Hey there!
If you know me at all, you know that I absolutely adore Pentatonix and everything they’re doing and have been doing for the past few years. I don’t remember why, but I missed their Christmas special last year and I refused to do it again this time around!
This year’s special aired Monday, November 27th on NBC at 10/9c, and it was adorable! If you missed it, don’t worry . . . the special will re-air on Wednesday, December 6th at 8pm. Do not be like me last year and miss both airings! You can also find a link to the special on their Twitter page @PTXofficial, so there are no excuses lol.
The one-hour special featured an amazing duet with Oscar, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, BAFTA and Grammy Award winner Jennifer Hudson, an appearance by “America’s Got Talent” winner Darci Lynne Farmer and a duet (and hilarious sketch) with country music star Brett Eldredge.
As usual, the vocals were exceptional throughout the entire show.
The only part that threw me off a bit was Avi’s absence. If you were previously unaware, Avi Kaplan left the group earlier this year to pursue a solo career as Avriel & the Sequoias. Filling in on bass is Matt Sallee – who sounded incredible. While it was odd seeing Pentatonix perform without Avi, I thought Matt did a great job. He even got Avi’s stamp of approval on Twitter: “Beautiful! It is now officially Christmas. @mattsalleemusic you are killin on bass! Much love to you brother.” I’m not sure if he will be invited to permanently join the group, but it was a bit awkward at times when they would have him come out to sing bass with them and then he’d walk off stage while Kevin, Mitch, Kirstin and Scott entertained the audience. His name was also listed separately from the group during the credits. I say invite him to join! Avi approves and is doing his own thing, so why not?
Either way, I thought the show was a great little Christmas special. They didn’t sing my favorite, “That’s Christmas to Me,” or my mom’s favorite, “Hallelujah,” but I can forgive them for it because their vocals and the show’s stage design really put me in the Christmas spirit!
Here’s the video of their version of “Deck the Halls,” which was released ahead of the special:
If that didn’t satisfy your craving for great music, here’s a video of the duet with Jennifer Hudson from the special:
Be sure to check out the special, and watch for the closing of the show especially. The group sang their version of “Imagine” and it was absolutely beautiful. Let me know what you thought!
Happy Holidays, everyone!
According to Kristin 