The last decade has been a whirlwind for the a cappella group Pentatonix, who have come a long way since taking the crown for the third season of The Sing-Off in 2011. The show, which focuses on a cappella groups competing for the title, led the Pentatonix, now known for their unique arrangements and vocal abilities, to gain massive success, selling more than 10 million albums worldwide and winning multiple Grammy Awards.
That success has seen them tour the world multiple times, as well as a documentary about the group, an unmasking on Fox’s hit show The Masked Singer, and a star on the coveted Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Frontman Scott Hoying has also had much to celebrate recently, both marrying his partner, Mark, and releasing his first EP, Parallel as a love letter to him.
“It feels like so many new chapters are starting,” says Hoying, who sat down with PRIDE to talk about everything going on. “It’s a really big moment for me being able to release an EP because I’ve always been scared to do that, and for it to be a love letter to my husband just feels like everything lined up so perfectly.”
Writing the EP also gave Hoying some time to play around with producing music on his own terms, using his unique arranging skills to create a symphonic release that displays his vocal range. “During the pandemic, I started to learn how to use Pro Tools,” he says. “I became so obsessed with producing and having the ability and the power to have an idea for a song and have a demo hours later.”
The resulting obsession saw Hoying writing a new song every night, ultimately culminating in his seven-track release. Although he was initially worried people may compare his music and success to that of the Pentatonix, he says the success doesn’t feel as important, because “when you have that type of mindset about something, that’s when it does better because it’s coming from an authentic place.”
As to the massive success seen by the Pentatonix, Hoying is still reeling from receiving a star on the Walk of Fame. “I just saw this picture on Instagram of Mark and I guess my two now nieces and nephews like taking a picture with it and it was just making me think about how my children and children’s children will go look at that. It’s just so cool.”
Receiving a star on the Walk of Fame wasn’t the only dream to come true for Hoying this year, who reveled in being unmasked as the California Sushi Roll on The Masked Singer.
Michael Becker/FOX
“I have literally been campaigning and asking everyone that works on our team, agents, everything to be on that show for years. It was exactly what I thought it would be. I get nervous for TV stuff, that’s where my stage fright really hits, but I felt so cozy in my little sushi box. It was also fun to do a competition show again because that’s how we started and I feel like we went back to really Pentatonix as roots and it was very enlightening for us in multiple ways.”
Although sad that the two songs they’d prepared for the finale — “Out of the Woods” by Taylor Swift and “Always Remember This Way” by Lady Gaga — had to be shelved due to their elimination, Hoying says they will “definitely use more production in the future, especially after Masked Singer. I think the production plus our harmony and vocal stuff, what we do, I think together it really created that intensity. There’s a whole other world we can explore and I’m sure we will.”
The singers are also gearing up for another North American tour, which Hoying says is “very different” from other tours.
“One, the intro to the show is just this long, dramatic, Beyonce ‘I am Tour’ intro really just, like, giving you drama,” he says. “We do all the stuff people want to hear, but we also have a bit of production throughout that we did in Europe, Asia, New Zealand, and Australia. We’ve never been able to really dance on stage because with a cappella you need so much breath support. Now we have little moments where we can just like put the mic down and be free.”
Max Bronner
One special guest joining on the tour is baby Elliana, daughter of bandmate Kirstin Maldonado, who has already joined for the other international tours and whom Hoying calls a “perfect baby.”
“She’s just like always laughing and smiling and she loves everyone and she’s more cultured than me at age zero.”
Following the tour, Hoying says the band has plenty of “exciting things” planned over the next few years, though much of what they have in mind depends on the shifting schedules in everyone’s lives. That said, Hoying says he is really excited about the direction they’re taking, and that there are “a couple of particular projects that are really, really big ideas that we’ve been developing over a long time that are really starting to pick up steam that I’m excited about.”
