Pentatonix Bohemian Rhapsody Insights: So, some things to know about this cover and video: -It took PTX years to get the arrangement to where they felt they could do the original masterpiece justice. -The cover, and especially the video, was meant to be an homage to Queen. Some of the moments paying respect were: The mono-recording of the line "easy come, easy go" followed by the panning of the voices from left to right on the line "little high, little low" (which is how the original was recorded), obviously the flashlights being used to mimic the lighting on the operatic part of the original video, the four shooting stars to represent the four members of Queen, as well as acknowledge the fact that Dr. Brian May is an astrophysicist, and the overhead shot of them lying on the couch is to represent the Sheer Heart Attack album cover. -The megaphone was just a prop. It is not needed to reproduce the electric guitar distortion. -PTX can, and does, perform this live with no backing track...something even Queen and the Great Freddie Mercury could not do. -Freddy once said he didn't care what people did with his music as long as they "...don't make it boring, darling!", so I think he would absolutely approve. Also when Brian Mays heard it... he posted it on his web site with the word "ENJOY”. - The overall video--with the "living room" and couch--is an homage to Pentatonix's own journey as a group. They lost their record deal right after winning the Sing Off and moving to LA, so they started putting out videos on CZcams, performing covers. They would sit on the couch in Kevin (beatboxer) and Avi's (bass) living room and just record themselves on Mitch's (counter tenor who took the lead on this song) iPad. Some of their earliest videos went viral and they eventually were able to secure a new deal, record an EP, go on tour, release chart-topping albums and win three Grammy awards...so they moved out of the living room and down this new, unknown road. At the end of the day, though, they're still the same choir-nerds they've always been; just happy to sit together on a couch and sing.
The audio panning on "little high, little low" is a direct quote from Queen. If you listen to Queen's original you'll hear the same panning on the same phrase. Pentatonix loves Queen, and they love "Bohemian Rhapsody," so they always wanted to cover this song, but they feared that they couldn't do it justice, so they decided to wait until they were sure they were ready. That took them five years, but it was worth the wait - they were definitely ready. In the early days of Pentatonix, after Epic reneged on the recording contract Pentatonix had "won" on _The Sing-Off,_ Pentatonix started posting to CZcams; it was the only way they COULD publish their music. A lot of those early CZcams videos show the five of them sitting on a couch, with the trio on the back of the couch and Avi and Kevin on the seat in front of them, just five very young people singing their hearts out, making their dream come true. Note that this is the configuration we see them in at the beginning and end of "Bohemian Rhapsody," which is one reason the couch needs to move - it's taking Pentatonix (and us) on a trip down Memory Lane. The more important reason the couch moves is that it's standing in for the car in _Wayne's World,_ where Wayne and Garth introduced a whole new generation to the genius of Queen by putting a tape of "Bohemian Rhapsody" into the car's tape player. The couch was motorized, and not very well balanced. (Note that when they're sitting on it their feet don't quite reach the ground. The little curtain thing on the bottom was added to hide the motor.) It kept trying to tip over during the filming and actually managed to throw Kevin off at one point. There was a small platform attached to the back so that Kirstin could climb on the couch from behind - Scott, being a foot taller than Kirstin, didn't need it. When Mitch lies down on the couch, singing "Too late, My time has come," they're referring to Freddie Mercury's death (the foreshadowing was, of course, unintentional on Freddie's part; there's no way he could have known about AIDS, thank goodness). The other four are walking next to the couch to serve as his pall bearers. Many people think the megaphone is distorting Mitch's voice to make him sound more like an electric guitar, but it actually has nothing to do with it. The megaphone wasn't turned on, and couldn't have distorted Mitch's voice even if it had been - it was just a megaphone. The electric guitar is all Mitch. Mitch happened to see the megaphone lying around on the set and thought it would make a cool prop, so it's been confusing people ever since. During the "Bismillah" argument, note that Scott, whose range includes both bass and tenor registers, is actually singing along with both the high and low sides of the argument. Scott has said that this rapid switching is the hardest part of the song for him. When the camera pans up to show us the starry night sky during Mitch's second guitar solo, it's meant as a tribute to Queen's lead guitarist, Brian May, who has a doctorate in astrophysics. The four shooting stars honor the four members of Queen. When the camera pans back down to show Pentatonix lying on the couch together it's meant to recall the cover art for Queen's "Sheer Heart Attack" album. And when this official video was first released, Brian May posted a link to it on all his social media accounts with the comment: "Enjoy."
Thanks for this!! Oh...and Mitch doesn't need the megaphone at all. It was just a prop. He does that part at concerts without it and it sounds just the same. PTX is just so awesome at what they do. There's a huge catalogue of their stuff waiting to be reacted to yet: Mad World, Come Along, Coffee In Bed ( original), Sing (original), Daft Punk medley, 90's Dance medley, Be My Eyes (original).
Like you, I love Pentatonix and have enjoyed their music for years. This is one I had never heard and am grateful that you shared. If you like them, you might like Home Free as well. They’re an American group that operates similarly.
From your ending comments, it doesn't sound like you're familiar with the original Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. This isn't a medley, as you mentioned - it's the original single song in all it's glory. And it matches the definition of a "rhapsody" very well - A rhapsody in music is a one-movement work that is episodic yet integrated, free-flowing in structure, featuring a range of highly contrasted moods, colour, and tonality.
Daft Punk When you do "Daft Punk" set yourself up for a double. czcams.com/video/3MteSlpxCpo/video.html&pp=ygUUZGFmdCBwdW5rIHBlbnRhdG9uaXg%3D You will think that there is post production skipping, so to disprove that you need to catch the "Private Performance" czcams.com/video/tw4YCsHXKgI/video.html&pp=ygUUZGFmdCBwdW5rIHBlbnRhdG9uaXg%3D where they stand at the front of a back-stage room and sing with no mic's and captured on a fan mobile device so the sound is not 100% hence catch the official FIRST.
Hey my friend there is a song and video you must see do you remember how Dan Vascs Amazing Grace made you feel witch was wonderful now it’s time to take this a step further trust me it’s is W.A.S.P the song is called Golgotha it is where Jesus was crucified I would encourage you to witness this I’ll be waiting thank you
THIS IS WHY PTX IS THE NUMBER ONE ACAPELLA GROUP IN THE WORLD 🌎
🎵🎙🎶
Pentatonix Bohemian Rhapsody Insights:
So, some things to know about this cover and video: -It took PTX years to get the arrangement to where they felt they could do the original masterpiece justice. -The cover, and especially the video, was meant to be an homage to Queen. Some of the moments paying respect were: The mono-recording of the line "easy come, easy go" followed by the panning of the voices from left to right on the line "little high, little low" (which is how the original was recorded), obviously the flashlights being used to mimic the lighting on the operatic part of the original video, the four shooting stars to represent the four members of Queen, as well as acknowledge the fact that Dr. Brian May is an astrophysicist, and the overhead shot of them lying on the couch is to represent the Sheer Heart Attack album cover. -The megaphone was just a prop. It is not needed to reproduce the electric guitar distortion. -PTX can, and does, perform this live with no backing track...something even Queen and the Great Freddie Mercury could not do. -Freddy once said he didn't care what people did with his music as long as they "...don't make it boring, darling!", so I think he would absolutely approve. Also when Brian Mays heard it... he posted it on his web site with the word "ENJOY”. -
The overall video--with the "living room" and couch--is an homage to Pentatonix's own journey as a group. They lost their record deal right after winning the Sing Off and moving to LA, so they started putting out videos on CZcams, performing covers. They would sit on the couch in Kevin (beatboxer) and Avi's (bass) living room and just record themselves on Mitch's (counter tenor who took the lead on this song) iPad. Some of their earliest videos went viral and they eventually were able to secure a new deal, record an EP, go on tour, release chart-topping albums and win three Grammy awards...so they moved out of the living room and down this new, unknown road. At the end of the day, though, they're still the same choir-nerds they've always been; just happy to sit together on a couch and sing.
The audio panning on "little high, little low" is a direct quote from Queen. If you listen to Queen's original you'll hear the same panning on the same phrase.
Pentatonix loves Queen, and they love "Bohemian Rhapsody," so they always wanted to cover this song, but they feared that they couldn't do it justice, so they decided to wait until they were sure they were ready. That took them five years, but it was worth the wait - they were definitely ready.
In the early days of Pentatonix, after Epic reneged on the recording contract Pentatonix had "won" on _The Sing-Off,_ Pentatonix started posting to CZcams; it was the only way they COULD publish their music. A lot of those early CZcams videos show the five of them sitting on a couch, with the trio on the back of the couch and Avi and Kevin on the seat in front of them, just five very young people singing their hearts out, making their dream come true. Note that this is the configuration we see them in at the beginning and end of "Bohemian Rhapsody," which is one reason the couch needs to move - it's taking Pentatonix (and us) on a trip down Memory Lane.
The more important reason the couch moves is that it's standing in for the car in _Wayne's World,_ where Wayne and Garth introduced a whole new generation to the genius of Queen by putting a tape of "Bohemian Rhapsody" into the car's tape player.
The couch was motorized, and not very well balanced. (Note that when they're sitting on it their feet don't quite reach the ground. The little curtain thing on the bottom was added to hide the motor.) It kept trying to tip over during the filming and actually managed to throw Kevin off at one point. There was a small platform attached to the back so that Kirstin could climb on the couch from behind - Scott, being a foot taller than Kirstin, didn't need it.
When Mitch lies down on the couch, singing "Too late, My time has come," they're referring to Freddie Mercury's death (the foreshadowing was, of course, unintentional on Freddie's part; there's no way he could have known about AIDS, thank goodness). The other four are walking next to the couch to serve as his pall bearers.
Many people think the megaphone is distorting Mitch's voice to make him sound more like an electric guitar, but it actually has nothing to do with it. The megaphone wasn't turned on, and couldn't have distorted Mitch's voice even if it had been - it was just a megaphone. The electric guitar is all Mitch. Mitch happened to see the megaphone lying around on the set and thought it would make a cool prop, so it's been confusing people ever since.
During the "Bismillah" argument, note that Scott, whose range includes both bass and tenor registers, is actually singing along with both the high and low sides of the argument. Scott has said that this rapid switching is the hardest part of the song for him.
When the camera pans up to show us the starry night sky during Mitch's second guitar solo, it's meant as a tribute to Queen's lead guitarist, Brian May, who has a doctorate in astrophysics.
The four shooting stars honor the four members of Queen.
When the camera pans back down to show Pentatonix lying on the couch together it's meant to recall the cover art for Queen's "Sheer Heart Attack" album.
And when this official video was first released, Brian May posted a link to it on all his social media accounts with the comment: "Enjoy."
Great reaction. Thank you. They are amazing.
Thank you so much. We Pentaholics love reactions. Greetings from South Africa
Loved the reaction!! They are the best at what they do, time after time. Just one song though with so many parts. Queen rolled this out.
Thanks for this!! Oh...and Mitch doesn't need the megaphone at all. It was just a prop. He does that part at concerts without it and it sounds just the same.
PTX is just so awesome at what they do. There's a huge catalogue of their stuff waiting to be reacted to yet:
Mad World, Come Along, Coffee In Bed ( original), Sing (original), Daft Punk medley, 90's Dance medley, Be My Eyes (original).
Like you, I love Pentatonix and have enjoyed their music for years. This is one I had never heard and am grateful that you shared. If you like them, you might like Home Free as well. They’re an American group that operates similarly.
Home Free is country music, while PTX are pop genre based. I prefer pop.
They definitely paid homage to Queen!
Recommend their live video of Kiss From A Rose.
From your ending comments, it doesn't sound like you're familiar with the original Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. This isn't a medley, as you mentioned - it's the original single song in all it's glory. And it matches the definition of a "rhapsody" very well - A rhapsody in music is a one-movement work that is episodic yet integrated, free-flowing in structure, featuring a range of highly contrasted moods, colour, and tonality.
Love your reaction pkease watch them with Todrik Hall doing the Wizard og Ahhs ! Thats a m9vie and Amazing
Daft Punk
When you do "Daft Punk" set yourself up for a double. czcams.com/video/3MteSlpxCpo/video.html&pp=ygUUZGFmdCBwdW5rIHBlbnRhdG9uaXg%3D You will think that there is post production skipping, so to disprove that you need to catch the "Private Performance" czcams.com/video/tw4YCsHXKgI/video.html&pp=ygUUZGFmdCBwdW5rIHBlbnRhdG9uaXg%3D where they stand at the front of a back-stage room and sing with no mic's and captured on a fan mobile device so the sound is not 100% hence catch the official FIRST.
Actually..a better live performance is from the 2022 Hollywood Bowl concert. PTXLive has it on their channel.
@@GwenneddThat is as maybe, but there is NO HIDING from a "Private Performance" with no mics!!
Hey my friend there is a song and video you must see do you remember how Dan Vascs Amazing Grace made you feel witch was wonderful now it’s time to take this a step further trust me it’s is W.A.S.P the song is called Golgotha it is where Jesus was crucified I would encourage you to witness this I’ll be waiting thank you