"a capella" is a song and music video by the Norwegian duo

Ylvis Ylvis () are a Norwegian comedy duo consisting of brothers Vegard and Bård Ylvisåker. They debuted as professional variety artists in 2000 and have since appeared in several countries in variety shows, comedy concerts, television shows, radio ...

. It parodies a cappella groups like Pentatonix. Ylvis revealed "a capella" on ''

I kveld med YLVIS ''I kveld med YLVIS'' ("Tonight with Ylvis") is a Norwegian talk show hosted by Bård and Vegard Ylvisåker, with Calle Hellevang-Larsen as a permanent sidekick. During season 2 Calle was replaced by David Batra due to obligations he had made w ...

'' on

TVNorge TVNorge (literally "TVNorway"; originally abbreviated TVN, now just abbreviated N in the logos) is a Norwegian television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA. History TVNorge went on the air on 5 December 1988 and was the first adver ...

on January 5, 2016. Three days after the song's release, it had 250,000 views.

Music video

Ylvis revealed the music video and song "a capella" on ''

'' on

on January 5, 2016. It parodies a cappella groups like Pentatonix. In the music video, a small boy is bullied.

brothers Vegard and Bård Ylvisåker head an a cappella group that attempts to save and galvanize the bullied child through their singing and joyful

facial expression A facial expression is one or more motions or positions of the muscles beneath the skin of the face. According to one set of controversial theories, these movements convey the emotional state of an individual to observers. Facial expressions are ...

s. They are able to defeat the bullies because they have the "scary" talent of being capable of "sing nga song in any musical style". Caricaturing rousing a cappella songs, the song exploits frequent a cappella customs such as fake words, grinning "like you know Jesus personally", and a male

beatboxer Beatboxing (also beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (typically a TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.

. The song includes rock and rap, and a cappella members make

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

and drum sounds. One of Ylvis' fictional words is "Boodelooap", a fictional Nigerian soft drink. Boodelooap is cherry-red and stored in a long tall bottle.

Critical reception

L.V. Anderson of '' Slate'' wrote that the song was "a pitch-perfect spoof of self-serious a cappella groups like Pentatonix". Anderson noted that "purists" could argue that the song is not "strictly" a cappella because it likely has had

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

components added after production though "that's not really the point". ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

''s Dylan Kickham said the song was "fairly timely" because a cappella is "still very much in the public eye". Kickham cited three examples of a cappella's high visibility: Pentatonix is drawing large crowds, '' Pitch Slapped'' opened on TV network Lifetime, and the ''

Pitch Perfect ''Pitch Perfect'' is a 2012 American musical comedy film directed by Jason Moore and written by Kay Cannon. It features an ensemble cast, including Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Skylar Astin, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Hana Mae Lee, Alexis ...

'' franchise is making ''Pitch Perfect 3''. ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

''s Olivia B. Waxman said the song was "aca-awesome". Hoai-Tran Bu wrote in ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

'' that the song was "a spot-on parody of a cappella groups that is both amazing and odd". She praised their performance for "delv nginto just what makes a cappella cool", citing the combating of bullying, the singing like they personally know Jesus, and props like leather straps and matching woolen hats. Jojo Girard of

WFGR WFGR (98.7 FM) is an American radio station serving Grand Rapids, Michigan. It transmits from their facility in Alpine Township. WFGR is owned by Townsquare Media. The WFGR signal can be heard as far north as Stanwood, Michigan, far east as ...

called the song a "a weird tribute to a capella groups" that was "wonderful".

KBMX KBMX (107.7 FM, MIX 108) is a top 40 radio station serving Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin. It is owned by Townsquare Media. The studios and offices are with its three other sister stations at 14 E. Central Entrance, on the west side ...

's Tony Hart said the music video was "a funny look" at a cappella groups, noting " is parody is perfect, right down to the reference to the leather straps these groups always seem to wear, and what's with all the smiling?" KSL's John Clyde praised the song for being "pretty darn catchy and incredibly clever".

References

External links

* {{authority control 2016 songs A cappella Musical parodies Ylvis songs