''PTX, Volume 1'' is the debut

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

album by the

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

group

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

. 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'' is 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 t ...

'', 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 the Belgian-Australian musician and singer Gotye featuring vocals from the New Zealander singer Kimbra. The song was released in Australia and New Zealand through El ...

" by

Gotye Wouter André De Backer (; born 21 May 1980), known professionally as Gotye ( , , ), is a Belgian-born Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for his 2011 single "Somebody That I Used to Know" (featuring Kimbr ...

featuring

Kimbra Kimbra Lee Johnson (born 27 March 1990), known Mononymous person, 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 2 ...

, "

Gangnam Style "Gangnam Style" () is a K-pop song by South Korean singer 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 "Gangnam Style" is a n ...

" by

PSY Park Jae-sang (; born December 31, 1977), better known by his stage name Psy ( ; ), is a South Korean rapper and singer-songwriter, known domestically for his humorous music videos and stage performances and internationally for his hit singl ...

, and "

We Are Young "We Are Young" is a song recorded by American pop rock 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 th ...

" by Fun, 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 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 from Arlington, Texas. Known for his high tenor voice, Grassi came to international attention as a founding performer in two groups—the a cappella quintet Pentatonix, and ...

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

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 us ...

Scott Hoying Scott 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 cappella group ...

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

lead and backing vocals *

Kirstin Maldonado Kirstin Taylor Maldonado (born May 16, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter. She is known for being a vocalist in the a cappella group Pentatonix. With the group, she has released seven studio albums, won three Grammy Awards, and sold over si ...

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 four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...

lead and backing vocals *

Avi Kaplan Avriel Benjamin Kaplan (born April 17, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for being the former vocal bass of the a cappella group Pentatonix from 2011 to 2017. As a part of the group, he released five studio albums, won three ...

- vocal bass,

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

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 and backing vocals ; Production * Ben Bram - production

References

External links

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