''PTX, Volume 1'' is the debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

album by the

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

group

Pentatonix Pentatonix (abbreviated PTX) is an American a cappella group from Arlington, Texas, currently consisting of vocalists Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, Kirstin Maldonado, Kevin Olusola, and Matt Sallee. Characterized by their pop-style arrangements ...

. It was released on June 26, 2012.

Conception and development

After winning the title of champion in the reality show ''

The Sing-Off ''The Sing-Off'' was an American television singing competition featuring a cappella groups. It debuted on NBC on December 14, 2009, and was produced by Sony Pictures Television and Outlaw Productions, with Mark Burnett's One Three Media (for a ...

'', Pentatonix was signed to a record label, enabling them to pursue their goal of a musical career. The group promoted their then-upcoming EP through YouTube videos with covers of pop songs such as "

Somebody That I Used to Know "Somebody That I Used to Know" is a song written, produced, and performed by Belgian-Australian singer-songwriter Gotye featuring vocals from New Zealand singer Kimbra. The song was released in Australia and New Zealand by Eleven Music on ...

" by

Gotye Wouter André "Wally" De Backer (born 21 May 1980), better known by his stage name Gotye ( ), is a Belgian-Australian multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. The name "Gotye" is a pronunciation respelling of "Gauthier", the French cognat ...

featuring

Kimbra Kimbra Lee Johnson (born 27 March 1990), known mononymously as Kimbra, is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. Known for mixing pop with R&B, jazz and rock musical elements, her accolades include four ARIA Music Awards, two Grammy Awards and se ...

, "

Gangnam Style "Gangnam Style" ( ko, 강남스타일, ) is a K-pop song by South Korean rapper Psy, released on July 15, 2012, by YG Entertainment as the lead single of his sixth studio album, ''Psy 6 (Six Rules), Part 1'' (''Ssai Yukgap Part 1''). The term ...

" by

PSY Park Jae-sang (, ; born December 31, 1977), known professionally as Psy (stylized in all caps as PSY) (; ; ), is a South Korean singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Psy is known domestically for his humorous videos and stage per ...

, and "

We Are Young "We Are Young" is a song recorded by American band Fun, featuring American singer Janelle Monáe. It is the third track on the group's second studio album, '' Some Nights'' (2012). The song was released on September 20, 2011 as the lead singl ...

" by

Fun Fun is defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "Light-hearted pleasure, enjoyment, or amusement; boisterous joviality or merrymaking; entertainment". Etymology and usage The word ''fun'' is associated with sports, entertaining medi ...

, which went viral.

Reception

The Gizzle Review gave the EP four stars out of five, praising the group by saying, "these new over songversions are exquisite - filled with tight harmonies, impressive riffing and plenty of vocal bells and whistles." However, they also pointed out that, "This EP doesn't have the same variety of material as the group presented on ''The Sing Off'' (admittedly consisting of themed rounds)." hoping for more variety in future albums. Alt Rock Live gave a score of 9 out of 10: "Pentatonix brings so much energy into their music along with intense talent and creativity. Their sound is a little futuristic while staying firmly rooted in modern pop rock." In 2013, the

Contemporary A Cappella Society The Contemporary A Cappella Society (of America), or CASA, is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to fostering and promoting a cappella music of all styles around the world. CASA was founded in 1991 by Deke Sharon in San Francisco just ...

awarded the album with Best Pop/Rock Album, Best Pop/Rock Song for "Starships", and Best Soul/R&B Song for "The Baddest Girl".

Commercial performance

The album peaked at number 14 in the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart and number 5 on the digital chart selling 20,000 copies in its first week of release. It also peaked at number 2 on the US ''Billboard'' Top Independent Albums chart making it Madison Gate Records' highest charting release to date.

Track listing

Charts

Personnel

; Pentatonix *

Mitch Grassi Mitchell Coby Michael Grassi (born July 24, 1992) is an American singer, musician and songwriter from Arlington, Texas. Known for his high tenor voice, Grassi came to international attention as the founder and performer of two groups—the quint ...

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

and

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

Scott Hoying Scott Richard Hoying (born September 17, 1991)Nguyen, Mindy (December 19, 2016A Pentatonix Christmas (Music Review)The Lion's Roar is an American singer, musician and songwriter who came to international attention as the baritone of the a cappell ...

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

lead and backing vocals *

Kirstin Maldonado Kirstin Taylor Maldonado (born May 16, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She is best known as the mezzo-soprano of the a cappella group Pentatonix. With the group, she has released seven studio albums, won three Grammy Awards ...

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

lead and backing vocals *

Avi Kaplan Avriel Benjamin Kaplan (born April 17, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his basso profondo range and for his tenure as the vocal bass of the a cappella group Pentatonix from 2011 to 2017. As a part of the group, he rele ...

- vocal bass, bass lead and backing vocals *

Kevin Olusola Kevin Oluwole Olusola, also known as K.O., (born October 5, 1988) is an American singer-songwriter, beatboxer, and cellist. Olusola is best known as the beatboxer of the a cappella group Pentatonix. After the group won NBC's '' The Sing-Off'' in ...

vocal percussion Vocal percussion is the art of creating sounds with one's mouth that approximate, imitate, or otherwise serve the same purpose as a percussion instrument, whether in a group of singers, an instrumental ensemble, or solo. In Western music Recent ...

and backing vocals ; Production * Ben Bram -

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

References

External links

PTX, Volume 1 at Allmusic
{{Authority control Pentatonix EPs 2012 debut EPs Covers EPs Madison Gate Records EPs