I am a casual fan of Pentatonix, but when my friend offered a good seat for half the price, I couldn’t say no.
Pentatonix is an a cappella group composed of Avi Kaplan, Scott Hoying, Kirstin Maldonado, Kevin Olusola, and Mitch Grassi, and became famous for winning the third season of The Sing-Off, an a cappella singing competition. After they won, they hosted a popular YouTube channel where they do covers, medleys, and originals.
I first heard them when they did an amazing medley of Daft Punk songs. From there I got sucked into a black hole filled with Mitch’s falsetto, Avi’s pulsating bass, and Kevin’s beatboxing.
Seeing Pentatonix live in Manila was something else. The first thing you notice is that they were alone on stage. Yes, they are an a cappella group, but I was blown away that they didn’t have any back up singers or instruments. Avi and Kevin did such a spectacular job that you can literally feel the floor humming along to Kevin’s bass.
The setlist was a combination of covers, medleys, and originals, and I really enjoyed their medley of Michael Jackson and their cover of OMI’s “Cheerleader.” And yes, they performed their Daft Punk medley, which drove the audience, including me, crazy.
My favorite part of the concert was Kevin’s cello beatboxing combo of Bach’s “Prelude No. 1.” It was divine.
I had so much fun that night. It was the craziest concert I’ve attended, and I’ve seen Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, and Selena Gomez. Everyone was screaming their lungs out, and when the band left, the crowd was repeatedly chanting “PTX!” Such a refreshing experience compared to the polite concerts I mentioned.
The Pentatonix concert was driven by talent and nothing else. No autotune, no DJs, no bands. What you see is what you get, and Pentatonix overdelivered.