Article on Pentatonix

Pentatonix are an a capella group consisting of five vital members: Kirstin Maldonado, Scott Hoying and Mitch Grassi - all lead singers, Matt Salle - the bass who joined in 2017 after Avi Kaplan left the group and Kevin "K.O." Olusola who is the beat-boxer and sometimes sings/ raps.

They won Season 3 of NBC's 'The Sing-Off' in 2011 and received $200,000 along with a recording contract with Sony (which they have since dropped).  They are a three-time Grammy award winning and multi-Platinum-selling group, having sold 10 million albums worldwide.

After observing some of their performances from the PTX Summer Tour 2018, I can discuss various elements of  from this musical ensemble that contributed to the overall sound/ performance of the group.

As there were only five of them on a wide stage, they could all be seen wherever you were in the audience. They were wearing black and red costumes showing that they are a team. The set included stairs and screens with light effects which added to an entertaining performance. Each member had their moment to shine, their spotlight and the group would all dance together whilst constantly singing live which I think is very impressive. They would have fun on stage, dancing and singing with each other and to the audience crouching to be closer to the fans which excited the crowd. 

In terms of the quality of the sound of the performance and their listening skills, their timing with each other was flawless and as it was all a capella, if the beat boxer (Kevin) was out of time, the rest of the group could also go off time because their is no band/ backing track to support them. They incorporated many beautiful harmonies, were always in tune and their voices had a smooth tone to them. They have in-ear monitors which has the whole band and a click track to keep them in time because if they listen to the house speakers, they will go off time as they echo back late. They also have something counting them off so they know when to start the song. Each member gets their own stereo AUX mix.

I listened to a very small part of their large repertoire: Despacito x Shape of You, Sing, Finesse and Attention. Their strengths were that they were dancing whilst singing very well and creating an entertaining performance and not to mention it was all a capella which is hard to believe because they create such a great sound.

 Another similar a capella group, The Filharmonics, who made it to the semi-finals in season 4 of the same competition Pentatonix won, "The Sing-Off", are a five-piece vocal group. They are Jules Cruz - Vocal Bass, Joe Caigoy - Tenor, Trace Gaynor - Tenor, Niko Del Ray - Beat Boxer and VJ Rosales - Tenor. Watching their first performance on "The Sing-Off" where they sung Treasure by Bruno Mars, they would dance around the stage just like Pentatonix, they wouldn't communicate with each other on stage, just to the audience - pointing at the audience, singing looking across the entire audience. It was enjoyable to watch because they had a strong stage presence but maybe they could communicate with each other more.

 Only two people were singing the main tune so they were the only ones to have their moment to shine which worked well but I think each member should have the spotlight on them at one point or another like Pentatonix. In terms of the sound, their vocals and harmonies were excellent and had a smooth tone to them.

Bibliography:
YouTube. (2019). Despacito x Shape Of You - Pentatonix Live Cover (PTX Summer Tour). [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAdCZPxNaxc [Accessed 24 Apr. 2019].

  YouTube. (2019). Pentatonix - Live - 7/19/18 - Irvine, CA. [online] Available at: https://youtu.be/L6qfvDtUVQ8 [Accessed 24 Apr. 2019].

 Pentatonix Official Website. (2019). Pentatonix Official Website. [online] Available at: http://ptxofficial.com/bio [Accessed 24 Apr. 2019].

 Massey, J. (2019). 'Sing-Off' a cappella winners Pentatonix release their first EP. [online] The Christian Science Monitor. Available at: https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Culture-Cafe/2012/0622/Sing-Off-a-cappella-winners-Pentatonix-release-their-first-EP [Accessed 24 Apr. 2019].

 The Filharmonic. (2019). About — The Filharmonic. [online] Available at: http://www.thefilharmonic.com/about-1 [Accessed 25 Apr. 2019].

 YouTube. (2019). 1st Performance - Filharmonic - "Treasure" By Bruno Mars - Sing Off - Series 4. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNDTbyQ4B_Q&t=38s [Accessed 25 Apr. 2019].

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