The official site of Pentatonix.
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Pentatonix began with a trio from Martin High School in Arlington, Texas. This trio consisted of Kirstin Maldonado, Scott Hoying and Mitch Grassi. They sand soley a cappella, using only their voices, no instruments. Their first competition was for a radio show to win the chance to meet the cast of Glee. Although they didn't win, their composition of "Telephone" by Lady Gaga, received more attention than they anticipated. Kirstin and Scott graduated in 2010, while Mitch graduated in 2011. They all went their seperate ways to puruse their own college educations, but kept in touch. Scott attended USC where he was encouraged by a fellow a cappella member to audition for The Sing-Off. Immediatly Scott called Kirstin and Mitch and asked if they wanted to re-group and audition for this show. The show had a minimum of four members, however, so they had to find a base and a beatboxer to complete their group. This is when they found Avi Kaplan, a fantastic bass recognized in the a cappella community, through a mutual friend. After Avi, they found their beat boxer, Kevin Olusolo. Kevin was found on YouTube from simultaneously beatboxing and playing the cello. The five members then met the day before auditions for the first time and went on to win the title of 2011 champions of The Sing-Off.
The group signed with Madison Gate Records soon after their win and went on to make their first album, PTX, Volume 1, released on June 26th, 2012. Soon after, the group released their Christmas album, PTXmas. This album gained a lot of praise and placed number 4 on the Holiday charts in 2014. It sold over 300,000 copies. In 2013-2014, thr group went on their 2nd national tour while writing their own material for their 2nd album, PTX, Vol. II. Their music video cover of a medely of Daft Punk songs gained them the most recognition up until this time in late 2013. This viedo has received over 175 million views as of Decmeber 2015. Their fourth album, PTX, Vol. III, was released on September 23, 2014 and soon after followed their most popular album to date, That's Christmas to Me. Their newest Christmas album was deemed the highest charting Holiday album by a group since 1962. By December of 2014, That's Christmas to Me was certified platinum and became the 4th best selling album of 2014, including all artists from all genres.
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The most recent album release of Pentatonix came out on October 16th, 2015 and was filled with not just covers, but original music. On their album, they have songs featuring Tink and Jason Derulo. Their biggest hit on their album is Can't Sleep Love.
Watch Can't Sleep Love now!
Kirstie grew up in Arlington Texas raised by her single mother. She grew up with a love for singing and the theater as she spent eight years touring with Theatre Arlington, was in the Texas All-State Choir, and enrolled as a theatre major at the University of Oklahoma. In multiple interviews Kirstie explains how education is a great importance in her life and that she had to drop out to pursue her career with Pentatonix. Kirstie has known fellow member, Mitch Grassi, since she was just 8 years old and other fellow member, Scott Hoying, since she was in high school. Kistie is known as the mezzosoprano of the group.
Link to Kirstie's Twitter.
Avi is known in the world of a cappella as the bass. His vocal range can go as low as A1 and as high as C#5. He provides a strong tempo and beat for the beat, but being a bass isn't his only job. He also sings for the group and has a strong solo in Standing By. Avi grew up in Visalia, California with his sister, Esther, who is now the tour manager for the group. He is known for being hilarious and a fun addition to the group.
Link to Avi's Twitter.
Mitch is known as the tenor in the group and also as the best singer out of the 5. Mitch also grew up in Arlington, Texas and missed his high school graduation to try out for The Sing Off. Along with his fellow member, Scott, Mitch created a YouTube channel called Superfruit. In their channel Mitch and Scott banter and play fun games, answer questions from Twitter users, and announce their weekly obsessions. Mitch is openly gay and when questioned about how hard it has been in the music world, Mitch said, "There are actually more advantages than disadvantages. I think it’s a great thing. I love that our fans are so accepting of it. It’s amazing; it makes me feel so close to them" (Georgia Voice).
Link to Mitch's Twitter.
Scott is a founder of the Pentatonix group and is seen as the leader of the five. He is a co-founder of Superfruit alongside Mitch and is also openly gay. He is also from Arlington, Texas and is best friends with Mitch. Scott atended University of Southern California where he was a member of their a cappella group, SoCal VoCals. He is not only a singer, but also a songwriter and a pianist. Scott is the baritone of the group and leads in a majority of their songs.
Link to Scott's Twitter.
Kevin was found on YouTube from his videos of celloboxing (playing the cello while beatboxing). Although he is not know for his singing voice, he has been taking voice lessons and occassionaly will sing a line or two in the groups music. Kevin is probably the smartest out of the group, attended Yale and earned all his pre-requisites to attend medical school. He was also accepted to Princeton, Stanford and Brown. He is fluent in Mandarin and lived in China for 6 months and was so intrigued with the culture and lifestyle, he changed his major to East Asian studies. Along with his impressive resume, Kevin is not only is a master at the cello, but also plays the saxaphone and piano.
Link to Kevin's Twitter.