU-vid channel under Superfruit where you can find some (if not all, hey certainly intended to do vids for them all but I can't remember if they ever did) vids for the songs on the album. They used to run the channel kinda as a fun little side thing when they were housemates, but it's been mostly left alone for a few years (with a couple of exceptions), pretty much since they moved into their own places.
Thanks for making me smile after a very long day. Feel better Louise!!! Thanks Chris 😊 . Appreciate your Christian comments. ( I notice ) Blessings. Patti
Once again Larry, you have given a great reaction to this song. I have never heard this by Pentatonix. It was "cool". You really are so articulate with your reactions. I would have a couple of songs that are from the past. I do not know if you have covered them as I did not go through your whole playlist. One is Ed Sheeran singing "Perfect". I just love it so much. The other one is by Lewis Capaldi called "Someone you Love"....due to what I am going through right now with my health, I am getting sentimental and these two songs came to mind......I think that you are wonderful and again, keep up the great work. I realize that "you tube" can get extremely strict...you will get around them....😍👍👍👍
Transparency can sometimes trick the algorithm. It's not a perfect system but a few things I've seen get past the Copyright Overloads. Flipping the entire screen 180 degrees for a backwards playback can work. You can also adjust the size of the video, during playback. Start big and have it zoom in slowly and then zoom back out. Mess with chromatic keying. Put yourself and the video playback in different parts of the screen from video to video. You can even drop the original video into black when you pause to make comments. Throw just a tiny amout of distortion like a very soft focus. Also try many saturation and contrast extremes. Also throwing your own random effects into a longer clip between your pauses can sometimes work as well. Throw a lens flair or a transition of any kind into the payback randomly. It's not going to bother us viewers but the sharp difference in color and contrast within the original video might be enough to trick the YT scanning program into thinking it's different enough from the original and not categorized as a DCMA version worth giving a Copystrike.
check with Travis from Tea time with Travis, he seems to have no problems with showing the entire video without filters, he might use some stop motion.
Let’s all watch the new behind the scenes making of the album “Evergreen “. It’s really informative and probably not protected. It shows their process and it’s fun
I’d love for you to check out ariana grande if you haven’t already! God is a Woman (live at the BBC) is really great! Or just the music video is fine :) She has so many other performances to choose from but that song is a good one.
Wrong picture...Matt is in this song. Live recording on late late show...I like it better...much like Havana and Gold. Do a triple...all three are done just sitting on a couch.
Such a fun song and an original! Here is a live version from the Jimmy Kimmel show ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-azqZjJrxaCI.html this is pretty great as well. Good to see you do some PTX sorry you are having so much trouble with the copy right gods. Love your reactions!!!
They don't do anything in the studio that they can't recreate live. There are studio enhancements to be sure - no different than any band. But trust me when I tell you that they sound almost identical live.
No this song is from their latest original album that has Matt. I know you can’t see Matt with his filter on but you can clearly hear him.The only two songs they put out without a bass were Dancing on my own and Away in a Manger in 2017.
