Sharpie66 January 15, 2015 Share January 15, 2015 (edited) One of the first cities to sell out was Chicago, where they had two successive nights at the Chicago Theatre, seating 3000. This bummed me out, because I was unable to get a ticket! ETA: After looking at their website, apparently they aren't completely sold out--the Utah show still seems like it has tickets available, but it's probably really close to selling out. Also, so far they've sold out one site on their European tour, Barcelona. They've been booking bigger and bigger venues in Europe with each successive tour, so it'll be interesting to see how many of those places sell out. Edited January 15, 2015 by Sharpie66 Link to comment
Kromm January 17, 2015 Share January 17, 2015 The interviewer is a twit, but this is an interview I hadn't heard yet (it was clearly recorded last fall but this is the first time I've seen it posted). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp4lma8ssq8 Link to comment
takalotti January 17, 2015 Share January 17, 2015 Scott at 4:35. So cute! Their goodbye was straight out of super fruit. I automatically heard the techno music afterwards. And yes, twit is a perfect word to describe that interviewer. Blech. Being a math nerd, I seriously cringed when he excused his billion mistake by saying it was the same as a hundred million. I don't care if it was a joke. Shudder. Link to comment
Sharpie66 January 19, 2015 Share January 19, 2015 (edited) Forbes has a short article/interview with Mitch today. It's not much, but it does show that they're really anxious to have their music on the radio, and that they're ramping up their stage show for this year. Edited January 19, 2015 by Sharpie66 Link to comment
Kromm January 19, 2015 Share January 19, 2015 Forbes has a short article/interview with Mitch today. It's not much, but it does show that they're really anxious to have their music on the radio, and that they're ramping up their stage show for this year. I'm glad Mitch is aware that there's a problem that they'e NOT on radio. We can go on all we like about new media and how decreasingly relevant radio is, but in truth there's a population segment, even still, that's always going to have radio as their go-to music source. And I know some people heard PTX on commercial radio during the Holidays, but I think far more of us didn't (and were puzzled by that). Even if you go by radio station interviews, you can tell there's a disconnect. There are some PTX radio interviews out there, but not as many as I think there probably might be for anyone else who had the 4th best selling album of the year and a Grammy nomination. I guess the key has to be original songs (although their entire genre may always be a problem for commercial radio). Frankly even the best of their originals hasn't really cut it in terms of pop playability. That collab with Meghan Trainor can't come soon enough (assuming it produces an actual single and not just a YouTube video), because at least that might get some commercial radio play. Link to comment
Sharpie66 January 20, 2015 Share January 20, 2015 From what Mitch tweeted, it sounds like they might be having some guest performers join them at various stops on their tour--some guy I've never heard of is going to perform with them in NYC. Speaking of tweets, they're doing more writing this week. Both Scott and Kirstin have had sinus/nose surgery. Also, Kevin is recording with his other group, Triptyq (if you haven't heard them, I highly recommend their song "Mr. Right"--it's really catchy!). Link to comment
Sharpie66 January 20, 2015 Share January 20, 2015 Looks like they're doing well on their European ticket sales--they've added a second show for Amsterdam after the first sold out, added a show in Hamburg, and have moved two other German shows to larger venues. 1 Link to comment
SrPab January 21, 2015 Share January 21, 2015 (edited) I guess the key has to be original songs (although their entire genre may always be a problem for commercial radio). Frankly even the best of their originals hasn't really cut it in terms of pop playability. That collab with Meghan Trainor can't come soon enough (assuming it produces an actual single and not just a YouTube video), because at least that might get some commercial radio play. Someone in the CASA FB Group page mentioned that perhaps to get PTX more radio play (and increase their exposure to music consumers) would involve collabs with bigger-name artists and/or work with proven hit songwriters. Looks like both avenues are being explored. I personally don't think they need radio as a next step but I'll not complain if that's their course. However, I'm a fan of their sound and I don't want their rhythm section to be rendered moot as their career progresses--save for one-off events/collaborations where they are putting it on the back-burner in favor of more exposure and different opportunities to express themselves musically. In other words, I'm more interested to see them succeed as the purpose-built quintet they were originally founded as. I'm more interested to see them succeed as contemporary a cappella artists in today's music environment. I'm more interested to see them succeed in spite of the negative connotations "a cappella" still has in many peoples' minds. Some of that sentiment is me being vicarious; some of it is due to pure curiosity with respect to the intersection of culture and commerce and fame. Besides Pitch Perfect, to me a cappella hasn't had this kind of buzz and mindshare since Bobby McFerrin, a few hit songs from Boyz II Men, and the Where In The World Is Carmen SanDiego/Rockapella connection. It's been long enough...the next cycle is upon us. Edited January 21, 2015 by SrPab-PTV 1 Link to comment
Rick Kitchen January 21, 2015 Share January 21, 2015 Superfruit and Shoshana Bean. I just ... Link to comment
Kromm January 21, 2015 Share January 21, 2015 You know it's funny we were speaking of Meghan Trainor and a potential collab. Well this is NOT that, but it's Kevin and... well.. just watch it. I didn't even know this existed (as of 6 days ago). It seems to be right about the same time Meghan was asked about PTX, so it's not clear which came first. Link to comment
Sharpie66 January 21, 2015 Share January 21, 2015 It just occurred to me why they are releasing the full-length, all-original album in late spring--Pitch Perfect 2 is coming out in mid-May. Nice capitalization on movie publicity, RCA!! Speaking of RCA, I just saw a press release announcing the promotion of one of RCA's international marketers. On the list of his accomplishments in his old job, he was credited with elevating the worldwide exposure of three artists including Megan Trainor and Pentatonix. Link to comment
Kromm January 25, 2015 Share January 25, 2015 They're back on Japanese TV again (this is like their fourth time): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJbNLxPxZNM&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36MHZnzcZdY Link to comment
Sharpie66 January 26, 2015 Share January 26, 2015 That looks like it's from last month, looking at Scott's hair, the same style he had on that German variety show's last episode. Link to comment
SrPab February 4, 2015 Share February 4, 2015 (edited) FYI...PTX's Grammy nom category, Best Instrumental Or A Cappella Arrangement, is part of a big group of awards that will not be shown on tv. However, non-televised awards will be streaming live via www.grammy.com/live from 12:30PM-3:30PM US PST, on Sunday, Feb. 8. Edited February 4, 2015 by SrPab-PTV Link to comment
bjork February 5, 2015 Share February 5, 2015 Kevin did an interview with his hometown paper: With opportunities like these, Kevin recognizes that his journey to success has been incredible. Still, it hasn’t lacked in setbacks. “There haven’t really been any worst moments, but there have definitely been setbacks,” Kevin said. “For example, when we won the TV show The Sing-Off, three weeks later we got dropped as an artist by our label, Epic Records, because they just didn’t believe that a cappella music could have a significant place in the industry. I can’t blame them for that. At that time, there hadn’t been any a cappella groups that had mainstream success, which these labels want. But I think that’s kind of one of the best things that could have happened to us, because from there we were able to kind of create the brand that we wanted to create, and figure out what ticks for us and what ticks for the audience. I think we figured that out, so we have a better understanding of self, so that if we do go to another label, which we are now… we are signed to RCA, they said ‘We can’t change you guys because you have built something that people want. So continue with that. We will just figure out how we take that and market it to a wider audience.’ So those setbacks have really been a blessing in disguise.” He is also working on a solo album with instruments. I bet that'll come out this fall if it gets released this year. 1 Link to comment
Sharpie66 February 5, 2015 Share February 5, 2015 Thanks for that interview, @bjork! Kevin just tweeted that his EP is coming out on March 10, with preordering starting next Tuesday. 1 Link to comment
SrPab February 6, 2015 Share February 6, 2015 (edited) The evolution of Pentatonix Includes insights and perspectives from some of their parents. Also, the article was charitable with respect to how Epic Records treated the group in the months after their Sing-Off win. ETA: @PTXofficial has a tweet saying they'll be presenting (perhaps a sung presentation?) a category during the televised Grammy special. Edited February 6, 2015 by SrPab-PTV 2 Link to comment
SrPab February 8, 2015 Share February 8, 2015 (edited) YAY!!!!!! At a little after 4:03 PM US EST on Sunday, 8 Feb. 2015, PTX and Ben Bram were announced as the Grammy winners in their category. Because it was live-streamed, it should be posted on YT soon. ETA: Well lookee here ...and one fan's reaction ...and another fan's reaction. Kids and a cappella these days, what's that all about? ETA #2: I've seen tweets from several places (one of them being @ptxnewsandstuff), that Pentatonix performed a Bee Gees medley at a Grammy party hosted by Clive Davis and attended by lots of the biggest behind-the-scenes movers and shakers of the music industry. Any video uploads of this, performance and/or party, is appreciated. Edited February 8, 2015 by SrPab-PTV 5 Link to comment
bjork February 9, 2015 Share February 9, 2015 At the Grammys, they introduced Barry Gibb as part of the Lifetime Achievement winning Bee Gees, then they all presented the Best Pop Vocal Album category (winner was Sam Smith). I thought they'd just introduce a performance, so this was a good surprise! 2 Link to comment
Sharpie66 February 9, 2015 Share February 9, 2015 (edited) Here's a fun article with the headline "Reality show Grammy count - The Sing-Off: 1; The Voice: 0" http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/reality_show_grammy_count_the_sing-off_-_1_the_voice_-_0-2015-02 Edited February 9, 2015 by Sharpie66 1 Link to comment
debbydeb February 9, 2015 Share February 9, 2015 A snippet of the Clive Davis Pre-Grammy do. The sounds of the medley starts at 2:24 (in the background), the footage of them singing starts about 5-10 secs from the end. As usual the mix is not quite right, making the rhythm section sounds almost very thin--whereas bee gees songs I think need a good robust lower end to balance all those high notes. 1 Link to comment
Kromm February 9, 2015 Share February 9, 2015 YAY!!!!!! At a little after 4:03 PM US EST on Sunday, 8 Feb. 2015, PTX and Ben Bram were announced as the Grammy winners in their category. Because it was live-streamed, it should be posted on YT soon. ETA: Well lookee here ...and one fan's reaction ...and another fan's reaction. Kids and a cappella these days, what's that all about? I'm glad you didn't link to that one guy who posts 20 minute long reaction videos to everything PTX does. Reaction videos are great, but... geez. Brevity is a virtue. Anyway, back to these.. I found myself wondering if that first girl's surname really is Grassi. It's not really a super-rare name. Or if she just used it on her YouTube account as a tribute. Link to comment
Kromm February 9, 2015 Share February 9, 2015 A snippet of the Clive Davis Pre-Grammy do. The sounds of the medley starts at 2:24 (in the background), the footage of them singing starts about 5-10 secs from the end. As usual the mix is not quite right, making the rhythm section sounds almost very thin--whereas bee gees songs I think need a good robust lower end to balance all those high notes. Yeah, I agree there are some issues there. And overall it's not really a good song for them anyway. They did much better with the version of Problem they did at Clive Davis' party. While they didn't break the a capella rules outright, they put some interesting echo and reverb on it, and it sounded kind of cool. There was a video of it on YouTube a few hours ago, but it appears to be gone now. 1 Link to comment
aguabella February 10, 2015 Share February 10, 2015 (edited) At the Grammys, they introduced Barry Gibb as part of the Lifetime Achievement winning Bee Gees, then they all presented the Best Pop Vocal Album category (winner was Sam Smith). I thought they'd just introduce a performance, so this was a good surprise! Not a big deal but Scott announced the BG's LA award and a photo of the 3 BGs / bros (in younger days) was shown on the screen. Scott turned it over to Barry and receded into the background, i.e. behind the podium, with the rest of the group. Barry, the only remaining bro and BG, thanked his bros, including "little Andy" (the non-BG) and then graciously turned around from the podium to congratulate PTX on their grammy. They all replied "thank you" and Barry proceeded to announce the Best Pop Vocal Album award on his own, including the winner's name and distribution of the hardware to Sam Smith. Terrific for PTX and great that they were invited to Clive's annual pre-Grammy bash plus performing! Edited February 10, 2015 by aguabella 1 Link to comment
debbydeb February 10, 2015 Share February 10, 2015 Ben Bram sorta linked (through replying) to this article about Pentatonix and the new Grammy category: http://acappellaquest.blogspot.com/2015/02/pentatonix-wins-grammy.html I find the article quite an interesting discussion about the 'debate' of a cappella and mainstream recognition. On the one hand, it will be great to have a Best A Cappella category, but on the other hand is a recognition of A Cappella as just a way of singing a genre. I once asked Ben Bram what he thought of my opinion, that a cappella needs to be classified as its own genre, rather than just an instrumentation. While a cappella music has made great strides in making a name for itself, a cappella is still just defined as an instrumentation- all vocals, no instruments. ... I expected Ben to agree with me, but I was surprised to hear his viewpoint: He believed a cappella music shouldn’t be viewed as separate, but as similarly as we would a current pop tune. When a cappella music, or Pentatonix in this case, is booked on the same show as other pop icons of the day, only then can Pentatonix be taken as a serious artist who is doing something different, rather than a novelty artist that will disappear soon. If I read this correctly, so rather than competing with each other and being it's own genre bubble (like World Music, or Classical), Ben Bram would prefer it to be a legitimate contender in the other categories (Pop Vocal, R&B, Rock, etc)? I recall yesterday that people were arguing about Beck's Record of the Year and Beyonce. I read that there are those who are miffed that although Beyonce has the second most Grammys in history, she has yet to win in the major category like Record of the Year or Album of the Year. Instead, she continues to be mostly pigeonholed in R&B. This year she won one for "Best Surround Sound Album", which is a what exactly. Anyway, I find the article an enjoyable read of the continued struggle by a cappella for a mainstream identity. 3 Link to comment
Kromm February 12, 2015 Share February 12, 2015 I got a good laugh reading this article about Pentatonix's first gig as Grammy winners. Red-hot Pentatonix debuts at rodeo It just goes to show that you can take the Texans out of Texas, but you can't REALLY take the TEXAS out of them. 1 Link to comment
SrPab February 12, 2015 Share February 12, 2015 (edited) Rats! Kromm, that article you linked to is behind a subscription wall (at least for the time being). debbydeb, I also read that Marc Silverberg article you quoted. I agree with Ben Bram's perspective overall. However, I also like the formal/official recognition by the Grammys/Academy regarding a cappella. But it seems odd to me to lump a cappella with instrumental. There's a part of me that would be excited to see a cappella be its own (unshared) category/ies. But then that also leads me to think about your mention of Beyonce, Beck, and the Big 4 awards. These days, can an a cappella act vie for a Big 4 Grammy? Edited February 12, 2015 by SrPab-PTV Link to comment
Kromm February 13, 2015 Share February 13, 2015 (edited) Rats! Kromm, that article you linked to is behind a subscription wall (at least for the time being).It must be stopped by my ad-blocking software, because I didn't see one. EDIT - Oh wait. You didn't mean a big graphic blocking the article, you meant the article being cut off after a few lines. It's that way for me now too. A few lines, then "To continue reading this story, you will need to be a digital subscriber to ExpressNews.com." It wasn't blocked that way when I read it a few hours after it came out. So that paper must have some rule where they have articles available free for some time, THEN block it later. Here's the cached version of it (thanks to http://www.cachedpages.com -- hey, if the paper makes the article free initially, they darn well should know it gets cached by Google and other services...) It's an unremarkable article that's really just quotes from other media sources. I just thought it was hilarious that "new Grammy winner" and "rodeo" would be in the same sentence (at least for a non-country act). It’s the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo’s most anticipated concert on an opening weekend of highly anticipated concerts extending into next week at the AT&T Center. Pentatonix makes its rodeo debut Sunday at an afternoon concert that may turn into a screamfest. These unlikely phenoms are a young Arlington a cappella YouTube act who won Season 3 of NBC’s “The Sing Off” a few years ago At a minimum, it’ll be a singalong for the “Glee” and “Pitch Perfect” crowd sure to be there. Pentatonix rolls into its first rodeo after Hunter Hayes tonight and Keith Urban (twice) on Valentine’s Day. The group is trending, mostly because its members had the guts to follow their hearts, which told them to sing their own arrangements of mega pop hits and post them online. Austin Mahone has his Mahomies; Pentatonix has its “Pentaholics,” according to the Wall Street Journal. Pentatonix begins a sold-out North American tour at the end of the month. A new album is in the works, and on May 15, the singers make their big-screen debut in the comedy musical “Pitch Perfect 2.” Of course, 2014 wasn’t too shabby. The group’s Christmas album, “That’s Christmas to Me,” became the highest charting Christmas album in 52 years. Its platinum sales made it the fourth best-selling record of the year. That’s right up there with Taylor Swift, the “Frozen” soundtrack and Sam Smith and bettter than Beyoncé. All which means there may be no better time to catch them than at the rodeo. Forbes contributor Hugh McIntyre wrote that he was as stunned with Billboard’s year-end rankings as everyone else in the music business, describing Pentatonix’s ascent as seeming “to have come out of nowhere in the past few years to become an act you need to know.” The group won a Grammy on Sunday for “Daft Punk” (off the RCA album “PTX, Vol. II”) in the best arrangement, instrumental or a cappella category. Pentatonix is on everyone’s radar. Singer Mitch Grassi told Forbes magazine that the next big challenge is cracking pop radio. “I think what we’re trying to figure out now is how we fit into the radio world,” Grassi said. “We’ve written a few originals, but we’re itching for that one particular song that just sets us off and proves to the world that we’re legitimate.” Millions of views on YouTube and sales figures show that the group is absolutely legit (for a brief moment, Pentatonix knocked Swift out of the No. 1 spot on iTunes). It is certainly distinctive, beginning from the moment singers Avi Kaplan and Kevin Olusolo dig in with a bass line and a beat. Kirstie Maldonado, Scott Hoying and Grassi add the sparkle on the top end. The Wall Street Journal’s Hannah Karp wrote that, in the end, it comes down to the oldest rule in the music business: having a sound. “The group’s unlikely rise to stardom — which caught most of the music industry by surprise — highlights not only the influence of YouTube but also the power of a distinctive sound,” Karp noted. “The latter is particularly valuable in a world where pop stars generate most of their income from hit singles and are wary of taking the musical risks they once could on full-length albums.” Hoying told Entertainment Weekly it’s all about being passionate when it comes to song choices. “No one really brings a song to the group unless they really think we’re going to do it,” he said. “Unless they’re super inspired.” Booking Pentatonix was certainly inspired. It’s a rodeo first, too, said Keith Martin, rodeo executive director and CEO. “We are excited to have our first a cappella performance at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, particularly one that seems to appeal to such a wide audience,” Martin said in an email. hsaldana@express-news.net Edited February 13, 2015 by Kromm Link to comment
Sharpie66 February 13, 2015 Share February 13, 2015 I figure that the rodeo performance might be their chance to run through their set list for their upcoming concert tour. I remember last year that they ended up editing the set list relatively early on in the tour because they figured out pretty quickly that there were some issues with it (too many slow numbers and a failed audience participation bit being the key problems that were noted in a few concert reviews that I read). 1 Link to comment
ToxicUnicorn February 17, 2015 Share February 17, 2015 Saw them at the rodeo. I was thinking about the rreport upthread about ptx trying out big venues. It certainly was that. I thought it they were slightly overwhelmed in the sense that their sound was not relaxed but it settled down after a song or two. M I have watched so many youtubes and this was my first time seeing them live. Although it was a thrill to see them, i do wish it had been a more intimate setting, where they seem to thrive. The one up side of the big venue and the blaring speakers or mics was that the screamers mostly did not affect whether i could hear them or not. Kristi and Scott sounded particularly great. 2 Link to comment
debbydeb February 17, 2015 Share February 17, 2015 @ToxicUnicorn, thank you for the first hand account. I read it's a 16,000 ppl venue? That's a lot of people in one place. Someone posted this of the rodeo performance: I think the venue dwarfed them a bit? I guess if they want to make big venues a norm for them, the production value needs to be upped a bit? However, the lightwork finally seems to suit the space. Usually the lightwork seems to be a bit too much for the smaller venues you can hardly see anything because of the glare. The sound mix is quite good though, I think. The sounds seem to travel better across the spaces. I'm so jealous of everyone who's seen them live. Someone wrote in an article the other day, A cappella remains an art form that needs to be appreciated live. 3 Link to comment
ToxicUnicorn February 17, 2015 Share February 17, 2015 Debbydeb, definitely dwarfed. I could see them from my seats and they were also on the jumbotron. The jumbotron left so much to be desired. Clearly the person did not know the songs and who was or would be singing as well as i did! I thought the operator got a little stuck on Kirsti who obviously looked fabulous, but i wanted to see then all sing. The sound could be worked on a and made to work, i think. However, the choreography didn't particularly translate, i felt. There are moments where they freeze position or look down, and most of us were above them in the stadium seats, so it was harder to see them. They were used to performing for the close by seats, who were the vip. Still love them but i wish they had looked up at the end to see me waving at them. Link to comment
SrPab February 17, 2015 Share February 17, 2015 (edited) I haven't watched much of their San Antonio show on YT so some of my comments may be inapplicable or moot... I didn't expect them to debut any new material (as in, anything from their forthcoming all-originals album). From the clips that I have watched, it seems their choreo was the same as it's been for a given song due to: familiarity and/or erring on the side of caution with respect to a moving elevated platform (i.e. not trying anything new even though the platform rotated slowly enough that none of them appeared to get dizzy or disoriented). Their live act in a venue like this (i.e. a large cavernous space) where much of the audience is looking down at them from the nosebleed sections will present some issues that may need periodic tweaking. Namely, how much touring can or should they do to accommodate all their many fans who want to see them live and let them know constantly that they need to book bigger and better venues? Also, even though this San Antonio event was not held in a space necessarily designed for a musical performance (let alone an a cappella act), I hope this gives them plenty of takeaways with respect to how they design their choreo, stage presence, audience acknowledgment, lighting, sound, etc. in venues with, say, more than 4,000 seats. If their live act is best experienced in more intimate settings, then wouldn't it follow that they need to have more tour dates if they book smaller venues, in general, or a cluster of tour dates in one region of a country so that those who can't see them in one city have the option to get to another hopefully nearby city to catch them? One stop in Brisbane, Australia, or no stops in Hong Kong (yet) can get frustrating for so many of their fans who just can't be fast enough on the button to get tickets. More touring could lead to burn-out for some of them but their touring schedule right now leaves lots of fans frustrated. There's a detached part of me who thinks these are "good" problems/challenges for them to have, as demand outstrips supply. But is it asking too much to believe some kind of balance is achievable? Edited February 17, 2015 by SrPab-PTV Link to comment
Sharpie66 February 17, 2015 Share February 17, 2015 They're just going through tech rehearsals for the new tour this week, so they were re-using the last tour's choreo at the rodeo concert. I heard Mitch say in an interview (or maybe a spreecast with the fans?) that they were hoping to be able to amp up the production values with the new tour, possibly including some multimedia stuff, which would be awesome. Again, that would have to be worked out in the tech rehearsals, and the rodeo setting definitely did not lend itself to big multimedia displays, IMO. I just hope that they have the PTXperience video series going on again with the 2015 tour, because last year's shows were really fun to watch. I especially loved the bits in the European leg, when they would be out doing stuff in the cities and were getting approached by fans. Scott met two really squeal-y girls on the Millenium Bridge in London who cracked me up! 1 Link to comment
Sharpie66 February 19, 2015 Share February 19, 2015 They just announced on their Facebook page that they are bringing back the PTXperience videos (yay!), as well as something they call "The On My Way Home Project" that they haven't explained yet. 2 Link to comment
Kromm February 21, 2015 Share February 21, 2015 (edited) The core of Pentatonix's success is arguably that despite being in a genre that a few years ago might have been characterized as skewing old, that they've ridden and ridden well the wave of youth support for a capalla that started with Glee, sailed through Pitch Perfect, and landed right squarely on them. And the big media companies are catching on to that youth skew. Here's a bit of POSSIBLE casting news that supports this. ZENDAYA REVEALS PENTATONIX WILL GUEST STAR ON 'K.C. UNDERCOVER' I suppose Zendaya could be a fan and have arranged it herself, but this wouldn't be the first time PTX has worked with Disney (they did that whole "Cruisin' For A Bruisin' cover and had it aired on Disney Channel). Of course the blogger who wrote the article I linked may just be making assumptions. All the tweet (and the photo) actually reveal is that they stopped by the set. Although I can't really see a motive for them to have done so unless they WERE guest starring. Edited February 21, 2015 by Kromm 3 Link to comment
SrPab February 21, 2015 Share February 21, 2015 Even if all PTX did was drop by to say hello to Zendaya, her tweet to her 5.15 million followers (granting some overlap with PTX's fanbase) could still be considered a "win" for the group. Although, considering how PTX's appeal spans just about every age group (it seems they don't yet have a non-trivial amount of not-yet-born or recently deceased fans) this could be as much about maintaining brand awareness among tweens and younger, as it is about acquiring new fans. Honestly, I caught sight of several drive-by posts left on their FB page earlier this week along these lines: "I'm a mother of two toddlers and your version of 'Silent Night' helps them go to sleep and let's me catch a break." Or, "Four generations of my family love all y'all!" Or, "My baby is still in the womb and I can feel him dancing around when we play a PTX song." Link to comment
ToxicUnicorn February 21, 2015 Share February 21, 2015 I've always assumed (on the basis of nothing but my own anecdotes) that PTX's fans would have skewed older. I'm in the group that remembers college study breaks to listen to campus a capella groups fondly, and everyone I've introduced to PTX in my age group and above are fascinated by what they do with their sound. We don't care about the original songs, their covers are what is real to us. From what I've seen, "kids today" watch Netflix instead of huddling around listening to live a capella performances. There are so many other ways to get media now that I always thought the sheer breadth of availability to other types of music would have made it much harder for the young to find a capella. I never thought of the not-yet-born group, though. :) Link to comment
Kromm February 21, 2015 Share February 21, 2015 Heh. Right now there are about a zillion people not in the appropriate age range saying "Who is this Zendaya person?" Although that's been countered in large part by the Dancing With The Stars viewing crowd, who I suppose all know her now. PTX does bridge generations--I'm certainly not debating that or how useful it has been with leveraging their success. But capturing the youth market is what gets noticed by the high rollers in the business like Disney, Universal, Viacom, etc. 2 Link to comment
SrPab February 21, 2015 Share February 21, 2015 (edited) At first, I also thought their fan base (especially during their Sing-Off run) skewed over-30. Then, I started taking a look at their social media presence once they began putting up YT vids with regularity. On FB, YT, Tumblr, Twitter, IG, etc.--I came across comment after comment saying "I'm 12 [insert any age under 30]. ILYSM!", to be immediately countered by another comment saying "Well, this 50yo [insert any age] loves them, too! I liked them from their first appearance (E.T.) but fell in love with them after Video Killed the Radio Star." Mind you, some of these commenters were probably lying about their age, but I don't think all of them were. Then, I noticed how many non-U.S. fans they had or were acquiring. Then, I noticed that males seemed to be enamored of them as much as females. Then, I noticed they had an LGBT following on top of their het following. In the U.S., it seems to me that people in "fly-over" country like them as much as those on either coast. If RCA hasn't already done it, they should know just how diverse PTX's fan base is. My first-hand evidence comes from attending two of their shows. I could not help but notice how diverse (in every sense of the word) the audiences were. Boy/Girl teens and tweens were out in number. High school choir teachers chaperoned their ensembles. When I say families came out to see them, I mean: mom, dad, all the kids, grandma and grandpa, aunt and uncle, Cousin It--you name it. I thought I had mistakenly wandered into a family reunion. Oh, singles like them, too (me). It's really been something of a perfect storm for PTX that a cappella--at least the way they do it--could capture the eyes and ears of so many different kinds of people, especially the demographics craved by big business/media conglomerates. But yeah...they've been riding this wave with only minor hitches. Edited February 21, 2015 by SrPab-PTV 2 Link to comment
Sharpie66 February 23, 2015 Share February 23, 2015 I'm having cut and paste issues with my tablet, but go to Youtube and search for "teens react to Pentatonix" for a fun video by the Fine Bros. There are a few fans of the group amongst the teens, but there are also several who have never heard of them before. They are first shown the "Evolution of Music" video, and then the one for "Love Again," an excellent choice for an original song video, imo. Interesting comments by the teens, with a variety of opinions and thoughts on acapella as a whole. 1 Link to comment
Rick Kitchen February 23, 2015 Share February 23, 2015 This is the link to the Teens React: I was just coming to post this. :) 1 Link to comment
aguabella February 25, 2015 Share February 25, 2015 (edited) I suppose Zendaya could be a fan and have arranged it herself, but this wouldn't be the first time PTX has worked with Disney (they did that whole "Cruisin' For A Bruisin' cover and had it aired on Disney Channel). Of course the blogger who wrote the article I linked may just be making assumptions. All the tweet (and the photo) actually reveal is that they stopped by the set. Although I can't really see a motive for them to have done so unless they WERE guest starring. PC issues so unable to link but the guest spot is mentioned on the Dis411 website. Radio Disney apparently announced it on 2/20. Incidentally, Zendaya's tweet included #imafan !! Interesting factoids but not necessarily related: Zendaya attended Oakland School for the Arts (OSA), the same school that sponsors Vocal Rush. Zendaya's also about the same age as the VR members that competed on TSO and a couple of them toured with her recently, providing backup vocals. VR had only existed for a year or so before TSO so I believe Zendaya's OSA attendance predated VR. Edited February 25, 2015 by aguabella 1 Link to comment
ToxicUnicorn February 25, 2015 Share February 25, 2015 I loved Vocal Rush. They were my favorites by far, their season. To bring it back to PTX, I am not a fan of Mitch's haircut. Link to comment
Sharpie66 February 26, 2015 Share February 26, 2015 With him slimmimg way down and hair, he has a real elfin look going. Link to comment
ohjoy February 26, 2015 Share February 26, 2015 That slicked swooo low over one eye thing? My sister calls it his Hitler haircut. (She's not a fan either.) 1 Link to comment
ToxicUnicorn February 27, 2015 Share February 27, 2015 I don't see elfin. I see vampire. And where is his beautiful smile? However, I enjoy his clothes. I never would have thought I'd say that, years ago. What can I say, it must be an acquired taste. Link to comment
SrPab March 1, 2015 Share March 1, 2015 ::Sigh:: I wish they were coming to a city near me... What is this choral piece they are singing from 0:00 to about 0:58 in this vid--an Eric Whitacre composition? I think they did this while Kevin was putting his cello away. Link to comment
debbydeb March 1, 2015 Share March 1, 2015 ::Sigh:: I wish they were coming to a city near me... What is this choral piece they are singing from 0:00 to about 0:58 in this --an Eric Whitacre composition? I think they did this while Kevin was putting his cello away. I read in a comment of another video of the same song (can't seem to find the link now) that it is Christus Factus Est Pro Nobis by Bruckner. In another thread, I read that Kelly Clarkson gave an interview to a radio, and at one point she said she's going to tour together with PTX this summer. Is PTX going to be her opening act? 1 Link to comment
ToxicUnicorn March 2, 2015 Share March 2, 2015 (edited) Through a series of events, I saw them again. The performance was much, much better than San Antonio. They were back on a stage with a backdrop (instead of on the rotating stage in the center) and much better sound. Cool graphics. They need to be in a more contained space than an arena. The crowd was huge and the line was extremely long for general admission. And then, most of us felt it was a long time till they got on stage (1.5 hours after the doors opened). That was frustrating. However, the people next to us were nice. A very clean cut crowd, which I appreciated. I took a look around and SrPab is right ... quite a varied demographic. People shouted and whistled and waved their hands with poor timing and sang along. Much of what they did was drowned out at first, although it got somewhat better as the concert went on. I've decided I'm not really a public gatherings girl, although I have new mad respect for Avi, now. He is truly impressive live. Oh, who am I kidding - I probably would see them again. Hard to say if I'd want seats or general admission again, though. Kevin did an original piece from his new album. My friends who I dragged with me were extremely impressed. Edited March 2, 2015 by ToxicUnicorn 1 Link to comment
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