@@AwkwardAnxiousJennifer They didn't appear till the 2nd episode. The first episode Delilah's Grenade was the huge crazy popular performance. I know it was 10 years ago, but when your memory doesn't support facts you might want to check it.
Yup, knew it from the first note!... I’m just bummed Avi left them.. I know why he did but a bummer just the same... Matt Is great in his own right, but Avi is the original..
First Performance....how about this...Scott, Kirstie and Mitch had know each other since they were 8-9 years old and Avi and Kevin just joined the group the day BEFORE their 1st performance on the Sing Off...hard to believe, but the rest is history !!!!!!!
Actually they all got together the first time the day before the audition, which was NOT televised. There was a break of a few weeks between the audition and the start of production, so they all had a chance to hang out together in Arlington and get to know each other and sing together before the shows actually began.
They knew that the competition required a 5 person group so they were looking furiously for the bass and beatboxer. Their first time they sang together was the day before their audition. This was a couple weeks after that. Amazing.
You are very correct. They won a record contract when they won the show but the label dropped them. It was here on RU-vid that made them. They worked hard and put out videos until they got a recording contract. I applaud them for that!
My favorite thing was when Mitch and Scott reacted to their Sing-Off performances on Superfruit and Mitch was like „eWw, wHy iS mY vOiCe sO lOw?! 😱“ 😂😂
This was season 3 from 2011. They had a very short time to form the group, and they were all dealing with the end of the school year as they did. Scott, Kirstie and Mitch had grown up together, but were scattered for school (Scott in SoCal, Kirstie at Oklahoma, Mitch still in high school in Texas), Avi was from California and was introduced to Scott by an older member of his college cappella group, while Kevin was finishing up his premed degree at Yale. The audition for the show was in May (Mitch missed his high school graduation for it), while the show was taped in summer and aired in the fall. The 5 of them gathered in one place together for the first time the day before the audition, though they had FaceTimed prior to that. 🤯🤯
This is the second song they ever performed together, the first one live on TV. The first one was there audition to get on the show, the song they performed was the song telephone. I think from what I remember them saying is that they got together a few days before the audition, they hadn’t long met Avi and Kevin when they auditioned. This is the second song they ever sang together
And no one in any review has ever said anything about Avi’s effects in that song...He has an amazing overtone capability.. listen for him doing that bass part and the overtone higher whistle happening... that’s him, not Kevin...
I know! The judges seem to think it's Kevin doing the electronic sfx! Really gets under my skin! Avi didn't get the credit he deserved. To this day, on their current material, people still think Kevin does the bass/sfx. SMH
they'd been together as PTX for two weeks. they literally came together for this show. Other note: Kirstie is the only woman to ever have made it to the winner circle on this show.
I always enjoy your comments and this will be a fun journey to follow with you. I don't love ALL their performances, but this one is really fun - especially since they barely knew each other!
I'll be here for each one of these reactions from you! Love them all, but especially #7, #10 and definitely #12! Thanks for going down this road for us! Love it!
I very much enjoy your PTX reactions! Scott, Mitch and Kirsty had been singing together for years in school and local theater, so they already had the harmonising worked out. They now only needed to add Avi and Kevin to their trio. From what I've read, all five only came together the day before the audition, practiced all day and noticed they had this connection and that this could actually work. I don't know how much time passed between the audition and the show's start, but Scott's parents told that all five came to Arlington and they practiced at Scott's house for a bit (One of them came home late, heard drums and wondered if Scott had gotten a drum kit. The other said, Naw, it's just Kevin.). E.T. was their second song they performed together. I really hope you continue the Sing-Off journey to see them grow in just a few weeks. And yes, they won that season (season 3 in 2011). For a more polished live performance check out the Popspring 2016 concert. It's been recorded by MTV so the sound is excellent. They perform 4 songs, three of which are originals (Cracked, Can't Sleep Love, and Water). The fourth is the Evolution of Michael Jackson. The clip is about 15 minutes long. If you don't want to react to it in one sitting, you could react to the individual songs. There are some live performance videos on their channel from a new year's concert. Another must-see live performance is Aha! at the Singapore Star Vista (2015). It was filmed by a fan but sound and picture are great. However, this performance is considered the cherry on top of the ice cream. If you don't know the song Aha from Imogen Heap, I highly recommend you watch PTX's official video first to have an idea of what's going to hit you. If you can, wait some time longer to watch this specific live performance and get some other Pentatonix songs on your list done first. You'll much more appreciate Aha! at the Singapore Star Vista if you wait before watching it.
The sound of the live aha is actually kinda crap but it's still a fantastic performance. You can really hear avi and Kevin very well, I think whoever recorded must have been right next to one bass speaker. And you can see how very sassy mitch is.
I love watching this journey. It’s cool to see their evolution over the course of the show. They aren’t perfect and there are some missteps but they kept working extremely hard and prevailed. It’s also interesting to see how some of what they did on the show became signature elements they still do today. Thanks for doing these reactions!
A lot of people commented below about Sara Bareilles already BUT my favorite "fun fact" about her is that one of her first hits, "Gravity" she actually wrote for and originally recorded with her college a cappella group "Awaken" from UCLA. It's on the BOCA (Best of College A Cappella) album from 2004.
I absolutely love the entire Sing-Off Journey. There are definitely a few performances that stand out a little higher than others. But I wouldn't suggest skipping a step😊
They were all babies. While Kevin had never been in a singing competition, he had competed with his cello and sax. He had played Carnegie Hall twice - once for each instrument. Avi was an ICAA winner. Scott was at USC and Kirstie was at OU, and Mitch was still in High School. Avi and Kevin had both just graduated college. You should pause if you have a thought, it will help with your copyright blocks too. Great reaction.
I watched The Sing Off live with my mom growing up and after this first performance I turned to my mom and said, oh they're going to win this. I hope you continue with their other Sing Off performance. I still LOVE their Dog Days are Over, Video Killed the Radio Star, and Since You Been Gone/Forget You mashup
I am happy that you are reacting to the Sing off performances! I always look forward to your Pentatonix reactions and I was so excited, when I saw that you had put this out. Great reaction! 😊 I hope that you also react to their guest appearance on the Sing off season 4 - I watch that performance basically weekly and it gets me on such a good mood everytime.
Yes, I agree - you need to include their guest performances on seasons 4 and 5 to complete their Sing Off journey. They were impressive in Season 3, Season 4 was a triumphant victory return that showed immense growth and by Season 5 they are polished professionals.
Thanks for doing these!! It's so fun to take this journey with someone who will appreciate it and share it with us :-) The version you chose seemed to be just fine. If you get stuck, most people use the ones from mrduckbear11. It is a pretty impressive first look :-) They weren't the only talented group on the show, but they earned the win through a number of factors, including their tenacity, their work ethic and attitude, their willingness to listen to the judges' advice, their versatility and diverse individual contributions, etc. I think they've been making this look effortless for so long that it's easy to forget they poured one heck of a lot of sweat equity into the foundation. (and every brick laid on top of it!) Live performance? It's got to be Popspring - they did four songs, three originals plus Evolution of Michael Jackson. Well mixed and mic'd and the best version available (imho) of "Can't Sleep Love" because Mitch's sass was turned up to 100. One of the other originals was written by Kirstie - she sings the lead throughout - there's no official video but the visuals they used on this stage were a killer accompaniment, reeeeally good song called "Water."
I love this first one! They all look like puppies to me, so excited and throwing themselves fully into the performance, but not quite enough experience together yet to keep it from being a little messy in parts. You can certainly see elements of their potential. Thanks for taking us back through the inspiring journey. Great reaction!
My favorite of theirs from Sing-Off was Love Lockdown. That performance made me go search them out on RU-vid. Been incredible watching their success over the last decade.
Great reaction. Thank you for taking this Pentatonix journey. You will enjoy it. There are some amazing PTX performances ahead (especially performance 3 onward).
I remember watching all these Sing-Off episodes and absolutely LOVING Pentatonix in every episode. I can't wait to catch you reacting to more of these throwback clips!!! PTX LOVE :D
I can't tell you the number of days but Avi and Kevin joined them the day before the try-out for the show. They worked out a song, and got on the show so it could not have been too long before production started. Kirsten, Mitch and Scott were in different locations when Scott got the idea to go for the Sing-Off. Ben Bram was working in some capacity for the show and Scott knew him from college.
It was also Ben Bram who introduced Scott to Avi. Avi got together with them a few days earlier, but Kevin didn't arrive until the day before the audition. There was a break of a few weeks before the actual competition started.
Love that you are doing these. Some GREAT live performances in the series. Also, you will notice all of the teams competing against them give them standing ovations. Enjoy. Much love and keep on keepin on J.
I love that your going back to the beginning. They were really good from the get go. But they did grow a lot since, even through the singoff. Love your reactions!
This is a great way to see how good they were as neophytes, but also just how far they have come as they matured. They won this competition with their amazing inventiveness an innate talent, but often the performances are well short of what they would do with it today.
This was 2011. It was the third season of the show, and it only lasted a couple of more seasons after this. And yes, PTX won it! The Trio of Kirstie, Scott & Mitch all grew up together and had been performing together since their early high school days. Kirstie & Mitch had been performing together in musical theater years before that too. The Trio had a couple of viral RU-vid videos while still in high school, the most famous being their cover of Lady Gaga's "Telephone" (there were actually TWO versions that went viral, a "studio" version shot in Scott's house and a live version from one of their high school choir concerts...both are still available on RU-vid). Avi joined up a few days before their Sing Off audition and Kevin joined the day before the audition. There was a break of a few weeks between the audition and the start of the actual competition. The Trio went back to Arlington, Texas, with Kevin and Avi in tow in order get to know each other better and start singing together for real before returning to Hollywood for the actual show tapings. With the exception of performance #2 (which was the weakest), they got better and better each show. I think #5 was when the other groups on the show started to worry. By #10, they had the others running and hiding. Ben Folds was the toughest judge on them throughout the competition, but he always gave constructive criticism and they all actually appreciated him for doing so and gave him credit for the amount of help he was to them. As they went along, even Ben couldn't find anything to criticize anymore. It was apparent from the beginning that Shawn was the world's first Pentaholic!! The only sad part here is that none of the judges realized it was Avi doing the overtone effects and not Kevin. These Sing Off performances are VERY fun to watch as you're literally watching them kick off their career. Another thing to point out is that all of the other groups on that year's show had been singing together for a while, including one group that had been together for something like 30 years!
They weren't joking about singing everywhere. There's a video on Scott's current channel* where he's maybe 18 (I assume it was when he was a starving freshman in college because it's description reads something like starving & dying), where he offers to sing for someone's birthday celebration in a pizza restaurant in return for some pizza lol. It's not very clear but it's still funny. The older channel, shows how ridiculously talented they were at such a young age, there's one where he peforms at like 15 years old and it's incredible, and there's one of him & Mitch singing Bad Romance by Lady Gaga in what looks like a book shop when they were maybe 16, and him singing the national anthem for some sports event. They both have little gems on them. It's great to see how far they've come but also that they were already so talented back then. *(he has two youtube channels, the more recent "ScottHoying" runs from 2010 til now but was last updated 3 years ago I assume because he mostly posts on insta & tiktok now, and the older one "Scott Hoying" which runs from 2006 to 2010, I assume he created the new one for going to college, or when he started to try and make music a career or maybe for auctioning for Sing-Off )
So looking forward to seeing you go through these episodes. Bear with it as some performances are better than others, but when they got one right, it was explosive!
Thanks for doing this. Interesting comments. I didn’t watch these live. Interesting to hear what the Judges say given what we know about their success. Many claim Shawn was the first Pentaholic. 😂😂
👋😄They had some hits and misses but once they found their sound THEY SLAYED!!! they were ALL VERY YOUNG this was in 2011 Here for the PTX Sing Off ride with you!!
SO, this was their first performance, except for their audition, EVER! This was summer, 2011, and Scott and Kirstie were 19 years old, Mitch was 18, and Kevin and Avi were 21 and 22 respectively. Scott sent Avi and Kevin a tape of the Trio singing their audition song, Telephone, and they finally all met only 2 weeks before the audition and practiced their a$$es off. The Trio slowly learned to trust Avi and Kevin to lead the beat, which Ben pointed out early on, but after a few more performances, they melded into a tight group. A couple notes about the show - * Each group had only 2 minutes for each song, so they had to cut the songs down, and sometimes that made them seem rushed. * Avi can do overtone singing, where he sings a bass note and a higher note or a whistle tone at the same time. He did it in this performance during both Mitch and Kirstie's solos. * The show pushed each group to have a lead singer, so you'll see Scott do most of the leads, although Mitch and Kirstie both do some solo parts, like they did here. Scott pretty much brought the group together to be on the show, so I guess it makes sense. * Finally, if you know that Avi was a classically trained opera student and Kevin a cellist, it's even more incredible that they could step so perfectly into their parts of the group. I'm looking forward to your reactions to all 14 of the performances!
I Love Avi's Overtones!!!! And I Believe they said that their Only chance to meet was the day before the Auditions!!!! Shows How Well They Blend so Effortlessly Together!!!!
Even during this competition you will see how they gel right before your eyes. by the 12th performance, you will get that signature PTX flair on a song emerge. it's really fun to watch. and then Scott, Mitch and Kirstie at that time were only 19 years old so we should have many many more years of wonderful music from them. As for the singing shows I tend to agree with you. I think for many it's been a PR boost just to get visibility. Those who don't go to being famous or anything like that, I think many of them stay behind the scenes in the music business (like songwriters/producers). However, for PTX, they won the show and the recording contract but the position of CEO of Sony records changed and PTX were dropped. They took matters into their own hands and blasted youtube with videos and garnered their success that way. For those wanting to sing in the competition shows I don't think realize how much work goes into it.....not just the singing either. of course I could just be talking out of my behind....what do I know. I'm just an old fart LOL
Actually, it was a marketing exec at Epic Records (the actual label they won the contract from) that dropped them because Epic couldn't figure out a way to market an a cappella group. Sony (Epic's parent company) felt bad enough about it to move them to the smaller Sony-owned label Madison Gate a few months later, which released their first three EPs (I think there may have been some legal issues as well because The Sing Off had marketed that the winner would get the record deal), but most of their early non-album recordings were their own productions on RU-vid. After their Daft Punk video went super-viral and won a Grammy, Sony reassigned them to the major RCA label.
I love watching you reacting to them. I have been a Pentaholic since this show, so I enjoy watching someone that has just recently discovered them. Great video! You’ve definitely got a new sub from me 😁
👏😃The Trio (Scott, Kirstie and Mitch) are from TX and are childhood friends who grew up doing musical theater and choir. Kevin is from Kentucky but was attending YALE and had just graduated pre-med When Scott contacted him. Scott was introduced to Avi (who is from California) Scott was attending USC right after high school when he was advised yo get his two friends from TX and audition for The Sing Off. Scott came up with the name Pentatonic (x) .
I Love All of their Performances on The Sing Off, But My Most Favorites are Episodes 3, 5, 7, 10, 11, & 12!!!! You can see how they got Better and Better in each one!!!!
Listen for Avi’s overtone singing. He does it sporadically in the competition, but it’s in this song too. I watched this competition live and knew they were something special. As far as I know this was their second performance together, and their 1st live performance. Just lightening in a bottle situation for them.
Even though Pentatonix won they were dropped by the label soon after they moved to California, because the label didn't know what to do with a acapella group. So they started putting out their content on RU-vid and Stars were Reborn! So to be where they are right now shows you that you never stop believing in yourself and what you can achieve!🙂
You'll enjoy this journey. They have several standout performances and each fan has their favorites. Can't wait to hear which ones strike you the most. Thanks for including the comments because you get to hear the constructive criticism they received as they were forming and finding their sound. They took it to heart and I think it still influences them and their arrangements/performances today. Shawn Stockman from Boyz II Men was definitely the original Pentaholic by the end of this season but it started in performance 1. After you finish listening to Pentatonix, you might also enjoy covering the next season SingOff journey of Home Free. Shawn mentions to them that his bass singer was Mike and again, it's where they found inspiration to continue. They are similar to Pentatonix in some elements and yet very very different (I don't know how to adequately explain it). Season 4 was much shorter but you should include their Ultimate SingOff with Filharmonics if you listen. I'd also suggest the finale performance of returning guests Pentatonix singing "I Need Your Love" and you can see the difference from the final performance of Season 3 to the guest appearance about 2 years later after they had become a world sensation.
Scott, Mitch & Kirstie grew up together. Avi joined up a few days before their audition and Kevin joined them the actual day before the audition, but that was several weeks before they actually started taping the show. By the time this episode was shot, they had time to spend together and get to know each other. As far as I know, there is no footage of the actual audition.
I love your reactions! I subscribed after the very first one I watched. I love that you know about BoyZ II Men. Shawn Stockman is often called "the original Pentaholic." Suggestion: Stick to the Sing-Off videos from Mr Duck Bear. You'll get all the introductory material, which is sometimes half the fun. And if you watch all the way to the end, you will often (not always) get a few backstage comments from PTX. At least one of those snippets is treasured by all Avi fans, so . . . don't miss it! Lots of reactors cut off these Sing-Off videos off too soon.
Kevin couldn't get out there until 1 or 2 days before the audition for the show. I don't know how much time had passed between audition and the show airing, but I don't think they had the opportunity to gel their voices together until rehearsals for the shows started, because they did not all live close to each other. Avi was in northern California, Kevin was back east, and Mitch, Kirstie, and Scott were still in Texas i think (Scott might have been in the LA area already). Shawn was the very first pentatonic. And yes Boyz II Men was amazing, Michael McCary was the bass, and he has MS so he had to stop performing.
Kirstie had actually gone to NY, and Scott called her to fly to LA for the Sing Off. Mitch was in high school and missed his graduation to be there. It all just came together so well.
Scott was at USC, Kirstie was at Oklahoma U and Mitch was still in high school. After the audition, they all returned to Arlington along with Kevin & Avi to spend time singing together. Kevin & Avi stayed at Scott's parent's house during that time. It was a few weeks before the competition actually started back in LA.
Baby PTX! They didn't meet in person until the day before the audition. Kevin was finishing finals in premed at Yale. They all claim that Kevin is the smartest of all of them. Avi was singing overtones. He is classically trained and has that skill, heard, but not mentioned during the show. The next song is not one of the best covers, but shows what they can do. The 4th song is where they really take off. The best is yet to come. I heard what you were saying about success. They were dropped by the label after they moved to LA and decided to do the RU-vid route. If you haven't already seen the daft punk video, they had a budget of $400, filmed in Kevin and Avi's kitchen and recorded in a closet. First Grammy. They got signed again and fought with the label and things have gotten better. So now, PTX is not an A capella band, they are THE a capella band. And they deserve it.
When I first starting singing in my band I needed a lot of help lol. I started taking vocal lessons in my home town. The teacher was working with me on harmonies and gave me two Boys II Men albums. I've been a big fan ever since :)
My favorite singer of all time is Matt Cardle He won X Factror UK in 2010. One Direction were also contestants, but came in a distant third. Matt was a 27 year old Indie rocker with a beard and 1D were cute teens, perfect to be molded into pop stars. Sony also really hated Matt for winning because they had banked on 1D. They promoted his first single and it was one of the biggest UK songs of that year and they released his mostly self penned album the following year. It went patimum, but Sony had lost inerest and focused on 1D. Matt left before, he could be dropped , signing with a very small label. But it gave him a chance to take control of this career and self produce two terific top 20 albums, writing all the songs and playing nearly all the instrumets himself. He did sign with Sony again in 2018, but was not happy with the control they exerted over song choice for his 4th ablum and left again. He has recorded a new EP in his home studio during the lock downs , co-writing the songs with his girlfriend, again playing all instruments. His parents are financial planners so he invested smartly. He is not rich, but he has been able to do exactly what he wants. This is his current single. It is about a girl he met in re-hab. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-JM5Gw6pZG2s.html
The judge you weren't sure of is Sara Bareilles. I recommend checking out some of her music (Gravity, Love Song, Brave & many more) and you'll see why she was a great choice for being a judge.
One or two seasons later HOME FREE also won the sing off comp. And Home Free went on to do an amazing cover of "End of the road" by Boyz II men. Check that out AFTER you react to Home frees journey thru the sing off also .
Thanks for doing this series. I never watch singing shows, but stumbled across this on UTube. It shows how much yhey mature over time as a group (fun). After you finish the series, if I may make a sugge3stion, go on to the next year of the show which was won by Home Free (also fun).
I would love to watch you react to Come Along by Pentatonix! They’ve taken this song and made it really fun to listen to and sing along with. And then there is Mitch’s high note...
Yay, so excited you are doing this journey. Keep in mind a few things. The producers wanted Scott to be the main focus so this is one reason Mitch isn't highlighted as much and one reason why Mitch sings lower than he does now. He also hadn't fully been comfortable with himself until after the show. Producers also created drama for the show so take the drama with them with a grain of salt. And the Producers hated Avis hips 😂 avi is a hip wiggler. Have fun!!! It's a great ride.
Hey metal guy, have you heard Leo Moracchioli's youtube metal cover of Toto's "Africa"? If you do listen to the video you also have to listen to the outro.
Don't know if you've reacted to it & I missed it, but you MUST react to their Sing Off performance of Dog Days of Summer! Talk about being Mitch slapped!
PTX received almost unmixed praise from the judges, right from the start. Ben Folds was the best at mixing in a bit of constructive criticism with the praise, as he did here. He accurately noted that pretty much their only fault was a tendency to rush when they got excited, and we can hear them gradually correcting that over the first few performances. Once they'd fixed that, they were pretty much unstoppable. This was the third season (of five, though the fifth was barely a competition -- it aired on one night) of The Sing-Off. It was also the biggest, with 16 a cappella groups competing, ranging in size from a minimum of five members (PTX and 3 other groups) to sixteen. That was another reason, beyond the artistic, that they had to recruit Avi and Kevin.
