Pentatonix: Season 3 Champs

[SrPab]

 

...I really should look up YT vids of Avi in Fermata Nowhere (that was the name of his community college group that won ICCA, right?)...

There don't appear to be that many Fermata Nowhere (with Avi Kaplan) vids on YT, but there are some. There's one of a baby-faced (i.e., no facial hair) Avi and Joe Caigoy (of The Filharmonic) with three others doing an impromptu rendition of "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday".

 

 

...they really have to start putting out original songs more than the covers...

Several months ago, I recall reading something where they mentioned that signing with RCA gave them access to better (and more) songwriters.

Edited October 16, 2014 by SrPab-PTV

[Sharpie66]

PTX is going to be on Conan's show tomorrow (Monday) night.

Oh, and I just saw this posted--from their new Christmas album, "Winter Wonderland/Don't Worry Be Happy" with Tori Kelly. It is really good!

http://popappella.tumblr.com/post/100225416853/pentatonix-winter-wonderland-dont-worry-be

Edited October 20, 2014 by Sharpie66

[Sharpie66]

Saw them on Conan last night. My dvr cut it off as Conan was shaking hands, so I hope I didn't miss anything. They did "On My Way Home," which I think might have been the first time they did an original on a nationally broadcast performance.

I also downloaded their new Xmas album. Overall, excellent, although I think the least successful track is "Sleigh Bells," because Kirstie gets screechy when she goes for the highest notes, the first time I ever really winced when listening to a PTX song. The rest of the album is great; Hark the Herald Angels Sing has a fun gospel groove, Mary, Did You Know is a song I am not familiar with, but I really liked it a lot, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy is amaaaazing (I put it up there with Brian Setzer's Nutcracker Suite in my list of fave nonverbal Xmas tracks!), It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year is the first time I have heard Avi really belt out, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town grooves really well, and Silent Night is beautiful.

The new video for "White Winter Hymnal" will be out later today--I've already seen it due to being on Patreon, and it is very simple but fun to watch.

[debbydeb]

Their twitter account finally posted a link to the team Coco site: 

http://teamcoco.com/video/pentatonix-on-my-way-home-10/20/14?playlist=x;eyJ0eXBlIjoicmVjZW50IiwiaWQiOm51bGx9

Quite good but the mix is uneven, maybe?

 

I've finally gotten the album off iTunes and watched their video! The White Winter Hymnal has a very indie sound to it. But is it too similar to the Cups song to make it big on the charts? 

My favorites: It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, though I can hear it has a Buble vibe to it. My dad completely loves it of course, he loves Jazz styling.

Hark! is very good, it has that gospel vibe that kicks up the album, as you say :) 

 

Overall, an enjoyable christmas CD I think. It's easier to digest than PTX Vol III, in any case. 

 

Btw, here's a review from the LA Times of their Roxy performance. 

The reviewer wonders whether Pentatonix can get more fanbase, or this is it. Forever suspended between not-quite-obscure and not-quite-stardom. 

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-mn-pentatonix-roxy-review-20141022-story.html

[Sharpie66]

For me, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" just screams "Time-Life Christmas"--it's straight out of a 1950s television Christmas special, which is not a complaint, because I love the classic feel of it.

 

I've been listening to "Mary, Did You Know?", "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy," and "Silent Night" nearly nonstop since yesterday. They are all just gorgeous--so intricately layered, with moments for everyone. Even Kevin gets an entire stanza to sing solo in "Mary"! But I think that "Silent Night" might be my favorite; I really hope it gets a video.

[Sharpie66]

Looks like the new album is going to be around #5 or 6 on the Billboard charts next week, more than likely just below Little Big Town's latest: http://headlineplanet.com/home/2014/10/22/slipknot-album-pacing-100k-sales-logic-ti-move-65-70k/

 

If they can sell around 30K for a holiday album in the middle of October, it might end up having legs and moving back into the top ten charts at some point in December. I was really surprised to see PTX Vol. III only drop to the mid-30s in its second week on the chart (Vol. II fell to #70 or so at the same point), so I'm hoping for some good news about TCTM.

 

I'm still trying to figure out what will be the breakout single from this album; I'm sure they're hoping it'll be their original, but, even though it's a very good song, it doesn't grab me like "Little Drummer Boy" did last year. I know that they're working on more videos for this album (they were filming one yesterday), so it'll be interesting to see what ends up popping, if anything does.

[SrPab]

Ahem...per The Hollywood Reporter.

 

Regarding the LA Times piece, what was the author looking for from the concert? PTX are still in a transition phase from mostly covers/occasional originals to mostly originals/occasional covers. Besides "See Through", what did he think of their other Vol. III original songs? Did "On My Way Home" or "Standing By" give him a better sense of the group, and what their work means? Alas, no mentions at all of either.

 

Comparing "See Through" to what's on the radio seems odd in the sense that I don't think "See Through" gets any mainstream radio airplay in the U.S. I almost took it as a back-handed compliment. It may sound to some like uninspired Top 40 pop music...but it's well-performed/well-sung *a cappella* that, to me, sounds like it should be Top 40 pop music that gets airplay. Pop(ular) music doesn't always mean universally-loved or deeply profound songs--it just means (barring payola or voter fraud) lots of people like it enough to want to listen to it, repeatedly.

Edited October 22, 2014 by SrPab-PTV

[debbydeb]

Oh, the THR article is such a great read, so many new information to read. Thank goodness there's not much of the 'introductory blurbs'. I especially like the mention of A Cappella Academy. I've always liked the concept ever since it was announced last year. It reminded me how they speak fondly about The Sing Off--as a huge music camp. I think they're doing well in promoting the camaraderie and niceness of the music world (rather than the constant barrage of 'dog-eat-dog' litany bandied around about the music industry). 

 

And have anyone mastered the White Winter Hymnal hand choreography? 

[Kromm]

Here's the Conan appearance in an embeddable YouTubish form.

 

As always seems to happen on talk show appearances, the sound guys clearly didn't do the mikes right.  

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqNH2uepTGI

[takalotti]

And have anyone mastered the White Winter Hymnal hand choreography?

Oh my sweet mercy, I'm going to be watching the PTXvlog tutorial on repeat until I have it down. Now I just need four friends who are willing to learn it with me. Any takers? I call dibs on Mitch!

Avi has gone on record about being the one who has the hardest time with the dance choreography, right? (Remembering all the steps, not that he has difficulty executing a step.) I don't think I'm making that up. If I'm right, I wonder if this was easier or harder for him.

ETA: Either the WWH video or the tutorial for it lead me to the SuperFruit PTX Vol 3 Dance Party video. Seriously, my face hurt from all the extreme grinning I was doing and I cried tears of laughter at some parts. No lie. Enjoy...

Edited October 25, 2014 by takalotti

[Sharpie66]

According to his tweet, Scott and Kirstie were in Vegas for a friend's birthday, and they were all pulled up on stage to sing along with Shania Twain. I am just waiting for someone to post it on YT!

[Rick Kitchen]

OMG.  Avi covers "All About That Bass" with Mario Jose and Naomi Samilton.

Edited October 27, 2014 by Rick Kitchen

[debbydeb]

Someone on Tumblr noticed that Clean Bandit actually put a link in their official Rather Be video, pointing people to PTX's cover.

See it in the description box here

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m-M1AtrxztU

I think it's very sweet of them to do that!

[Kromm]

Someone on Tumblr noticed that Clean Bandit actually put a link in their official Rather Be video, pointing people to PTX's cover.

See it in the description box here

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m-M1AtrxztU

I think it's very sweet of them to do that!

They did--I noticed it about a week ago--although if it's actually leading to clickthroughs isn't clear (the viewership figures for that video... so far.. isn't gangbusters). They're not even the same record label (or even the same parent music group), so that's doubly why it's a nice thing.

[Sharpie66]

That's Christmas to Me ended up at #9 on the Billboard chart in its first week: http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6296950/slipknot-scores-second-no-1-album-on-billboard-200-chart

[bjork]

That's Christmas To Me sold 32,156 units in its first week.

[Sharpie66]

A bit early for this, but they're going to be on the Today Show on 11/26, the day before Thanksgiving.

 

Also, I just saw this press release: http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/135038/siriusxm-announces-holiday-music-programming-slate  They're going to be included on Sirius XM's Holly Christmas music channel:

 

HOLLY (channel 17): Contemporary holiday music as well as traditional favorites, including songs by IDINA MENZEL, KELLY CLARKSON, JOSH GROBAN, MICHAEL BUBLE, MARIAH CAREY, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, COLBIE CAILLAT, WHITNEY HOUSTON and PENTATONIX.  (TUESDAY, NOV. 11th-WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31st) HOLLY is also a year-round online channel, on channel 781.

Edited October 31, 2014 by Sharpie66

[Sharpie66]

PTX will be in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/11/03/kiss-sting-sesame-street-set-for-macys-thanksgiving-day-parade/

[Kromm]

PTX will be in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/11/03/kiss-sting-sesame-street-set-for-macys-thanksgiving-day-parade/

Like the Rockefeller Christmas Tree lighting (which I think they've done before) that's great exposure--while simultaneously being a bit of the marshmallow type of exposure at the same time--that true superstars step away from.  It's very good for mid-range celebs, which if we're being honest is where they are with their career (and better than what many reality show winners get).

[SrPab]

Pentatonix live on a Dutch radio station. I don't know what brought them to Europe this week--album promo? private performance? They have an on-air interview/chat and also perform three songs. You can click on each snippet to play the vids. I got a pop-up, in Safari, that I think asks about setting cookies--but I didn't do it. The vids played fine for me.

Edited November 4, 2014 by SrPab-PTV

[Sharpie66]

From their tweets, it looks like they are in Europe for a promo push on various media. They were in London, then Amsterdam, and now in Paris.

[debbydeb]

Today, they are in France for a private showcase at Sony headquarter. They had taped a video message with Kevin speaking in French

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9mpbBZnYRVU

A tumblr user translated it:

“Hello ! We are “the” Pentatonix (he said so !), We will be soon in Paris, we invite you on November 5th to our private showcase. Good Bye !”

http://solennbreizh.tumblr.com/post/101446152853/even-if-i-wont-be-able-to-be-part-of-it-i-love

[Kromm]

[SrPab]

(Despite an annoying in-your-face ad you may get upon clicking the link) this is interesting: Another well-known person crossing paths with Pentatonix.

Edited November 11, 2014 by SrPab-PTV

[Sharpie66]

Oh, wow!!! That is sooo cool. I hope someone gets over to film them and put it YT--wait, what am I saying. Of course someone will put it YT!

[SrPab]

Another (will be on) TV appearance by PTX: A Hollywood Christmas At The Grove. Check your local listings.

 

Forgot to add: The man who wrote what would become the lyrics for Mary, Did You Know?, Mark Lowry, gave PTX kudos on his FB page.

Edited November 12, 2014 by SrPab-PTV

[SrPab]

They'll be on TV again...for the 82nd Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting, Dec. 3., on NBC at 8:00 US EST.

[Sharpie66]

That article going over RCA's plans for the Christmas album release is definitely proving to be correct--big-time promo push on it, with Tree lighting ceremonies, tv appearances, the Barneys windows, and throw in the European blitz they just finished.

 

BTW, while they were in Paris, they spent one day in the studio. I wonder what they were working on? Can't be a new album already, since they were saying they want the next one to be mostly originals and they'll have to spend some time writing those. Maybe a new video that isn't music from either of their recent EPs?

[Sharpie66]

I was just reading this Zap2It article about the Rockefeller Center tree lighting special: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/11/12/nbcs-annual-christmas-in-rockerfeller-center-celebrates-the-music-of-the-holidays-on-wednesday-december-3/327383/

 

Looks like a reunion with Sara Bareilles in the green room!  And I hope that Mitch and Kirstie both get to meet Idina, especially Mitch, since he's really nailed two of her performances on the Superfruit YT channel.

 

The article also has one of the better bios on the group that I've read, including a complete lack of the words "The Sing-Off," which is what I have always thought would be the sign of them finally getting past their reality-show roots, if people forget that's where they started (like most people have with Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood):

 

Pentatonix consists of lead vocalists Scott Hoying, Kirstie Maldonado, and Mitch Grassi, vocal bass Avi Kaplan and beatboxer Kevin “K.O.” Olusola.  Their new holiday album, “That’s Christmas To Me” debuted at No. 9 on The Billboard Top 200 Album Chart making this the second album (first one being “PTX Vol. III”) in a month and fourth album in less than a year to debut Top 10 on the chart. PTX has released two videos in support of the album so far, “White Winter Hynmal” and “Winter Wonderland / Don’t Worry Be Happy” ft. Tori Kelly.  Additionally the group released four music videos in support of the “PTX Vol. III” - “Problem”, “La La Latch”, “Papaoutai” ft. Lindsey Stirling and “Rather Be” - which have been viewed over 27 million times. Having recently eclipsed 6.6 million subscribers and over 630 million cumulative views, the PTXOfficial YouTube page is currently the 13th most subscribed-to music channel. Their music video for “Daft Punk” has recently surpassed 100 million views.

[SrPab]

The Zap2It article...maybe I just scrolled past it because otherwise I hope it was just an oversight that there was no bio for Sara. ;-)

 

If one was unaware of PTX before reading their bio, could a reasonable person infer that they're an a cappella group? Also, that bio is better than a few others I've read recently simply because someone bothered to make sure it was more up-to-date.

Edited November 12, 2014 by SrPab-PTV

[Sharpie66]

Yeah, I was bummed they didn't mention Sara in the bio section.

 

I just saw this tweet from Kevin that does a good job of illustrating how surreal their lives must be for them right now:

 

"I was @ the Berlin Hunger Games premiere, flew to NYC, got dressed in Prada at Barneys by Catherine Martin, & saw Baz Luhrman. What a day."

[SrPab]

People!...BAZ DAZZLED

 

I'm still processing. Watch the vid and read the accompanying article below it.

 

ETA: On YT there are a couple of uploads of them performing at a private Barney's party.

Edited November 15, 2014 by SrPab-PTV

[Kromm]

People!...BAZ DAZZLED

Wow.  Singing with a mini-ice-skating area in front of them?  That's cray cray.  Shows what they can do with a big Baz budget behind them. The insertion of the name "Barney's" into a Christmas song is a bit much, but heck, I bet in addition to a payday, they got some pretty sweet clothes out of this deal too.

 

Until recently I wouldn't have said Baz Luhrmann is still at the forefront of culture anymore (Moulin Rouge was a Loooong time ago), but The Great Gatsby was just last year and is the highest grossing film he's ever done.  So he's still a pretty powerful Hollywood friend to have. Who doesn't make many films, admittedly, but he can drop their names in other ears.  Luhrmann does often collaborate with the same people over and over again though, so when he does eventually make another movie in another half decade, maybe if there's a musical interlude (that's only half of his films) they'll be in it.

Vogue covered this too--they aren't named till way late in that slideshow though so you have to flip through most of it: http://www.vogue.com/slideshow/4212475/barneys-new-york-holiday-windows-baz-luhrmann-catherine-martin/#1

Edited November 15, 2014 by Kromm

[Kromm]

I didn't realize it, but Pentatonix have their first music award nomination, albeit an award almost nobody has ever heard of.  They're nominated for the totally fake sounding, but actually existing, "New Now Next" Award.  The category is Best New Music Group award, alongside several groups they actually did COVER songs for (A Great Big World, Disclosure.. along with others they haven't... Bastille, and Bleachers).

 

http://www.logotv.com/events/newnownext_awards/

 

It's online voting, so they might actually have a chance.

 

As wacky as this award sounds (it's originally being broadcast on the who the fuck are they "Logo" network), apparently MTV has some co-involvement, because it's also being broadcast later on MTV, and also the online voting engine says "Login to MTV" when you try to vote.

[Sharpie66]

Actually, they covered Bastille's "Pompeii" for a Patreon-only reward when they hit a certain number of patrons--it was posted on YouTube:

[Sharpie66]

According to this article, PTX will be "presenting" at the AMA awards on Sunday night. Not too sure exactly what that means, probably presenting an award and not performing.

 

http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/Ariana-Grande-Jessie-J-Nicki-Minaj-to-Perform-Bang-Bang-on-Sundays-AMAs-20141118

[SrPab]

Pentatonix will perform on the Today show, Wednesday, Nov. 26...followed by a meet-and-greet at the NBC Experience Store at 11:00AM US EST.

 

Forgot to add: What do you think of Avi's collab with Peter Hollens that was released today? I'd never heard the original before. One YT commenter mentioned a performance by Celtic Thunder so I looked it up on YT and...I prefer Peter and Avi's slower tempo rendition.

Edited November 20, 2014 by SrPab-PTV

[Sharpie66]

As a folk music fan, I have heard of the song before, but I don't remember hearing it in full before this version. I thought it was great, but Peter Hollens' "wall of sound" effect with the overdubbing can be a bit overwhelming at times, IMO. Dueting with Avi cuts that a bit, making it more listenable to me.

[Sharpie66]

Just saw the latest Billboard chart announcement--That's Christmas to Me went up to #8 on the Top 200:

 

"Pentatonix might be in the fourth week of sales for That's Christmas To Me but it actually had its biggest sales push last week, selling 34,000 copies (a gain of more than 130 percent). It's still the only Christmas album to crack the Top 10 so far."

 

ETA: It looks like the video for "Mary, Did You Know?" is going viral, like last year's "Little Drummer Boy" did. It's already over 6 million views in just about 9 days.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Sharpie66

[SrPab]

More from Billboard regarding a new chart/new methodology incorporating multi-metric consumption. I think this will be a net positive for Pentatonix.

 

A pure album sales chart called Top Album Sales will retain the traditional methodology. Existing genre album charts are also maintaining the traditional methodology for now.

[Sharpie66]

I just saw this prediction for next week's charts: http://headlineplanet.com/home/2014/11/21/one-directions-four-win-sales-race-400k-pentatonix-explodes/

 

"One Direction's "FOUR" will comfortably win the album sales race with a 400K+ bow. Taylor Swift's "1989" will most closely follow, while Pentatonix's Christmas release will soar into third...Pentatonix’s “That’s Christmas to Me” will meanwhile have its best week yet. The release, which has performed modestly (but steadily) thus far, will explode with a sales week in the 95-105,000 range. That will give it the edge over Nickelback’s new “No Fixed Address,” which Hits pegs for a bow in the 65-70,000 range."

 

If they're right, that would be amazing! I'm pretty sure that would be at least twice the weekly sales of any of their previous releases.

 

ETA: Right now, TCTM is at #8 on the Top 200 and #1 on Billboard's Holiday Albums chart; PTXmas is #71 on the Top 200 and #10 on the Holiday Albums chart; and PTX Vol. 3 is still on the Top 200 at #172, up 10 spots from last week.

Edited November 21, 2014 by Sharpie66

[debbydeb]

Wow. Thanks for the update Sharpie. Is this jump due to the new metrics? I'm still confused on which chart uses the new metrics and which follows the old one?

I think much of the sales might come from the exposire they received from their Barneys performance. I wonder if they sell the christmas CD at Barneys too?

Edited November 21, 2014 by debbydeb

[Sharpie66]

I'm not sure, but I'm guessing they would have had a big jump just due to it being the end of November and time for Christmas music to start selling. Kevin tweeted that people are reporting hearing "Winter Wonderland" on their radios, so people are starting to listen to the all-Christmas music stations already.

 

One of the industry articles I read yesterday predicted that TCTM would end up being the best-selling holiday album this year.

 

ETA: They're selling the album everywhere else, so having it at Barney's would make perfect sense.

Edited November 21, 2014 by Sharpie66

[Kromm]

Selling the album at Barney's makes perfect sense. Because PTX's management circle (which seems to be themselves and two or three trusted others) always cleverly look for cross-promotion as a condition of the deals they do. They make a video for or with someone? They ask for links back to their YouTube channel, for example, ballsily doing it even with major players like MTV and Sesame Street. So I can definitely believe they'd have the guts to ask Baz Luhrmann to ask Barney's to make sure their album was sitting there rightin Barney's.

That said, Barney's only has like 30 locations. Doing their window thing was prestige (because they're a luxury brand) more than a direct sales tool.

[SrPab]

If Team PTX (including Jonathan Kalter, Ken Phillips, Esther Kaplan, and Ben Bram) is doing the bulk of the marketing and promotion duties instead of RCA, then kudos to them! They may never reach Beyonce levels of fame but they won't be indebted to Sony Music/RCA forever, either. And their Patreon presence also helps because they can still produce high-qualilty music videos at decent budgets and partnering with FifGen Films.

 

Halo effect:

 

 

They ask for links back to their YouTube channel, for example, ballsily doing it even with major players like MTV and Sesame Street. So I can definitely believe they'd have the guts to ask Baz Luhrmann to ask Barney's to make sure their album was sitting there rightin Barney's.

 

One of the industry articles I read yesterday predicted that TCTM would end up being the best-selling holiday album this year.

 

I think much of the sales might come from the exposire they received from their Barneys performance. I wonder if they sell the christmas CD at Barneys too?

ETA: Right now, TCTM is at #8 on the Top 200 and #1 on Billboard's Holiday Albums chart; PTXmas is #71 on the Top 200 and #10 on the Holiday Albums chart; and PTX Vol. 3 is still on the Top 200 at #172, up 10 spots from last week.

Edited November 21, 2014 by SrPab-PTV

[Sharpie66]

I saw PTX on the AMAs last night--they introduced Nikki Minaj, Arianna Grande, and the third woman singing "Bang Bang". They were introduced as "having the top-selling holiday album right now," and something like being "the hottest vocal group around", but that's a big paraphrase since I can't remember exactly what they said, just the gist of it.

 

They did look reallllly nervous up there!  It was nice to hear them get a decent round of applause, but that might have been standard for the presenters, regardless of their name recognition.

 

ETA: The "Mary, Did You Know?" video has hit 10 million views in 13 days, and it isn't even Thanksgiving yet. Definitely viral.

 

I'm guessing/hoping that the song they sing for the Macy's parade on Thursday is "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", since that's peppy, non-religious, and not "Sleigh Ride" (which is my personal least-favorite track on TCTM, but that's only partly due to the performance and mostly due to me having to play it endlessly in every school band I've ever been in from 6th grade through college!).

Edited November 24, 2014 by Sharpie66

[SrPab]

Jessie J is the third one on "Bang Bang"--but I don't know if she performed with Ariana and Nikki last night.

 

Sharpie66, have you heard Debbie Gibson's version of "Sleigh Ride"? That take is my favorite one for the song. I was never in any school band...so I count that as a mixed blessing.

[Sharpie66]

Jessie j was the third name they said--thanks!

[Sharpie66]

They just released a live version of Silent Night, both in video and downloadable form:

 

This is probably my favorite song on TCTM, and the live version is just as amazing!

[SrPab]

Sharpie66, the prediction you posted about upthread came true: Pentatonix Hits Top Three on Billboard 200, Nickelback Debuts in Top 10. I believe this is the highest chart position PTX has ever achieved with respect to the Billboard 200.

 

From the article (anything in square brackets are my additions):

Four [One Direction's latest album] is the final No. 1 on a purely sales-based Billboard 200. As previously announced, the Billboard 200 will shift next week [first week of December 2014] to a multi-metric popularity ranking, incorporating traditional sales, on-demand audio streaming and digital track sales. A sale-based chart, named Top Album Sales will continue to exist however, both in print and on billboard.com[.]

Edited November 26, 2014 by SrPab-PTV