Web Gems: Pentatonix On UK Shows, YouTube And Covers
Thursday, 15 May 2014
Written by Katie Territt
Spurred on by the mainstream success of Glee and after winning season three of The Sing Off, US TV channel NBC's a cappella competition, Pentatonix, are certainly doing their best to make their genre cool again.
Their three releases to date have landed in the upper echelons of the Billboard chart, with ‘PTX, Vol. II’ peaking at #10 last winter, while their YouTube account is approaching six million subscribers. If you haven’t seen them in action yet, where have you been?
The band crowded round a computer during their UK dates for a lightning round of questions and talked all things Pentatonix, including the power of the internet and balancing original material with what made them tick in the first place, their fluid re-workings of pop hits.
How is the tour going? It must be a great feeling to be selling out shows over here.
It's so much fun. Yeah, it's pretty crazy to think we have fans in a ton of different countries. Thanks, internet! We love the UK, the crowds here are even louder and rowdier than some of the crowds back in the US.
It was The Sing-Off that made you guys a household name in the US. Have you had a chance to stop and really let your success sink in?
We have moments every now and again where we think to ourselves: "I can't believe this is all happening." But we've been so hard at work that time has flown by pretty quickly.
You post a lot of videos and performances on YouTube, how much has that online presence contributed to your success?
Our YouTube presence is 90% of our success. That's how we garnered most of our fanbase, and that's where we post our newest material.
Do you think covering such well known songs helps people to sit up and take notice?
For sure. We're known for our covers and our unique takes on hit pop songs, and currently, we're trying to transition into more original material. The popularity of our covers will help us ease into the realm of original music.
How do you possibly decide what songs to cover?
We definitely take into consideration what's popular because we know it will grab viewers' attention, but we don't always go with what's most popular, because not everything works for us. Typically, what happens is a band member will bring a song to the group that he or she is inspired by, and we will have a go at arranging it, and if it clicks, then we finish it and post it.
Last year you covered Imagine Dragons’ Radioactive with violinist Lindsey Stirling. Is there anyone else you’d love to collaborate with in future?
Totally. We would love to work with Tori Kelly [American singer/songwriter] because she is one of the most talented vocalists ever. We all have personal dream collabs, too. We haven't approached any big-name celebs or anything, but hopefully that will happen soon.
Is the aim to eventually release something that’s solely original Pentatonix music or do you think you’ll always want to record and release covers?
We would love to release an album of solely original music, but it's gonna be a while before we do that - our fans really love our covers. We are definitely working on some new material, but no idea when it will actually be released. As for the rest of the year, I think we will be doing a few sporadic gigs here and there, and hopefully getting into the studio as well.
Pentatonix Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu May 15 2014 - OXFORD O2 Academy Oxford
Sat May 17 2014 - GLASGOW Glasgow Garage
Sun May 18 2014 - DUBLIN Academy
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