Pentatonix - Bohemian Rapshody | First Time Reaction

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: 1.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), 2. Obviously the flashlights being used to mimic the lighting on the operatic part of the original video, 3. The four shooting stars to represent the four members of Queen, as well as acknowledge the fact that Dr. Brian May is an astrophysicist, 4. The overhead shot of them lying on the couch is to represent the Sheer Heart Attack album cover. 5. 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 Mitch's pall bearers. 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. They were indeed on an actual road and luckily, there actually is a behind the scenes for the making of this one that you can watch! The link is: https://youtu.be/Q8ugJnIG_Lk 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 YouTube, 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.

There is so many "easter eggs" within this video. Hidden things. First off: The couch. Yes, it's motorized because they needed it to travel a bit on an old, unused road. It represents both the way in which PTX had to spend at least a year after their recording contract was cancelled ( they won it competing in The Sing Off and then Sony cancelled it a few weeks later because they didn't think they could successfully promote an a capella group) recording their songs on Mitch's iPad, all sitting on a couch. It's also a nod to Wayne's World road trip when the song got plugged into the car stereo during the movie and got a whole new generation hooked on the song. The danged thing was dangerous and tippy! It tried to run over Kevin at one time. Next...the shooting stars: A nod to all four members of Queen and to Sir Brian May, lead guitar for Queen, who is also an astrophysicist with a comet named after him. Thirdly....The sprawl on the couch: A nod to the cover art of Queen's Sheer heart Attack album. Sir Brian May was quite impressed with this awesome rendition...enough to post it on his social media with the word: "Enjoy!" It took the group about 5 years to finally feel confident enough with their vocals and ideas to do an official video for it. There is a Behind The Scenes video on Youtube of how they made this. It's fun to watch.

The four shooting stars represnt the members of Queen and are nod to Queen's lead guitarist who is an astrophysicist.

The couch was a nod to there early PTX videos. Now PTX does watch reaction videos and love when you sing or dance.

I like your reactions but here's a tip. When listening to someone sing, you hear a lot more of them when you're not overriding them with your own singing.

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 YouTube; it was the only way they COULD publish their music. A lot of those early YouTube 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 Mitch's pall bearers. Many people think the megaphone is distorting Mitch's voice to make it sound more like an electric guitar, but the megaphone actually has nothing to do with it. It 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."

That is my favorite version of Bohemian Rhapsody. Recommend their cover of Mad World.

PTX DOES THE BEST UPGRADE OF THIS SONG. 😊😊😊

Thank you for another fun and great reaction, Miguel. I loved it! Favorite: Dan Vasc. 😀

Pentatonix’s cover of this song is my favorite.

WOW, Thanks for the pictures of the sky

You DO NOT make me happy but I LOVE PTX❤

Respect the artist by letting them do their thing without inserting yourself (You're not worthy! Allowable Wayne's World reference)

Thanks for the great reaction. Watch 90s Dance medley or Fact Punk for something exciting and different

you're not reacting, you're participating.

You said, "They sound so good." How would we know?...we only heard YOU! If you're gonna sing because you love it so much, just mute your mic.

It's supposed to be a reaction not a sing along. That spoiled it