''Pentatonix'' is the fourth studio album by American

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 ...

, which was released on October 16, 2015. The release date was announced on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

by a series of pictures featuring the five band members released over a five-day-span, with one band member added to the picture each day, culminating in the date being revealed on August 28. It is the group's seventh release overall in their discography. This is the first release of the band to feature predominantly original material (the only covers being the cover of

Shai Shai (also spelt Sai, occasionally Shay, and in Greek, Psais) was the deification of the concept of fate in Egyptian mythology. As a concept, with no particular reason for associating one gender over another, Shai was sometimes considered femal ...

's " If I Ever Fall in Love" and the bonus tracks on the deluxe version of the album). ''Pentatonix'' also marks the first time band members receive individual songwriting credits for the majority of the tracks. ''Pentatonix'' debuted atop the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart with 98,000

album-equivalent unit The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, is a measurement unit in music industry to define the consumption of music that equals the purchase of one album copy. This consumption includes streaming and song downloads in addition to traditi ...

s, with the album being their first No. 1 album on the chart.

Critical reception

The album received mostly positive reviews from critics. Matt Collar of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote, "Ultimately, by moving away from cover tunes, Pentatonix have helped push the a cappella style even further into the pop spotlight. That the only instruments they've used to do it are their voices makes their achievement all the more impressive." In an online review, Brittany Spanos of

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

gave the album a 2.5 out of 5 star review, criticizing the lyrics and saying that the album "lacks any oomph to go with their well-honed chops."

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 8 in New Zealand and number 1 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. In the US, the album started with 98,000

s (88,000 in pure album sales).

Track listing

Personnel

; Pentatonix *

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 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 ...

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 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 relea ...

– 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 ...

beatboxing 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.

, backing vocals,

rapping Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

; Additional personnel * Pentatonix, Thaddus "Kuk" Harrell, Martin Johnson, Ed Boyer, Drew Pearson, 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 ...

Jason Derulo Jason Joel Desrouleaux (born September 21, 1989), known professionally as Jason Derulo (; formerly stylized as Derülo), is an American singer and songwriter.

– vocals on "If I Ever Fall in Love" * Tink – vocals on "Can't Sleep Love" * Members of A Cappella Academy Retreat as background vocals on "Misbehavin'", "New Year's Day", and "To the River" * Members of recording studio as background vocals on "Lean On"

Critical reception

Commercial performance

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References