Pentatonix: Season 3 Champs

[Rhondinella]

Discuss the season 3 champs here.

[Kromm]

Normally we'd be posting GOOD videos and appearances (I know the TWOP thread was filled with that).  But I have to post one I'm less happy with, just for posterity.

 

The actual performance is okay, but I just hope that this early in their career they don't get in the habit of doing.. car shows.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gucr8tmEiAA

[Bella]

Unfortunately, Kromm, they'll probably more money there than from all their tours and music sales. The Asian promotional market is obscenely lucrative.

[SrPab]

I think this was a fairly recent (as in the past month or two) event. At any rate, if appearances at auto shows, Oreo commercials, and Lucky Charms jingles helps them pay off their record label and promo debts faster, then all the better as far as I'm concerned. I once read an article on the CASA website talking about Sing-Off champs having to pay off a ton of expenses (recording studio, marketing and promotion, etc.) before turning a profit (unless they are ridiculously successful right out of the gate).

 

These (hopefully) one-off appearances are, to me, either income supplements or ways to pay down their debts.

[Sharpie66]

Hi, there, all of you former TWOP people!

 

I just posted this tidbit over at TWOP: Pentatonix just signed a "lucrative record deal" with RCA Records. Of course, they don't mention what exactly "lucrative" equals in terms of cash, but I hope that they're getting some decent dough out of this deal. (BTW, the car show also included what looked like either business or first-class seats to Beijing, from what I saw in the pic that Scott tweeted, which isn't a bad perk to have.)

 

http://popdust.com/2014/05/13/pentatonix-sign-a-record-deal-with-rca-records/

Edited May 13, 2014 by Sharpie66

[Sharpie66]

New Pentatonix video, this time for their original song "Love Again" off of their PTX Vol. II album: https://www.youtube....h?v=F80FsZDTgn0

Very like their "Daft Punk" video in feel; I hope it sucks in fans of that vid to enjoy some of their original music.

[SrPab]

Breaking news (well, something more than a rumor)...from their FB page, and Scott's Twitter, Pentatonix will be in Pitch Perfect 2.

[Kromm]

Breaking news (well, something more than a rumor)...from their FB page, and Scott's Twitter, Pentatonix will be in Pitch Perfect 2.

It would almost seem foolish of the producers of that NOT to include them (I mean they can ignore Glee, because they're competition, but ignoring a real world success is another thing entirely).  

 

Hopefully it won't be too cheesily done (Anna Kendrick's character getting to meet her "heroes" or something like that).  I'd like the appearance to be more creative (with PTX having actual roles as characters other than themselves).

[Sharpie66]

I heard those rumors--nice to see they're true!

I just saw a snippet of their performing at the Walmart employees meeting a few weeks ago. Looks like Kirstie is back to being a blond. Also, according to their tweets, they are in the middle of recording their new album.

I had fun watching the PTXperience behind-the-scenes tour videos, especially all the different times various fans approached them in the streets of just about every European city they were in. It was nice seeing their international fanbase!!

[SrPab]

Hopefully it won't be too cheesily done (Anna Kendrick's character getting to meet her "heroes" or something like that).  I'd like the appearance to be more creative (with PTX having actual roles as characters other than themselves).

 

My daydream: Pentatonix appear as themselves (I don't care if they have spoken lines or just sing). Becca, or whoever, is feeling deflated by school/dad/boys/other Bellas and needs a pick-me-up or spot of inspiration...and someone gets her to go to a PTX concert in a nearby city...and she hears a new world of possibilities.

 

I'm assuming PP2 will still be set at Barden College and use the allure of an(other) ICCA championship to drive the plot. Have pro groups ever performed at ICCA--say, during judges deliberations? Perhaps PTX could perform at Barden (IRL, they've had shows at UCLA and Southern Cal, and a few other college campuses).

Edited June 17, 2014 by SrPab-PTV

[Sharpie66]

A lot more information on PTX's Pitch Perfect 2 appearance: Pentatonix joins 'Pitch Perfect 2'—and here's who they're playing

 

"The band reveals exclusively to EW that they’ll play a rival group to the Barden Bellas, the collegiate a cappella singers at the center of the sequel to the 2012 blockbuster, due in theaters in 2015.

"The members of Pentatonix spent just one day on set in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a 12-hour whirlwind that included full makeup and wardrobe treatment for members Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, Avi Kaplan, Kirstie Maldonado, and Kevin Olusola. “We’re wearing some pretty interesting things,” teases Hoying. “You can definitely tell it’s the five of us, but what we’re wearing and who we’re portraying is definitely not Pentatonix.” Grassi adds: “You’re going to love it.”

"Pitch Perfect 2 finds the original Bellas—Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, and others—returning for another year at Barden University, where they’re ushering a new crew of members into the national-winning group. Expect the five members of Pentatonix to offer threatening competition to the Bellas’ well-oiled machine.

"Pentatonix became involved with the film thanks to the efforts of two mutual friends: Deke Sharon, who arranged music on The Sing-Off and the Pitch Perfect films, and a film publicist who coordinated Pentatonix’s performance at the original Pitch Perfect’s premiere. Fans who tweeted producers urging them to cast Pentatonix also contributed to the cause, Olusola tells EW.

"Though the band will not be playing themselves, they did get to arrange their own song to make sure they retained “the Pentatonix sound,” says Hoying. “They gave us a song, and we arranged it and sent it back, expecting them to say, ‘You need to change this, this, and this.’ But they came back and said, ‘Great, that’s it!’ That was really cool.”

"To the extent that Hoying and company are fans of the original Pitch Perfect, their set visit revealed that the band had its own admirers in the cast. “Anna Kendrick came up to me on set and said, ‘Me and my roommate watch your Vines!’ and Skylar Astin came up at the premiere and said, ‘I am the biggest fan of Pentatonix,’” recalls Hoying. “It’s just crazy to think that Pentatonix has developed this following where celebrities know who we are.”

"The gang won’t get any dialogue (“Let’s be honest, it’s probably for the best,” laughs Hoying), but they did get some major screentime—and some off-camera facetime with the gals who play their competition. “I will say, all the Barden Bellas are hot,” says Olusola. “So I was pretty happy.”"

[Sharpie66]

Just saw an interview with Kirstie--when asked about upcoming PTX projects, she said that they are working on s new EP, a Christmas one, but I couldn't figure out if she meant that they have two new EPs, one a regular one and one a Christmas one, or if it is just the Christmas one.

Either way, smart move to follow up the success of Little Drummer Boy right away.

[Sharpie66]

They just tweeted today about an all-night shoot they had last night for a new video, and them they put #TMNTMovie in the tweet. I am guessing they might have a song on the soundtrack. If so, good for them!

[Sharpie66]

Pentatonix is going to be performing in a bicentennial celebration of the National Anthem that's going to be broadcast on PBS's Great Performances on September 13, hosted by John Lithgow, with performances by others, including Kristin Chenoweth (I've loved her ever since I saw her as Sally in You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, which was in its dry-run tour before hitting Broadway--I went to see it for Anthony Rapp and BD Wong [Charlie Brown and Linus, respectively], but walked out talking about that amazing actress playing Sally, "What was her name, again?" She was in Wicked a few years later).

[SrPab]

Does that Sept. 13 broadcast coincide with Pentatonix being in Baltimore? Someone recently left a post on PTX's FB page that the group will be there in September.

[Sharpie66]

It's a live broadcast, so I'm guessing yes.

 

ETA: I was just looking at their twitter page, and Kevin just posted that "these albums are" fantastic or some such teaser. What I focused on was the words "albums are"--guess they are doing two albums for the fall, one Christmas one that I knew about, and PTX Vol. 3, that I was hoping they were doing but didn't know for sure. I just hope it's a full-fledged album, not an EP.

Edited July 23, 2014 by Sharpie66

[Kromm]

It's a live broadcast, so I'm guessing yes.

 

ETA: I was just looking at their twitter page, and Kevin just posted that "these albums are" fantastic or some such teaser. What I focused on was the words "albums are"--guess they are doing two albums for the fall, one Christmas one that I knew about, and PTX Vol. 3, that I was hoping they were doing but didn't know for sure. I just hope it's a full-fledged album, not an EP.

It's odd that they're even bothering to do albums, when the whole album "model" of music production seems to be falling by the wayside for more and more artists (more and more are switching to the idea of just doing rolling singles releases).

[Sharpie66]

I would guess that, being acapella, there is probably a relatively large (but not a majority) percentage of their fanbase that is made up of oldsters like me (late 40s and up), who still like to buy entire albums instead of individual tracks. Also, Billboard charts are still reliant on the entire album framework, so to get media buzz by debuting on the Billboard Top 10 albums is still important to many artists, IMO.

[Sharpie66]

This is probably the best of the "Meet Pentatonix" articles that I've read, this time from Singapore, where they've sold out both of their concerts in August (they've also sold out all of their Australia concerts).

 

Penta-Mania Hits Singapore!

[Sharpie66]

They have added a third show for Singapore, since the first two sold out.

And their next video is going to be for their song for the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, and it is going to have its premiere on MTV next week according to Twitter.

Edited July 31, 2014 by Sharpie66

[Kromm]

They have added a third show for Singapore, since the first two sold out.

And their next video is going to be for their song for the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, and it is going to have its premiere on MTV next week according to Twitter.

Well there goes their leisure/vacation time in Asia.  From what other articles said, the second show was ALREADY added on to the single one originally planned.

 

The surprise to me is that it's Singapore going wacked out nutso for them and not Japan.  Somehow that seems more like a Japan thing.  But maybe Mandarin speaking Singapore got broadcasts of The Sing-Off China show and knows them from that (where they guest performed).

[Sharpie66]

Their Japan and Seoul concerts are all in a festival format with tons of seats, so they might end up matching the number of attendees that three shows in Singapore will bring in.

 

ETA: I just saw on their Twitter that there is a special "Japan Edition" of their albums with both Vols 1 and 2 in one album, and it is currently #9 on the iTunes chart over there, so they definitely have a big fanbase in Japan.

Edited July 31, 2014 by Sharpie66

[SrPab]

Regarding Pentatonix and Japan, there are some recent YT vids of them promoting a special double-album release for the Japanese market (PTX Vols. I & II). Apparently, this double-album also includes "Let It Go" from Frozen. I have no idea if their "Let It Go" will eventually be widely released.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GKxJw57-Gg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmYrjvXfhzY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K02W9MyBB7Q (you can hear parts of "Let It Go" better in this one)

 

When I have nothing better to do for 10 minutes (or an hour), I search YT for groups covering their arrangements. There are several Japan-based "tribute" a cappella groups doing nothing but PTX arrangements. These seem to be publicly performed in one-off events or as part of larger a cappella festivals (particularly on the university circuit?). I'm not sure since I don't speak Japanese and don't know Japan's a cappella scene. Which, of course, means I have no idea how big they actually are in Japan. But given how Frozen exploded over there (in terms of movie grosses and consecutive weeks as Japan's #1 movie), I think Pentatonix did a good thing to up their Japanese music market profile by making these moves.

 

Since they're in that part of the world in mid-August, later in August they'll be in Australia with concert stops in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne. Of course, Australian PTX fans in the Western states and cities like Adelaide and Perth have been getting on their case for not coming anywhere near them. ;-) And, according to numerous replies left on their FB page whenever the group posts something, they simply have to perform in Brazil, The Philippines, and Indonesia (along with most every other country in the world--but these are the most, ahem, vocal about it). I've stumbled across a few items where they are in negotiations to perform in some big music festival in Brazil in 2015.

Edited July 31, 2014 by SrPab-PTV

[Sharpie66]

Scott has currently taken over the MTV twitter account and is answering questions (RT over at PTXofficial's account), and there is behind-the-scenes pics and videos of their video shoot for their new song, which is premiering on MTV tonight at 11:21 pm EST (according to Scott). The behind-the-scenes video is very entertaining: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTFtBGZfsdE .

 

They've got back-up dancers, 25 of them!!

[Kromm]

Scott has currently taken over the MTV twitter account and is answering questions (RT over at PTXofficial's account), and there is behind-the-scenes pics and videos of their video shoot for their new song, which is premiering on MTV tonight at 11:21 pm EST (according to Scott). The behind-the-scenes video is very entertaining: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTFtBGZfsdE .

 

They've got back-up dancers, 25 of them!!

That's ridiculous!  Since when does MTV play music videos? [looking around for confirmation]

EDIT - Ah I get it.  It's because it's a tie-in with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie.  MTV is all about revenue generation, and they're being compensated for being a marketing vehicle for the movie.  (Yes, I'm bitter, but none of it is against PTX--someone we like might as well benefit from MTV not being what they used to be... except when paid to be)

[Kromm]

And I see they dressed Kirstie in yellow. How April O'Neil.

Edited August 4, 2014 by Kromm

[Sharpie66]

Yeah, the last time I watched MTV was for an early season of America's Best Dance Crew, and before that it was some time in the 1990s for Pop-Up Video.

[Rick Kitchen]

PTX's ninja song:

 

[Kromm]

It's a tad overproduced... but that's probably what's needed for them to get up the next rung of stardom/public attention.  I imagine they'll have a slightly scaled down version for live performances.

 

I do like that once again we see how Net marketing savvy PTX is.  When they do these partnerships they actually get the big companies/organizations to link BACK to content on the PTXOfficial channel.  They got Sesame Street to do it, and now they got MTV to do it. (they didn't get either General Mills or Disney to do it, but Disney did allow them the YouTube rights to that video while they simply had another on their own site, and General Mills well.. it was just a jingle so there probably wasn't a way to link that back).

 

And if you scroll down a little, it actually got on the MTV website...

 

Edited August 5, 2014 by Kromm

[SrPab]

PTX Vol. III will drop Sept. 23 (pre-order from Aug. 12): 7 tracks - 3 originals; 1 non-English song; at least 1 collaboration. "Problem" (Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea) is one of the covers.

 

That's Christmas To Me is out Oct. 21: pre-order info TBD; at least one original song.

Edited August 7, 2014 by SrPab-PTV

[Sharpie66]

Ahhh, ya beat me to it!

Also, they said there would be four videos coming out within the next few weeks or month. (ETA: I misunderstood them--they have FILMED four videos in the past few weeks, not going to be releasing four in the next few--sorry about that!) There is a new video coming out on Tuesday.

If you pre-order PTX Vol. III, you'll get a track right away, if I understand the teaser trailer correctly.

And I just realized that I'll be out of town when it comes out! Hopefully I'll be able to download the tracks in Ireland...

Edited August 7, 2014 by Sharpie66

[Sharpie66]

This Hollywood Reporter article provides a few more details: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/earshot/pentatonix-announces-vol-3-release-724034?mobile_redirect=false.

There is collaboration, the foreign language song is in French, and by pre-ordering, you get the first of two instant tracks. For the new Xmas album, the original track is the title one, there will be classic and modern songs, and one holiday mash-up.

[Kromm]

Wow, apparently they've added a show at Purdue University on Oct 1.  I assumed they'd be blocking out some time off after a nice haul in Asia.  Or using it all for direct album promotion.

 

Maybe it's there to have a place to test out their new material.  If the album comes out Sept 23rd, and they spend every waking moment for the week before and after doing media appearances, then Oct 1st-ish would be about their first chance (and with the Christmas album coming out around 3 weeks later they don't really have a huge window anyway).

 

EDIT - Apparently they already had a Sept 21st appearance at the Washington State Fair planned.  Ouch.  Normally I think 2 days before an album release you'd already be deep in the shit with bouncing all around the country doing media appearances.  So they'll probably have to squeeze that show AROUND those.

Edited August 9, 2014 by Kromm

[Sharpie66]

Here is the video for "Problem":

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z9b2HiW_L8

 

I really like it! I was unfamiliar with the original until this past weekend when I saw it on YT so I could have something to compare PTX's version to. AG has a wonderful voice (very Aguilara-esque in its tone and power, IMO), but PTX strips out a lot of the extra frou-frou from the original in their version, yet still make it very poppy.

Edited August 12, 2014 by Sharpie66

[SrPab]

@Sharpie66, how did you first experience listening to "Problem" in its entirety--with or without headphones/earbuds? Do you think it lacks bass? I don't know if it was a conscious decision made by Avi/the group, or if it was done during the mastering process, but it is not as bass-laden to my ears as some of their other arrangements.
 
I love it overall but I'm just curious if others think there is a lack of bass, or if it's just me.

[Sharpie66]

The first few hours I listened to it, I definitely thought it was light on the bass. But then, I put on my headphones. Oh, there's plenty of bass there!!

[SrPab]

I've listened to "Problem" several times in my car (via Bluetooth from my iPhone to my car stereo) and...THERE BE BASS. ::grumble:: Weak-ass computer speakers ::grumble::

[Kromm]

Hmm.  800K hits in two days is actually a weaker start for that video than I'd assumed it would have.   I mean not that it ever stays at the pace, but the first few days should be a torrent, not a shower.

 

It must not be getting good linkage/embeddage to it (traditionally PTX videos gets tons of embeds from all kinds of media sites).

Edited August 14, 2014 by Kromm

[Sharpie66]

Technically, it didn't go live (other than Patreon patrons) unti lthe middle of the day on Tuesday, and when I watched the video (again!) this morning, they were at around 900K hits. Just now, it's at 1.1 million, which isn't bad for just under two days in the middle of the dog days of summer.

 

Personally, I think it's one of the their best videos--very stylish looking--and the arrangement is terrific. I saw a video of them performing it in Seoul, and it didn't seem to translate as well to a live performance, at least not in a huge venue like they were in. The arrangement is made up of a lot of great little moments that are pretty subtle, so I can see why it might not sell as well in a stadium setting.

Edited August 14, 2014 by Sharpie66

[SrPab]

I've listened to performances of "Problem" during their time in Singapore and it does seem to come across better in a live indoor setting. Then again, boisterous fans can easily overwhelm a smartphone's microphone under any circumstances.

 

Also, there's this (skip to 1:51): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwttCoNJa5M

 

Perhaps this is the collaboration they talked about in their recent Google Hangout session. I wonder which track on PTX, Vol. III this could be. "Rather Be" seems as good a candidate as any of the other non-"Problem" tracks.

Edited August 14, 2014 by SrPab-PTV

[Sharpie66]

I wonder if they'll show up in the next round of the Sing-Off? Probably not, unless the producers invite Nota and Committed as well. I'm sure they've feature Home Free, but bringing just PTX of the first three champs back would be pretty blatant favoritism towards PTX.

[Sharpie66]

Scott posted this pic of a store in Japan: https://mobile.twitter.com/scotthoying/status/500575314884698112/photo/1 All of those white posters with the reddish vertical bars are the cover from their Japan edition album, which contains not just PTX Vols 1 and 2 and Let It Go, but also most of their studio-produced singles (no Gangnam Style, though).

Scott calls looking at the store "Surreal," and it really must be strange to see success on an international level.

[Kromm]

Japanese TV show: (bad quality, but just to show they've been up to besides concerts)

 

[Kromm]

Watching random videos of their shows in Korea and Singapore, and they seem like big-ass venues.  

 

You can get a sense of the Korean show from this, for example (there's a pullback on the zoom where you can see at least part of the crowd at around the 30 second mark).  I know they've played fairs and such with crowds this size, but not for crowds that look like they came SPECIFICALLY to see Pentatonix.

 

[Sharpie66]

The pre-orders for PTX Vol. III have put it at #4 on the iTunes chart: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/top-10-songs-albums-itunes-store-25042537

[Sharpie66]

Very smartly, they're filming one of their PTX Vol. 3 videos while they're in Tokyo.

[bjork]

I'm thinking about ordering the Japan CD so that I don't have to switch out CDs on long road trips so often.

 

Here's an interview from June:

 

[Sharpie66]

They just finished their Austral-Asia tour last night.

 

There is apparently an awards show for online streaming/videos (not YouTube-related, though), called the Streamys, and this year, PTX is nominated in three of the four music category awards--Best Cover Song ("Daft Punk"), Best Original Song ("Love Again"), and Best Artist (they only missed out on Best Music Video, which they might correct in the future with their increased budget for videos now that they're on Patreon and signed by RCA).

[Sharpie66]

New video from PTX Vol. III: "La La Latch":

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsVeQnBmp70

 

I really like it--it's very catchy, but seems to be more rooted in traditional a capella sounds than a lot of their other songs, especially in the background harmonies.

 

It's also available on iTunes if you haven't gotten it as part of your pre-order of the album. Apparently on the strength of the number of pre-orders, the song is already at #3 on the iTunes singles chart this morning!

[Kromm]

New video from PTX Vol. III: "La La Latch":

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsVeQnBmp70

 

I really like it--it's very catchy, but seems to be more rooted in traditional a capella sounds than a lot of their other songs, especially in the background harmonies.

I don't think it's THAT bad in that department. I mean overall it's just fairly close to the original songs, other than being mashed up and beatboxed. That portion where Scott sings lead near the beginning is backed by the others doing a very traditional acapella backing... but I think it fits there, and it's not like the entire mashup is framed that way, just that portion. In total, it's hardly a startlingly original arrangement, but the flip side is that it leverages the individual talents of each of them extremely well and I bet it's incredibly entertaining live if they can maintain even 75% of that without the studio tweaking we know goes into the album tracks/video performances.

I'm okay with the occasional one-off old-school acapella song per album anyway--they just shouldn't be their "singles". Since I don't think this is really that anyway, I'm fine with it regardless.

Edited September 2, 2014 by Kromm