Pentatonix: Season 3 Champs

[takalotti]

Their success over the last couple of months has been like getting my own gift -- an "I told you so" button I can play for all the people who looked at me quizzically when I started obsessing about them three years ago.

I know how you feel. We live in northeastern PA. The first opportunity to see PTX live after TSO:S3 was at Ben Folds' Acapellapalooza in Boston. We stayed with a friend to save money, but she and her housemates would ask (with politely veiled judgment) "Sooo, you came all the way up here just for this?" Some of them joined us, and part way through PTX's set they leaned over and said, "Ok, now I get it."

And now other friends and family are taking notice. Yay!

[debbydeb]

@SrPab, yes the whole CASA facebook group discussion baffles me too. It reminded me in the visual art world they're squabbling about Contemporary Art when it first arrived too.

But really, for a contemporary acappella page, they sound extremely conservative, quite unlike what 'contemporary' should be embracing. and i get the feeling that certain people just wants acappella to be one thing.

whereas even other musical genre has a wide variety in them, which makes them more robust as a genre.

- rock has: pop rock, glam rock, shock rock, j-rock, prog-rock and much more

- there's heavy metal, nu metal, industrial metal, geriatric metal (eg Christopher Lee *j/k)

- there's different electronicas too: house, acid techno, trance, chillout/ambient, etc

and members/lovers of one subgenre might not like the sounds of the other subgenres and that's okay.

but it seems, when i read the CASA page, they just want one thing to represent acappella (not Pentatonix! it's too pop!!). and i think, boxing oneself in this early in the game is really not a good idea. why can't we have popappella, barberpella, chantopella, ethnipella, whatever else?

So, maybe they are incensed that low-brow Pentatonix and poppapella rules the charts, rather than purist-acappella....but that's just it, some types will be more palatable to the masses (see Mitch's fav group Deadmaus or Aphex Twin, or people like Daft Punk, they're arguably more mainstream than say: Amon Tobin or Adam Beyer, doesn't mean that the latter aren't legit or legends in the electronica circle.)

Or lets say: pop-opera and opera. Some dismiss the likes of Andrea Bocelli as not opera at all, but I know people who entered the genre from pop-opera and become serious opera student, even learning obscure opera pieces etc.

I read one comment saying "well excuse me our group tours 230+ gigs too but we're still unknown?" Sometimes the music industry is unfair like that. E.g. one of my favorite three-part vocal group Girlyman had just disbanded. They arguably are equally talented as PTX, they tour as extensively if not more, they have great Great original songs, but they don't get the notoriety of PTX either.

Why did Betamax lose out to VHS despite superior quality.

I don't know. I don't even know if I make sense in my rant. I might even sound like a raving Pentalunatic. But I just feel that this whole "they are not pure, they should just go away" is not conducive if the acacommunity wants to break the mainstream.

PS: in Livejournal, I've also been reading that they hate what Pitch Perfect does for acappella community. Basically Pitch Perfect and Pentatonix are ruining acappella. "It's not acappella, it's an insult to those who have been working gazillion years in acappella". Acappella shouldn't be like popstars! Look at the screaming fans. Acappella is supposed to be listened in silence (like an opera/choir concert).

Boxing things when you're an underdog to begin with? I just think it's not a good idea.

ANYHOW. I just listened to a Japanese radio interview and Avi said they're thinking about doing half-arena and full-arena gigs later next year, with a more conceptual stage production (I think Mitch wanted it to be like a Stromae stage production, with video projection and stuff).

[SrPab]

https://www.facebook.com/btholland?fref=pb&hc_location=friends_tab&pnref=friends.all

 

I try to keep my interactions with all things FB to a minimum but every once in a while my window-shopping has me discovering things like the above. I don't know how much of an insider she is in U.S. a cappella, but the replies left to her Dec. 18 status update speak to an observation (and merely that--an observation) I made in the S5 thread: Kirstie of PTX is the only woman who can say she is a Sing-Off champ. (And even though it will only be in its second iteration in 2015, TSO Live Tour has only had Emoni Wikins as the lone on-stage female performer.)

 

PTX isn't referenced as much in the replies but the obvious has been pointed out by more than one person. I'm giving everyone the benefit of the doubt and stipulate that best intentions are/were involved. However, I believe an unspoken message with negative connotations is being transmitted with respect to TSO format, judging, criteria for deciding who "wins" vis-a-vis actual winners. If you decide to wade in...keep your wits about you and take a deep breath before the plunge. Many replies are civil but there are undercurrents of spitefulness, long-standing resentments, and hair-trigger defensiveness. It's not quite at soap-operatic levels, but not that far off either.

 

ETA: Some of the points in debbydeb's above post...

• PTX and "popappella"...that's what gets my goat. Are some people being willfully blind/ignorant regarding PTX's sound or vibe? Could they sound like a small ensemble chamber choir if they wanted to? Should they? ARORA makes interesting and provocative original music. Not everything they do resonates with me--just like not everything PTX puts out resonates with me (I like/love all their arrangements; I just like/love some more than others). I don't begrudge either their artistic statements or visions. Covering pop songs--in a cappella or not--did not begin with PTX...and won't end when PTX is no more.
• Tim Foust had a recent FB post wherein he said that it's okay to like more than one a cappella group. If you don't like PTX (their sound, their personalities, whatever)--that's fine. I like Committed, Nota, Street Corner Symphony, Home Free, Musae, Duwende, The Exchange, VoicePlay, Axiom, AirPlay... I love PTX. I *could* like many more a cappella groups--if only I am aware of their existence and experience their output/content. Of course, if one is only interested in a particular group, that's fine, too.
• I appreciate and respect classically-influenced a cappella as well as a cappella stemming from folk traditions anywhere in the world. But I have a modern ear and simply prefer to repeatedly listen to the noises PTX makes.
• Anyone familiar with The Boxettes (an all-female contemporary aca-group)? They recently disbanded.
• PTX and arena gigs...more power to them for the risk-taking. Should they "fail", I would hope they learn a lot and apply it to their craft. I would also hope that the wider a cappella community get some takeaways from it, too.
• Being considered the vanguard for (contemporary) a cappella is a double-edged sword.

Edited December 21, 2014 by SrPab-PTV

[Kromm]

 

• PTX and arena gigs...more power to them for the risk-taking. Should they "fail", I would hope they learn a lot and apply it to their craft. I would also hope that the wider a cappella community get some takeaways from it, too.
• Being considered the vanguard for (contemporary) a cappella is a double-edged sword.

 

The arena gigs are a big risk for reasons beyond just failing in front of more people though. The mechanics of a capella, even PTXs version of it, aren't just limited in arenas, arguably they're diametrically opposed.  The bigger the venue, the more sound and fury and space to fill, the harder it is to convey that sense of every noise coming from your five performers.  There's going to be a disconnect.

 

I'd say they run into that already in the large theaters they're now playing, but it's the leading edge of the problem vs. the worst of it.

 

Playing with enhanced concert A/V is certainly an approach you know has to be coming--the big conventional music stars all do that.  It's a move to take what works in the Pentatonix music videos arguably and apply it to a stage spectacular.  The point has to be to replace the sense of intimacy you'd get with a normal a capella small venue performance with something equally interesting as a substitute.

[debbydeb]

re: arena gigs, the CASA forum people brought it up "PTX aren't even doing arenas yet, they only do 1500-2000 pax clubs". So, they can't win.

I remember someone attending one of their European tour complaining that PTX sound just doesn't travel well to the back of the room because of the screaming fans between the stage and the back of the room. It'll be worse in arenas.

I think this is hard because PTX and their friends (Home Free, Delilah, Arora, etc) are treading new ground. Loads of "old hands" probably don't get it yet.

Speaking of "old people", after reading the Women's Acappella thread, one take away I get is that: (a) they can't just uproot themselves easily to move to one place, (b) they're not young anymore to take crazy risks or leave their family (husband and kids)

I think that's why PTX works, they have youth on their side, this is what sets them apart from the other winners, imho. And they are young enough to just uproot themselves from where they are originally (Texas, Kentucky) to move to LA.

I think Kirstie dropped out, Mitch just finished high school and plain never went to college? Kevin only just graduated (imagine if he has to drop out, or complete one last semester? I don't think PTX will be what they're now). The only one who's still relatively close to their almamater are Avi and Scott (both almamaters are in Calif. area, but even then I think they dropped out?)

Re: risks, I think they also have the can-do idealism and audacity of youth on their side to basically flip the bird to Epic and build their own "little kingdom". They have the brassiness to demand product placement from big corporations like MTV and Sesame Street. They know they have something good to sell and they ain't selling it cheap (I don't know about in USA, but where I'm from a lot of 'young' musical groups have the 'grateful for what they're getting they don't dare to even ask for more, let alone demand things'

And work like crazy. I mean just this past couple of weeks they were in how many time zones, again? And this leads to the third point: leaving family. In their intro to Standing By, Avi said that they really miss their family and they just don't get to see each other very much. Thankfully, the parents seem to be Social Media savvy (like Mr Grassi and Mr Hoying). Imagine the phone bills if not.

Now PTX is only 5 people (and 1 cello that seems to give Esther a lot of headache and is almost like 1 more person) and they manage to keep their entourage small. Now apply all those craziness to huge groups, and the stress grows exponentially and it's just not healthy for the whole touring experience.

Acappella is having growing pains, for us fans it's fun to see but for the people working in it, might not be as fun, I guess.

[Kromm]

re: arena gigs, the CASA forum people brought it up "PTX aren't even doing arenas yet, they only do 1500-2000 pax clubs". So, they can't win.

That's also inaccurate.  They've been doing venues around 2000 seats, that's true (but also some with more--for example the Chicago Theatre or The Paramount in Seattle or The Beacon in NY), but that's no "pax club".  Clubs have fire codes to follow and can't have anything near that.  I mean I guess you could call The House of Blues in Vegas a "club", but you'd sound like an idiot.  

[debbydeb]

That's also inaccurate. They've been doing venues around 2000 seats, that's true (but also some with more--for example the Chicago Theatre or The Paramount in Seattle or The Beacon in NY), but that's no "pax club". Clubs have fire codes to follow and can't have anything near that. I mean I guess you could call The House of Blues in Vegas a "club", but you'd sound like an idiot.

Oh, oops... I must've read it wrongly then. Serves me right for reading during PMS. I'm that hormonal person people warn their children about.

That aside, can't believe this year is almost over. I just watched an interview where Avi said "was the European tour really this year?" And Scott replied "yea..." And Avi commented "Wow felt like it was last year."

[Kromm]

Oh, oops... I must've read it wrongly then. Serves me right for reading during PMS. I'm that hormonal person people warn their children about.

That aside, can't believe this year is almost over. I just watched an interview where Avi said "was the European tour really this year?" And Scott replied "yea..." And Avi commented "Wow felt like it was last year."

No, I bet you read it correctly.  Some argumentative person on those boards isn't obligated to tell the truth or be accurate.  It's their inaccuracy, not yours.

[Sharpie66]

The Chicago Theatre, which PTX sold out for two nights in a row and which were among the first dates to sell out, seats over 3,000. And, IIRC, the Theatre at Madison Square Garden, which is where they have their NYC show this upcoming tour, seats anywhere up to 5,600, and I think that they've sold that one out as well.

 

I can see them stepping it up to small arenas--I'm thinking like the MECCA Center in Milwaukee, which IIRC seats around 12,000. That would be an interesting place to see them play.

 

Just saw this reaction to PTX and That's Christmas to Me, written by a music critic--he's not an a cappella fan, so he seems to have a rather bemused take on PTX.

[Sharpie66]

That's Christmas to Me just went platinum!!

 

http://headlineplanet.com/home/2014/12/23/report-pentatonixs-thats-christmas-crosses-1-million-sales-mark/

[SrPab]

Platinum certification...YES! I don't think Billboard's number will be too far off.

 

Regarding the Grantland article and some of the recent posts upthread...what to make of the PTX phenomenon? If you don't like a cappella in general (or PTX in particular), don't be disdainful of those of us who do like a cappella in general (or PTX in particular). Me and Sharpie66 and a few others can't be the only ones buying their albums, watching their YT vids, or streaming their discography.

 

I've been thinking about their arena gig plans more, and I believe there may also be a practical reason for trying it--beyond artistic experimentation. Whenever they announce concert info, invariably there will be comments about how fast tickets sell out or "get a bigger/better venue"--something along those lines. Arena-sized (say, 5,000 to 15,000-seat) venues could be a response to quell some of the flak they get for that. As things stand, they've got demand-side issues--which I'm choosing, at this point in time, to look at as a not-so-bad problem to have. How their live act and overall sound comes across in larger venues could be hit-or-miss but I applaud their willingness to push this boundary with their brand.

 

Let's throw in contemporary a cappella, too...because what works or doesn't work for PTX may have long-term consequences for other pro/semi-pro outfits.

[Rick Kitchen]

Scott's emotional comments about going platinum:

 

https://www.facebook.com/scotthoyingmusic/photos/a.10152601448174883.1073741825.103151649882/10152954181734883/

[debbydeb]

That's a heartfelt post from Scott. Can't believe they're only at it for three years, and nothing prior to that. 

But it must feel a very long time for them, I guess. But in the industry, three years is really nothing, especially if they have to claw up the mountain themselves (well, them and their team; and I want to believe that the people of Madison Gate Records also did their best, in a part of the industry they're not even too familiar with).

 

BTW, that Avi quote was from their interview with Capital FM I think. The radio host asked how long they've been at it. And Scott answered (almost tiredly): "Three years?" But then the hosts brought in the perspective of "Three years?! That's not long at all!!" And the PTX crew were: "oh... OH! Right. Of course."

 

I agree @SrPab, I think this constantly pushing of boundaries, trying what works and what doesn't, Acappella in full shrieky arena mode? I'd be interested to see the development. Thank goodness they're still pushing. Despite the industry saying no, despite some naysayers from within the acappella community itself.

 

Also, I have not enough praises to give Avi (and Ben and Rob Dietz) for establishing Acappella Academy. Especially in light of the pooh-poohing facebook posts of "PTX ruining acappella". Sorry if I am coming back to this again in this day of celebration (#PTXgoesPlatinum). Avi, in the middle of his already busy schedule with touring etc, is still caring a lot for the future of acappella. And there are a TON of girls going to the Academy, and who knows what they're going to do in the future. The youngsters of today are extremely creative (I feel old now), and for the older, more-jaded (understandably) acappella community members to just forget about it, seems counter-intuitive at best. 

 

Congrats, PTX. 2015 will, as Scott says, be interesting.

[Kromm]

That's Christmas to Me just went platinum!!

 

http://headlineplanet.com/home/2014/12/23/report-pentatonixs-thats-christmas-crosses-1-million-sales-mark/

Even more amazing with almost zero radio play on most stations.

[SrPab]

Because Billboard says so. Take that, Radio!

[Sharpie66]

From that article, it looks like PTXmas has also moved an additional 100,000 or so, since they were over 200,000 after last year and the article says that they've sold 356,000 so far.

 

Add that to the three PTX Volumes, which must have totalled 400,000 between them at least, and Pentatonix must have sold over 1.7 million units in total, not that far from 2 million.

[takalotti]

That's Christmas to Me just went platinum!!

 

http://headlineplanet.com/home/2014/12/23/report-pentatonixs-thats-christmas-crosses-1-million-sales-mark/

What a great Christmakuh present for them!

[debbydeb]

It's amazing to read PTX being mentioned in the same breath as Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, Nikki Minaj in articles after articles.

[Kromm]

It's amazing to read PTX being mentioned in the same breath as Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, Nikki Minaj in articles after articles.

Well quite simply because they're next to those folks on the sales chart.

 

It's probably quite confusing to most mainstream music critics (who wouldn't juxtapose these artists if the sales weren't pushing that story). 

[debbydeb]

It's probably quite confusing to most mainstream music critics (who wouldn't juxtapose these artists if the sales weren't pushing that story).

That's true! They really don't know what to make of it, they don't even know where to put themselves.

Btw, just read that PTX are going to release a full length original album next year? I think this is what you said earlier about throwing a stable of songwriters at the PTX arranging studio :)

I love that one news article that said ptxofficial on youtube is a viral video making machine.

[Sharpie66]

People Magazine has PTX in their Best of 2014 issue, under the Who Will Be Hot (or Even Hotter) in 2015? category: http://www.people.com/people/package/gallery/0,,20875012_20885608_30268601,00.html?xid=socialflow_twitter_peoplemag

[Kromm]

People Magazine has PTX in their Best of 2014 issue, under the Who Will Be Hot (or Even Hotter) in 2015? category: http://www.people.com/people/package/gallery/0,,20875012_20885608_30268601,00.html?xid=socialflow_twitter_peoplemag

Yeah, but can you really take People seriously when the PTX card followed the two castmembers in that 50 Shades of Grey movie that everyone knows is going to be a huge bomb (people were outright laughing at the trailer)?  Also, Larry Wilmore--who's show will be fine, but I'd bet cash money will take several years to entrench an audience rather than actually being a hit in 2015. And Katie Freaking Holmes--who's going to embarrass herself (again) trying to play Jackie Kennedy (again).  When they have other names on the same list like that, it makes me think they're citing PTX mostly because they have some vague sense they missed the boat on talking about them in the first place and are compensating to make themselves look like trend-spotters.

[Sharpie66]

The Washington Post has a wrap-up of the various New Years Eve tv shows and has an opinion on whether it would be worth it to watch. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2014/12/30/new-years-eve-tv-specials-what-to-watch-who-will-be-a-train-wreck-where-to-see-taylor-swift/

 

For the Ryan Seacrest/Dick Clark thingee, here's what they say--I like that the only two artists they mention are Taylor Swift and PTX:

 

Why to watch: Cap off the year of T-Swift, of course! And, you know, the one and only Pentatonix.
Train-wreck chances: Definitely possible, if not for the sheer amount of hours that leads to a higher possibility of something going wrong. Seacrest is always good for an awkward moment, too.

Edited December 30, 2014 by Sharpie66

[SrPab]

No disrespect, Sharpie66, but the write-up for ABC's NYRE works better with the original formatting: "...And, you know, the one and only Pentatonix." Emily Yahr wins a couple of Internet cookies!

[Sharpie66]

You are absolutely right, SrPab-PTV!!

 

Emily Yahr also wrote the "Who is the Pentatonix?" article from mid-December, so she's a fan.

[Sharpie66]

I am in the middle of watching the Kennedy Center Honors, and a couple of things:

First, when they were introduced, you can see Rita Wilson, Hanks' wife, who is sitting behind him, tap his shoulder and say, "Pentatonix! That's [somebody's] favorite group!" Very cool to see that recognition!

Second, and more important for the group as a whole, they were great in the beginning, but then a back-up band started playing along. This completely verified what Scott said in that Wall Street Journal article about how added instruments would completely negate what makes PTX great. The harmonies were tight, but nothing that said this group is special. Very illustrative!

[Rick Kitchen]

Just a drummer, I think, not a whole band.  But the song was from "That Thing You Do", which was about a rock band, so it's a callback.

 

And Tom Hanks looked really into it.

[Sharpie66]

There were definitely guitars, too. As soon as they all started playing, Kevin was completely gone in the mix, and it became pretty hard to hear Avi as well. It just became about the three harmonizers, and they lost a lot of depth. I understand why they had the band there, I just hope the RCA exec who wants them to include instruments was listening and heard what I heard.

It was great to see both Tom and Rita enjoying the performance, as well as the Obamas!

Edited December 31, 2014 by Sharpie66

[Kromm]

There were definitely guitars, too. As soon as they all started playing, Kevin was completely gone in the mix, and it became pretty hard to hear Avi as well. It just became about the three harmonizers, and they lost a lot of depth. I understand why they had the band there, I just hope the RCA exec who wants them to include instruments was listening and heard what I heard.

Only a moron (but music execs are mostly morons) would miss the relative difference in quality/enjoyability/effectiveness between the first minute of this and the second minute.  PTX needs to take this specific clip and show it to any doubters about their path:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1nQlB2X01o

[Sharpie66]

According to this, TCTM is still in the #2 spot for physical sales for last week, at 121,000. Add that to the 1.02 million total from the previous week, and it will probably finish off the Xmas buying season at 1.15 million sales, and that's just in the US alone!

 

Don't forget that they'll be on the Ryan Seacrest show tonight--they're doing "La La Latch" and "On My Way Home."

[bjork]

Well, I saw La La Latch in the first hour. Did I miss On My Way Home?

 

ETA: They did perform On My Way Home, but not until almost 3 AM my time!

Edited January 1, 2015 by bjork

[Kromm]

Well, I saw La La Latch in the first hour. Did I miss On My Way Home?

 

ETA: They did perform On My Way Home, but not until almost 3 AM my time!

Well the first was a fairly good performance given an almost impossible amount of noise (the enemy of a cappella):

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKeCk6GMoXE

[Sharpie66]

Chart updates for the week:

 

Album:

TCTM: #3 (#3 last week)

PTXmas: #52 (#34)

PTX Vol. 3: #72 (#80)

PTX Vol. 2: #145 (#186)

PTX Vol. 1: #167 (#187)

 

Holiday Album:

TCTM: #1 (#1)

PTXmas: #4 (#4)

 

Hoiday Singles:

Mary, Did You Know?: #3 (#4)

That's Christmas to Me: #26 (#25)

Winter Wonderland/Don't Worry Be Happy: #34 (#39)

White Winter Hymnal: #39 (#47)

Little Drummer Boy: #42 (#51)

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy: #48 (#54)

Silent Night: #64 (#53)

Carol of the Bells: #96 (#99)

 

Nice to see that the Volume EPs are doing so well!

[Kromm]

The Dec 31st Billboard report confirmed that "That's Christmas To Me" ended the year as the fourth top selling album of 2014.  Not on the Holiday Chart.. but overall. Of all types/genres.  Only Taylor Swift's 1989, The Frozen Soundtrack and Sam Smith's In the Lonely Hour outsold it.

[Sharpie66]

Yahoo points out that this year's record sales have been appalling low: "This frankly pathetic tally of four million-selling albums for the year is the lowest in decades. The old low mark for the Nielsen SoundScan era was 10 million-selling albums in 2012."

 

I was wondering what the history of holiday albums showing up on the overal charts has been, and Yahoo had that covered, too:

 

Pentatonix’s That’s Christmas To Me is #4 for the year (1.14 million). It’s the year’s top-selling album by a group or duo.  It’s the fifth holiday album to rank among the top five best-sellers for an entire year. All have come in the past eight years—a sign that holiday albums are holding up better than the album market overall. The first four were Josh Groban's Noel (#1 for 2007), Andrea Bocelli's My Christmas (#5 for 2009), Susan Boyle's The Gift (#5 for 2010) and Michael Buble's Christmas (#2 for 2011).

 

 

I'm trying to find holiday album sales figures over the past two decades (since the Nielsen Soundscan numbers took over), but can't find anything beyond the top 25 overall holiday albums of those years. #25 is Neil Diamond at 1.91 million--TCTM will probably surpass that in a few years, but I'm sure that the top 25 list will change again before that point. It would be nice to see them show up on that list in a few years, though!

 

I think I read somewhere that TCTM is the first holiday album to sell over 1 million since 2011, when Justin Bieber and Michael Buble did so.

[SrPab]

...given an almost impossible amount of noise (the enemy of a cappella)...

 

Circling back to PTX's plans for some arena gigs, how can the above be overcome or otherwise mitigated? Would a space with a surround sound speaker system do it? Would turning up the volume on Kevin's and Avi's mics do it? Or does their live sound engineer have to be very adept and timely?

 

I think the latest chart updates above are more evidence of a halo effect. This leads me to ponder their (from what I've read) 2015 "album of originals". What kind of promo push will this album get--who's doing the driving: Team PTX or RCA/Sony? I'm certain there will be a social media blitz (and depending on timing of release and the cutting through of any legal red tape, perhaps cross-promotion/tie-in with Pitch Perfect 2). Will RCA make a play for radio time? Is the PTX brand and buzz big enough to make mid-market and large-market radio stations try at least one of these original songs on for size?

 

A cappella albums and Billboard charts...if not TCTM, does anyone know what the best-selling a cappella album is (holiday or non-holiday; lifetime sales)? There was a reply on the CASA group page post from Bill Hare in which he mentioned that it was once considered quite an achievement for an a cappella album to sell 10,000 units--but he didn't provide specifics with respect to holiday/non-holiday, lifetime sales, or U.S.-only sales. (Maybe by the end of 2015 PTXmas will have also gone gold.)

 

ETA: I also wanted to ask the ether...RIAA "Gold" and "Platinum" certifications are based on lifetime shipments only, right? That is, all the shipments/sales of PTX's Madison Gate releases get added to the RCA reissues?

Edited January 2, 2015 by SrPab-PTV

[Sharpie66]

I think the best-selling a cappella album would be Bobby McFerrin's with "Don't Worry, Be Happy" on it, which went triple platinum.

 

Other than PTX or McFerrin, the highest-ranked all-a cappella non-holiday album is probably Straight No Chaser's "Under the Influence," which topped off at #28 on the Billboard charts.

 

ETA: of course, there have been individual all-vocal tracks from non-a cappella groups like Boyz 2 Men, but that's different.

 

Also, you have to take into account the above-noted lower level of album sales versus what was happening in previous decades. McFerrin can go triple platinum on the basis of a smash single, but nowadays, most people would just download the one song and leave the rest of the album alone.

Edited January 2, 2015 by Sharpie66

[Sharpie66]

As for when PTX is going to put out the mostly-originals album (which I really hope is a full album like TCTM, instead of just an EP), I know that they've been writing up a storm, and I really hope that they also have a lot of other writers working on it with them, because what they really need is original-to-them songs, not necessarily ones that they wrote themselves.

[Kromm]

Access to the best writers was their main stated reason for their label move.

[Sharpie66]

Just saw this: "Pentatonix's Christmas album sold more than its first four albums combined, meaning the a cappella group has gained a lot of new fans as it preps its new album, due late spring."

http://full-timewhistle.com/entertainment-23/streaming-the-future-of-the-music-industry-or-its-nightmare-1755.html

Of course, many of those new fans don't buy pop albums, just Christmas ones.

[SrPab]

From JewishJournal.com. It's more an interview with Ben Bram and covers topics general and specific--but PTX is, of course, mentioned a few times.

[Sharpie66]

Chart update:

 

As expected, major fall-off for all of the albums.

 

TCTM: #49 (#3 last week)

PTX Vol. 3: #114 (#72)

 

(The other two volume EPs and PTXmas are off the charts entirely.)

 

According to their twitter accounts, the guys have all been in writing sessions yesterday and today, after they got back from their Caribbean vacation on Tuesday. Kirstin, OTOH, is stuck recovering from outpatient sinus surgery.

Edited January 8, 2015 by Sharpie66

[SrPab]

"Welocme to the Playtone Galaxy of Stars..."

[Kromm]

Tom Hanks WOULD still use a manual typewriter. It somehow all fits.

[debbydeb]

Finally found the time to watch the Kojo nmandi show properly. One thing that I missed even with repeated listening, but became clear when Rob pointed out (indirectly) was Avi's precision, which was quite underrated especially when Mitch usually takes the spotlight here.

When Avi finished his solo with the high note on "Kings", after one beat pause he resumed his baseline, hitting that low note. I know the one played in the radio was a studio recording, but to actually make that daring composition, which he can no doubt do live, is amazingly ballsy.

Maybe this is why PTX (and other great acappella groups) continues to astound with so few personnels sounding so full is their vocal dexterity. Not just gimmicky vocal acrobatics, but actually navigating intervals and notes that seem unrelated tonally with one another, with ease.

I'd love to hear more like Rob's dissection of not just PTX but acappella in terms of arranging :) It's very eye (and ear) opening

[ToxicUnicorn]

I followed the Sing Off thread in TWoP and the forum here, and I don't think I've ever seen this discussed:

 

In Season 3, I always felt the (televised) judges' comments didn't nearly give enough credit to Scott's vocals.  I thought he gave some incredible performances.  Period.  Full stop.  Yet, the judges seemed to focus on Avi and Kevin (who were great, I'm not debating that), or give general compliments about the arrangement.  When they did pick out one of the original 3, I feel like they gave disproportionate praise to Mitch and Kirsti.

 

Don't get me wrong, I think they're all extremely talented.  But, one of the reasons I enjoyed Scott so much (besides his voice and skill and, especially, his R&B stylings) is because he gave everything, each performance.  I found him to be a really satisfying singer to watch.  I felt like he was never given due respect.

 

Ok, that has bothered me for years.  Nice to get that out there...Scott's my favorite!

[SrPab]

Just came across this on YT...is this collab really happening?

 

ToxicUnicorn, I like Scott's voice mainly because it seems well-suited to certain genres of music I prefer to listen to--soul, gospel, R&B/Hip Hop, pop. There's also a crooner vibe to it that I'm predisposed to like. And, obviously, their arrangements account for his voice in either solo or background/harmony parts--so it works for me in those areas, too.

[Kromm]

Just came across this on YT...is this collab really happening?

The collab would actually make a lot of sense. 

 

Meghan Trainor was a marginal YouTuber for years (go look here on her non-Vevo channel with years of her homegrown efforts).  So she's not going to look down on anyone who got famous that way.  She's got a style that won't conflict with theirs.  We know she certainly met them on New Year's Eve, and she's around the same age as them.

 

From a corporate/business standpoint, they're on the same label (well, mostly... RCA and Epic are simply different divisions of Sony Records), so its much easier to setup.  I mean even if its just done on YouTube, and isn't really monetized (other than the inevitable iTunes download), it's much easier when the artists share a label.

[Sharpie66]

Scott just tweeted something that looks like a print ad in a recording magazine that has lots of cool info in it:

 

Pentatonix

The Breakthrough Artist Story of the Year

Nominated for a 2015 Grammy Award

Over 2 million albums sold in the U.S. alone

#4 Best selling album of 2014 - That's Christmas to Me

"That's Christmas to Me" charted Top 10 in iTunes in over 48 countries

Over 770 million video views

And over 7.3 million YouTube subscribers

 

We're Just Getting Started...

 

2015 North American "On My Way Home" Tour SOLD OUT

New Album Coming Spring 2015

[ohjoy]

2015 North American "On My Way Home" Tour SOLD OUT

Maybe I don't pay enough attention to concert ticket sales to know what current patterns are, but this really impressed me. (Also, I really wanted to see this tour, considering how many times I listened specifically to "On My Way Home" on repeat when it came out. I really love that song.)