Haneesa BegumConcert Review: Pentatonix
They are one of the reasons why A cappella is trendy again. Performing for the second time in Singapore on June 1 at The Star Theatre, Pentatonix exuded fun and energetic vibes to keep the audience wooing throughout the night.
The quintet from Arlington, Texas, otherwise known as PTX to their adoring Pentaholics (it’s what their fans call themselves), gained stardom mainly through their YouTube channel and performed in Singapore for the first time in October 2014. This year, they came back as part of their On My Way Home tour. You might also have caught their cameo in Universal Pictures Pitch Perfect 2!
Right off the bat, PTX sashayed onto the stage donned sleekly in black with hints of white and gold, and paid justice to Ariana Grande’s “Problem”. The eager fans in the audience (who were mostly those born in the early 2000s, we might add) could hardly contain their excitement. They followed this with a fiery performance of their Beyonce Medley, urging all the divas in the audience to shake their booty.
“We’re two songs in and I’m already obsessed with you, Singapore,” quipped the ever-so-charming lead vocalist Scott Hoying, which inevitably led to a stream of fan girls squealing their heads off. Fan favorite Mitch Grassi, tenor of the A cappella group, nailed all the high notes with sass and pizzazz, wielding much fanfare.
A noteworthy part of the night was when they took a pause after their rendition of Clean Bandit’s “Rather Be” to bring the audience down memory lane. From showcasing photographs of Kirstie Maldonado, Hoying and Grassi back in high school to their win at American singing competition, The Sing-Off in season 3, the audience was left in “Awwwww’s”. The sounds of hearts warming were amplified when they recounted Avi Kaplan’s sobbing during the finale of the competition.
Kevin Olusola, better known as “K.O.”, followed through on a mellow note as he left everyone mesmerized with his cellboxing (cello infused with beat-box) numbers.
From walking amidst fans in the audience, to serenading a very lucky fan named Vanessa to the tune of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On”, PTX deserves an A+ in the Audience Interaction Awards 2015. The crowd went absolutely wild (and jealous) when Hoying sat on the lucky lady’s lap whilst singing to her.
Our favorite bit of the night has got to be when PTX reenacted their impressive “Evolution of Music” number, which consisted of them moving speedily from 11th century music to the eras of classical music, and ultimately reaching the sounds of Backstreet Boys and Justin Bieber – something the largely preteen audience were more familiar with.
Initially posted on YouTube in 2013, this clever mash-up has gained a lot of traction and garnered over 62 million views!
Throughout the concert, we kept forgetting that these five had no musical instruments to back them up, and that it was solely their beautiful voices that left us with ear-gasm.
Pentatonix ended off their set with their original number, “On My Way Home” from their “PTX, Vol. III” album, before rewarding the audience with two encore performances. One of which was their Daft Punk mash-up, which was so well executed that it won them a Grammy for “Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella” at the 57th Grammy awards.
With so many surprises that kept the audience thoroughly entertained, Pentatonix was flawless and aca-perfect. Add them to your concert bucket list to experience some insane jaw-dropping talent. Who knows, you might even be the next one to get a cheeky serenade!
Setlist
- Problem (Ariana Grande cover)
- Beyonce Medley
- Telephone (Lady Gaga cover)
- La La Latch
- Love You Long Time
- Rather Be
- Julio
- Papaoutai
- Aha! (Imogen Heap cover)
- Four Five Seconds
- Break Free/See Through
- Uptown Funk
- Let’s Get It On (Marvin Gaye cover)
- Evolution of Music
- Standing By
- On My Way Home
Encore:
- That’s Christmas to Me
- Daft Punk
Photo courtesy of Midas Promotions and Dan Walsh Studios.
Were you one of the Pentaholics at the concert? Tell us what you thought of the concert in the ‘Comments’ section below!