Pentatonix Live In Singapore | 4/5

SINGAPORE — There are many things about Pentatonix that are pretty obvious. From its name — the five-note pentatonic scale is a reference to the five members (Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, Avi Kaplan, Kirstie Maldonado and Kevin Olusola) — to the fact that the quintet is probably the biggest a cappella group in the world right now.

The latter is fully borne out by the ability to sell out three nights last week at the Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands, with the venue filled to the brim with rabid fans screaming enthusiastically at every conceivable opportunity. And they were drawn from a wide demographic: Young children with their mothers, geek couples, “makciks” with their office colleagues and after-hours corporate folk. Despite their different backgrounds, these fans were united in their unbridled worship of Pentatonix.

Winners of NBC’s The Sing-Off competition (an American Idol for a cappella groups) and a veritable YouTube sensation (six million subscribers to date), it’s perhaps not surprising that Pentatonix has achieved as much as it has in the current pop music climate in a mere three years. The intensity of adulation at Sands Theatre was on par with what one might encounter with a top boy band or K-pop outfit. While the group is savvy enough to cover familiar pop hits (like Lorde’s Royals) to win the fans over, what may be less obvious is that on a technical level, the group has worked very hard to present an almost flawless performance which cannot be faulted. In fact, anyone with an intimate knowledge of harmonies and vocal arrangements would have been floored by the group’s seemingly effortless powerhouse delivery.

Essentially, the group was a self-contained unit with Olusola (beats) and Kaplan (bass) providing the rhythm section, and Grassi, Hoying and Maldonado providing the harmonies and lead vocals. With nothing else to mask the performance, one would imagine the need for the individual performers to be pitch perfect at all times and they were spot on for every single note, an achievement in itself.

The beauty of the collective voices increased the emotional response exponentially and it was difficult to resist “lump-in-throat” moments for Say Something and We Are Young, even if one didn’t quite appreciate the original songs to begin with!

In addition, what made all the difference in the world was that this wasn’t merely a performance of a cappella versions of popular hits but there was enough sophistication in the presentation to captivate even the musicologists in the audience.

For me, the astute use of medleys gave Pentatonix the edge over most “cover” bands. While the medleys covering Daft Punk and Beyonce were definite crowd-pleasers, what truly impressed was the Evolution Of Music medley where the band gave us a music history lesson spanning the baroque period, jazz and rock ‘n’ roll, and up to the present times. It was sheer delight to try to identify the numerous familiar tunes the group was paying tribute to.

To its credit, a couple of originals were rolled out as well, from Olusola’s cello instrumental Renegade to the perfunctory R&B number Natural Disaster and the sublime traditional Run to You, all of which indicated the range of talent on display.

Speaking of which, Kaplan did a solo rendition of The Lion Sleeps Tonight, where he managed two notes simultaneously, with the melodies outlined by whistle tones. Simply breathtaking.

Superb entertainment all round, with world-class technical ability on view — while modern pop might not be everyone’s cup of tea, there was no denying that there was something for everyone in Pentatonix’s excellent performance.