British Rappers First Time Hearing Pentatonix - The Sound of Silence

What's a Mitch Slap? Has that just happened to me again? Let me know in the comments section below guys.

Thanks guys
Dwayne's Couch

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[joycewetherbee]

Before Avi left, he helped them find a bass to replace him. Matt has a wonderful bass voice. Avi however, is a basso profundo with such a beautiful meltingly deep voice.

[alan-freeman]

Pentatonix

They won The Sing Off in 2011. They made a guest starring appearance on America′s Got Talent as non−competitors a couple of years after that.

The founding members are:-

Scott Hoying (tall blond guy, natural baritone but has an impressive five−to−six octave range, can go all the way up to high tenor and down to bass, sings the bass lines when the usual bass singer takes the lead);

Kirstin "Kirstie" (Rhymes with "Thirsty") Maldonado (the only female member, natural mezzo soprano, but can go down to low alto and as high as upper soprano, also can sing in whistle notes that are off the scale); For a time in 2018 between the group’s tours, had the female lead on Broadway in the production of “Kinky Boots”.

Mitch Grassi (a true contra−tenor, can hit high notes in his chest voice with ease and go WAY higher in his falsetto, also with ease);

Avriel "Avi" Kaplan (dark beard and long hair), true basso profundo, trained as an opera singer, also can go up into the tenor range; and

Kevin "KO" Olusola (beatboxer extraordinaire, also is a world−class cellist who plays cello on some of their songs, has a beautiful high tenor voice and gets occasional lead vocal solos as well, graduated pre−med from Yale and speaks several languages including Mandarin Chinese).


Kirstie, Scott & Mitch grew up together in Arlington, Texas, and began performing together as children in local youth musical theater. They ended up in high school together and performed in the choir. While there, they formed an a cappella group called The Trio which had several performance videos go viral on YouTube, most notably a cover of Lady Gaga′s "Telephone". The three of them are best friends and consider themselves to be almost siblings.

Scott & Kirstie (who were a class year ahead of Mitch) both graduated high school in 2010 and went their separate ways to different colleges, Scott at USC and Kirstie at Oklahoma.

While at USC, Scott joined a USC−based a cappella group called the SoCal VoCals, where he met alumnus Ben Bram, who was now an arranger and vocal coach for the NBC TV show The Sing Off, an a cappella competition show. Ben convinced Scott to get The Trio to audition for the show. The three reunited (Mitch had to skip high school graduation ceremonies to go) in Los Angeles for the audition.

They found out that the rules had changed, so they needed at least five members to audition. Ben put them together with Avi (a native of Visalia, California), who he knew from Avi′s performing days at Mount San Antonio College in California. They found Kevin (from Kentucky) through one of his YouTube videos that had gone viral featuring him playing the cello and beatboxing at the same time, a talent that Kevin coined as "Cello−Boxing".

Kevin arrived in Los Angeles literally the day before the audition! Scott came up with the name "Pentatonix" after the pentatonic scale. They performed a re−arrangement of "The Telephone" for the audition and passed, despite having been together as a five−piece group for less that 24 hours!

They won The Sing Off that season (all of the performances are available on YouTube), in which they received a substantial cash prize AND a record contract with Epic Records. They pooled their prize winnings together and all moved to Los Angeles, and all got apartments right next door to each other in the same building.

But just a week later, Epic dropped them because the marketing people didn′t think an a cappella group could sell records.

Instead of giving up, they were determined and began recording their own songs on YouTube, hiring Ben Bram as their producer and arranger. These usually consisted of the five of them sitting on a couch and performing cover songs live.

Several of the videos went viral, and Sony (the parent company of Epic) decided to give them another chance by placing them on one of their smaller labels, Madison Gate. They released two secular EPs and one Christmas EP on Madison Gate, all of which were strong sellers.

But when their cove r of a medley of songs by Daft Punk not only went super−viral, but also won them their first Grammy, they were promoted all the way up to RCA Records, Sony′s top label.

They began writing and producing their own songs in addition to their covers, began putting out a Christmas album just about annually (which has become their best−selling genre), and have had multi−platinum album sales, sold−out world tours, and have won two additional Grammys.

Avi began getting burned out with all of the touring and heavy recording schedule, was suffering from anxiety and personal problems, and learned that his mother had been diagnosed with cancer in 2017. He announced he was departing from the group and taking some time away from the music industry.

Matt Sallee (from Baltimore) joined them in September 2017. He did only become official when they renewed their RCA contract in February 2018, but he recorded with them in September as a featured artist and went on their Christmas tour as a featured artist, as well. When he attended the audition for the group, he had already mastered the Bass part for most if not all their past catalogue. He was successful and has proved that he fits in well with the group.

If you think there have been other changes to the line up - look again. This is the ONLY change. Kirstie and Mitch are like chameleons and change looks frequently.

After a year away from music, Avi has now returned as a phenomenal solo artist in the Folk/Americana/Roots genre.

Ben Bram has been in charge of their production, including arranging and directing from the beginning. He is often referred to as the sixth member. Scott and Kevin are major players in the arrangements, but every member contributes. A good watch is "The Recording of Evergreen" where a camera was invited into the studio for the second week of recording/

Also, all members are songwriters for both Pentatonix and their own solo work.

Ed Boyer who mixes everything of theirs (even the HWB Livestream) is the one who pulled Ben Bram into the sing off in the first place.

They have Grammy wins for Daft Punk Medley, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, and Jolene featuring Dolly Parton. They were nominated for a 4th Grammy for their album Evergreen, but didn't win.

Kirstie became a new mum which caused a pause in touring after their Evergreen Christmas tour 2021. Mid March 2023 Kirstie has announced that she is engaged to Ben Hausdorff, their videographer. No dates YET!

They have a star on the Hollywood walk of fame installed in February 2023. They are the only a capella group with a star!

They came 3rd in the 2023 Masked Singer performing as "California Rolls" being unmasked in May 23.

Things you need to know because if you get these wrong Pentaholics will come after you with pitch forks and torches! Ha Ha!!
1- There is NO Auto-Tune; what you hear is actually what they sing. They really are that good. One exception is the 90's Dance Medley where Cher used autotune as an effect - so they had to.
2- What produces everything that you hear in the video, you see in the official video. If there is an instrument used in the music, you see it on screen. In the 2022 Christmas album, there are some instruments not featured throughout the album.
3- They never release something on video they can’t reproduce with the exact same quality live on-stage.

[lisas]

The original bass singer was Avi. He left the group in 2017, on good terms. His replacement is Matt, the guy in the white jacket. Each of them has something special to offer. Like that gorgeous slide down at the end of his solo "and no one dared, disturb the sound of silence".!! My favorite part of this song, it's like thick syrup dripping down! 😊❤

[carolscott]

I think you would be blown away by their cover of Imagine. Their "wall of sound" in that one is amazing.😍

[stacyl]

Please react to Can't Hold Us by Pentatonix. It is such a vibe!

[alaintoutant]

No real "Mitch slap" in that one, Mitch is actually singing in a lower register than usual. Dont' worry, you'll feel it when it happens. "Dance of the sugar plum fairy", "Can't hold us", "aHa! Live" and many more showcase some pretty jaw dropping Mitch slaps. They each have incredible talent and could be stars on their own. Together they form an unbeatable synergy of diversified skills. Because of that, PTX's versatility makes "normal" groups sound like one-trick-poneys. There are millions of us Pentaholics craving for reactions. If you do more of them, you're sure to get a lot of views and feedback.

[colleenelliott]

So I personally love Pentatonix. And lately, I've been finding videos like this, where people with music backgrounds are reacting. Idk why it makes me extra happy, it just does. Makes it more fun to listen to imo when someone is breaking it down, analyzing it as well as being blown away at their abilities. Love it

[thamertanner]

You should react to their Daft Punk medley next, it won them their first Grammy. The video cost about $400 to make and was filmed in Avi and Kevin's kitchen closet. I would recommend watching the music video first and then watching a live performance, there is video of a private performance done in a hospital for Make A Wish. They don't record anything they can't sing live.

[fliwatuett]

I saw PTX in Berlin, Germany, a month ago. They are that good live, in some songs even better. Incredible. And there stage presents breathtaking.
Thanks for the good reaction and Greetings from Germany

Edit typo

[elainedavis]

Thank you for reacting to PTX-- Love them!!

[ShinyElfriend]

Matt replaced Avi, who left amicably in 2016. Since Avi is in half the videos, reactors will bounce back and forth between Avi's time frame and Matt's, so it can be confusing. Because of that, Matt will perpetually be known as the "new" bass, but I think Matt has surpassed the amount of time Avi was in the group at this point, (or at least equalled it, I haven't done the math). You can still appreciate Avi's amazing talent in earlier PTX videos and in his solo music and collaborations he has done since leaving the band. Matt is such a joyful presence and absolutely integral to Pentatonix. A Mitch slap is a reactors first and ongoing reactions to Mitch's remarkable and unique high tenor voice. He was the one in the hat in Hallelujah. Mitch's solo in Sound of Silence is stunning, I could listen to just that all day, but most people get their attention grabbed more by Matt in this arrangement. Believe me, Mitch will surprise you again and again, just you wait! He does it well. You'll find they will all find a way to surprise and amaze you.

[ElizabethT]

I had a Mitch Slap moment way back when they were auditioning for The Sing-Off. The song was "Dog Days Are Over, " and there's a point where everyone else drops out and Mitch sings "And I never wanted anything from you" and I swear, Dwayne, it rang through the rafters of that auditorium like an angel had rung a bell.

[vidsorama]

Thank you for reacting to this beautiful Pentatonix video. Happy that you liked it. Matt has been bass for Pentatonix since 2017 after Avi left for personal and family reasons. That is the only member change in their 12-year history. There are a lot of live performances of this song on YouTube. Check out their performance at The Hollywood Bowl in September 2022. It's on Miles Ruben's YouTube channel.

[Badger]

The "doo doo doos" that happen at the end of each verse are known as bell tones. It's a fairly common technique used in a cappella singing, usually emulating an instrument (guitar, piano, etc.) and Pentatonix uses it in a number of videos. If you check out their cover of Bohemian Rhapsody (highly recommended!), you'll hear PTX use it at the beginning of the song to emulate the piano that Freddy Mercury played in Queen's original video.

[bethphillips]

They can sing anything, any genre. I would suggest Sing, When the Party's Over, Run to You, Havana, Be My Eyes, Happy Now - so many amazing songs.

[pollypocket]

Chills. Every single song they sing just gives me chills. They are amazing.BTW…. YOU NEED KEEP reactING to some of their other videos… even more powerful!

[pjb]

I love it when new reactors start to believe! I found them during the pandemic and quickly gobbled up everything I could find. And it’s a lot. Their Popspring performance is a good one for a live performance. It’s three originals plus a Michael Jackson medley. Their cover of Gold was shot in one take, just five friends sitting around having fun and demonstrating why they’re so great. Peace ….

[kayecastleman]

So great that you are enjoying this great group. Matt is a terrific bass for the group, but I'm still in love with their oldies with Avi. The PTX cover of Lennon's "Imagine" is a glimpse into the soul of the original group. I think you will love it. Thanks for sharing your reactions with us!

[hernameispekka_Rebecca]

You're on your way down a very rewarding rabbit hole. They have over a decade of wonderful musical content (and also vlogs/documentaries and interviews and such. I know you react to things other than music). I have a feeling you'll get stuck here with the rest of us, haha

[DanandDonna]

Gives me chills. Brings back good memories. Blessings.