My current obsession: Pentatonix.

TL;DR: Favorite videos below, new Pentatonix album October 16th.

I’ve known of Pentatonix (an a cappella group who takes a cappella to a whole new level) for a few years now, ever since I came across their cover of “Somebody That I Used To Know” by Gotye (video below). I loved their cover and thought all of them were exceptionally talented but didn’t really look into them at the time. A few days ago I heard their new song “Can’t Sleep Love” (video below) and found out they have a new album coming out on October 16th that I believe is going to be predominately originals. My understanding is the regular version of the new album is all originals but the deluxe version has a few covers added to it. Most of their other albums have been covers with a few originals here and there. So, over the last few days I have been checking out their videos on YouTube and I have bought a ton of their stuff from iTunes. I. am. addicted. I am so impressed with their talent and drive. It astounds me that Avi and Kevin can do the entire rhythm section with just their voices. I think they all have amazing voices that mesh so well together that I think they could sing just about anything. With each of their individual talents I think they are the perfect five people to be doing what they are doing. The more I look into their stuff the more impressed I am. Here are some of my favorite videos I have come across so far.

FYI: The songs will sound better with headphones unless you have really good speakers. Sometimes it’s hard to hear Avi’s bass parts without headphones.

This is one of my absolute favorites. It’s an original of theirs from their album PTX, Vol II. I can’t believe there are no instruments except for their voices. I would never have guessed this was all done a cappella if I had just heard it on the radio. I love Mitch’s vocals. I keep giving myself a headache trying to sing his high parts.

Here is an original from their new album, Pentatonix,  that will be out on October 16th. I can’t stop listening to both of these songs.

Here is “Hey Momma/Hit The Road Jack” from their performance on The Queen Latifah Show from 2013. This song is on PTX, Vol. II. “Hey Momma” is an original song mashed up with “Hit The Road Jack”. I love Scott’s vocals on this song. I am just totally in love with this performance. This is one you definitely want to listen to with good headphones.

Here is another one from the new album that I can’t stop listening to. This is a cover song that is only on the deluxe version of the new album.

Here is another cover song from the deluxe version of the new album. I cannot wait for this to come out so I can hear all the rest of the original songs. I’m so excited!!!

Here is a live version of “Aha!” (an Imogen Heap cover that’s on PTX, Vol. 1) with Christus Factus Est. as an intro. There is an original video (which I posted at the end of the blog) for this but I like the live video better. Mitch kills it. I may have to do a blog dedicated to just the live versions of this song because Mitch leaves me speechless. There are two more live versions I’ve added to the end of this blog because I couldn’t decide which to post. I think I forgot to breathe while I was watching this one.

Here is them doing a Michael Jackson medley.

Here is the Gotye cover from PTX, Vol. 1.

They won a Grammy for this Daft Punk Medley from PTX, Vol. II.

Here is a cover of Ariana Grande’s song “Problem” that’s on PTX, Vol. III.

Here is their cover of “Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis from PTX, Vol. II.

Here is “La La Latch” a Sam Smith/Disclosure/Naughty Boy Mashup from PTX, Vol. III.

Here is “Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy” and “Carol Of The Bells”. I have always loved both of these songs and they did an awesome job covering them. “Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy” is on their platinum selling album That’s Christmas To Me and “Carol Of The Bells” is on PTXmas.

Here is Mitch and Scott, who have their own YouTube channel called Superfruit, doing a medley of hip-hop songs sung as if it were a Broadway musical. This cracks me up. I love it. NSFW.

Here is Mitch and Scott covering a Nicki Minaj/Beyoncé song. I love how versatile they are in what they sing.

Here is them doing a Beyoncé medley. I absolutely love both of their voices. I wish I could buy this somewhere.

Here is the whole group doing a medley for the evolution of music.

Here is their cover of “Gangnam Style” by PSY.

Here is a cover of a french song (originally done by Stromae) they did with Lindsey Stirling. This is one of the few songs that isn’t completely a cappella. It features Lindsey on violin and Kevin on cello. If you want to see more of Kevin playing cello while beatboxing check out his YouTube Channel. If you aren’t familiar with Lindsey Stirling you should definitely check her out too. This song is on PTX, Vol. III.

Here they are doing a cover of “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons.

Here is their cover of “Starships” by Nicki Minaj that is on PTX, Vol. 1.

Here is a short video showcasing Avi’s ridiculously low bass notes on their original song “Natural Disaster”. He has hit bass notes so low that he has blown out speakers with just his voice. This shows a comparison of the studio version from PTX, Vol. II and the live version that was a half step down. It is best to listen with headphones. This is not the show where he blows out the speakers but it sounds like he might have come close.

More live versions of “Aha!”.

The original video for “Aha!”.

That’s all for now. I’m sure there will be more videos I’ll post later.

-Amber