What is the definition of an a cappella group? It is a group or solo act that sings a song without the aid of any instruments. Multiple voices makes a combination that is a must hear.

Pentatonix, originally from Arlington, Texas, is a five-member a cappella group that consists of three singers, a beat boxer, and a bass. The members are Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, Kirstie Maldonado, Avi Kaplan, and Kevin Olusola.

The group’s main singers, Hoying, Grassi, and Maldonado, grew up together and attended the same high school. Kaplan, a friend of Hoying, has such a deep voice that he mimics the bass for each song while Olusola, discovered on YouTube, does the beat boxing.

In 2011, the group won an a cappella singing competition called The Sing Off. What set Pentatonix apart was that most other groups had more than fifteen members, while they only have five.

Since then, Pentatonix has released six studio albums including “PTX Vol.3,” released on September 22, 2014.  Their latest album includes seven tracks, varying from original songs to covers of popular songs.

Their hit “Problem” is the first track on the album.  It is a cover originally recorded by Ariana Grande featuring Iggy Azalea. In this song, Hoying is the featured main singer because of his pitch similar to Grande.

Two other great parts of the song are when Grassi raps and when Olusola and Kaplan perform the chorus. Olusola beat boxes and sings the words, “one less problem without you,” while Kaplan lays down a great bass vocal.

The group also recorded covers of Clean Bandit’s “Rather Be” and a mash-up of Naughty Boy’s “La La La” and Disclosure’s “Latch,” which the group named “La La Latch.” The songs originally featured British standout Sam Smith.

On this album, however, Pentatonix did something completely different that anything have done before, recording a song entirely in French. The song, called “Papaoutai,” was originally recorded by Stromae.

For this song, the members of the group had to learn how to speak the different vowels of the French language. Pentatonix also got a little help from violinist Lindsay Stirling, who they also recorded with previously, to create an elegant violin backtrack.

The album includes three original tracks: “On My Way Home,” “See Through,” and “Standing By.” Of the three, “On My Way Home” is the best because the chorus sounds like an African choir in the background, when really it is only the members of Pentatonix.

On each track, Pentatonix does something a little bit different. Whether it is the singer, melodies, or sounds produced by Kaplan and Olusola, Pentatonix seems to try to be unique in comparison to other artists within their genre.

“They have chemistry with their voices and they seem to work together very well,” senior Teagan Buhosky said.

This album is their third regular studio album. Pentatonix also likes to take their a cappella talents into Christmas songs, and released their holiday album, “That’s Christmas to Me,” on October 21, 2014.

I highly recommended all of the albums because they are all different from anything you would listen to on a daily basis. The judges from The Sing Off called Pentatonix “the a cappella group of the future.” And for these artists, this is just the beginning.