PENTATONIX COMING TO PPL CENTER
A cappella hitmaker will headline show with Rachel Platten on June 4
Three-time Grammy Awardwinning a cappella singing sensation Pentatonix announced upcoming concert in Allentown.
Three-time Grammy Awardwinning a cappella singing sensation Pentatonix will perform at Allentown’s PPL Center, it was announced Thursday.
The five-member group, whose self-titled album in 2015 and the followup “A Pentatonix Christmas” in 2016 both hit No. 1, will perform at 7 p.m. June 4.
It will be the first time an a cappella group has played the arena. Opening the show will be Rachel Platten, best known for her triple-platinum, No. 1 hit “Fight Song.”
Tickets, at $29.50-$129.50, go on sale at noon Feb. 14 at the arena box office at 701 Hamilton St., Allentown, at www.PPLCenter.com and at 610-347TIXX.
Since winning the third season of the NBC singing competition “The Sing-Off” in 2011, Pentatonix has sold more than 6 million albums in the U.S. alone and had five gold or platinum singles.
Its YouTube channel has 16.5 million subscribers, and the group has generated more than 2 billion video views.
Its most recent disc, “Christmas is Here,” released in October, became its fifth in a row to hit Top 10 on Billboard’s overall albums chart.
Its previous Christmas album, 2016’s “A Pentatonix Christmas,” hit No. 1 and sold platinum, with a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” reaching No. 2 on the iTunes singles chart and getting 20 million video views in its first week.
The Arlington, Texas, group formed in 2011 and that year won “The Sing-Off.” With its first three EPs and two albums, it achieved gold records with covers of Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive” featuring Lindsey Stirling and “Daft Punk,” its tribute to the French electronic music duo, which has almost 400 million views on YouTube.
“Daft Punk” also won the group its first Grammy Award in 2015, for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella.
But Pentatonix really had its breakthrough with its 2014 album “That’s Christmas to Me,” which went to No. 2 on Billboard’s Albums chart and sold double-platinum, and it won the group its second Grammy for “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.”
Its next album, 2015’s selftitled disc, went to No. 1 and sold gold.
In 2015, the group appeared in the movie “Pitch Perfect 2,” and in 2016 starred in its own NBC Christmas special, “A Pentatonix Christmas Special.”
In all, the group has released seven albums and five EPs.
The PPL Center show is part of a 45-date Pentatonix world tour that starts in Oakland, Calif., on May 11.
The group played a sold-out show to an audience of 10,500 at Allentown Fair grandstand in 2017.
Platten’s “Fight Song” hit No. 1 on the Adult chart in 2015. She has another No. 1 that year with “Stand By You.” Her album “Wildfire” went gold and hit the Top 5.
In 2016, she won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Musical Performance in a Talk Show/Morning Program for her appearance on “Good Morning America.”
Platten’s last charting single was “Broken Glass” in 2017.
She performed with Christina Perri at Sands Bethlehem Event Center in 2015.
PPL Center now has announced five concerts for 2019 — the first is James Taylor with Bonnie Raitt on March 1. Also scheduled are Kelly Clarkson on March 9, MercyMe on May 10; and Chris Stapleton with Margo Price on July 9.