Pentatonix are really into the holidays, so much so that the a cappella quintet has devoted several entire albums to this most wonderful time of the year. We can see why — their multi-layered versions of favorite holiday songs are chill-inducing. And, it seems the internet would agree: Pentatonix has over 12 million YouTube subscribers, one of the most viewed videos being a rendition of “Little Drummer Boy.”
On December 14, Pentatonix paid a visit to meatpacking district’s Samsung 837 to host a holiday event with high-tech twists.
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Event-goers experienced Lego versions of the Pentatonix via VR.
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GUESTS LINED UP OUTSIDE SAMSUNG 837 JUST BEFORE THE EVENT.
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GUESTS WERE TREATED TO PASSED APPETIZERS — THE MINI CHICKEN POT PIES WERE DIVINE.
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EXCITED EVENT-GOERS TOOK SELFIES BEFORE THE Q&A.
To kick off the night, guests enjoyed small bites as they filtered through the “tech playground’s” holiday-themed activations. Perhaps most notably, event-goers could don Samsung Gear VR headsets to experience the group’s new collaboration with Lego, a video for Christmas classic “Up on the Housetop.” In the VR experience, the viewer tags along with Lego minifigure versions of Pentatonix while traveling though a winter wonderland (on a Lego sleigh, naturally).
Guests of the adventurous sort could also partake in a VR “sleigh ride” experience — sit in an actual sleigh and put on the Gear VR headset to journey right alongside Santa.
Next, the audience took their seats to participate in a live Q&A session with Pentatonix, covering everything from favorite Christmas movies to their most challenging songs to perform. Then, everyone settled in for a viewing party of NBC’s A Pentatonix Christmas Special. On Samsung 837’s mega-screen of 96 55-inch visual displays, they watched Pentatonix perform holiday classics, with special guests like Dolly Parton and Kelly Clarkson to boot. All in all, the evening was one seriously high-tech holiday party.
We briefly caught up with Pentatonix to chat about filming the special, their holiday plans, and the Lego collaboration:
Tell us about a particularly memorable moment while taping A Pentatonix Christmas Special.
Scott: When we were at Kelly Clarkson’s house, she was being so funny! We were catching up and reminiscing about our tour with her, and crying-laughing.
What would you say was your favorite song you performed for the special?
Mitch: My favorite song on the special is “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.” The dancers are incredible and so mesmerizing to watch.
The holidays are obviously an important time of year for Pentatonix. How will you be celebrating the holidays this year?
Kirstin: I’ll be celebrating at home with my family — this is the one time of year we get to step away and spend with our loved ones, so we love it. I’ll just be relaxing and eating.
Tell us about the collaboration with Lego for “Up on the Housetop.” What was it like seeing a Lego version of yourself in VR?
Kevin: It was fun! They were an amazing partner and we were honored that they wanted to create the video for the song. When I put the goggles on and saw the video in VR, I felt like I was on cloud nine.
Photography by Liz Clayman.
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