Kirstin Maldonado & Pentatonix to Star in Disney+’s Holiday Special “Pentatonix: Around the World for the Holidays”

Posted on September 12, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstin Maldonado has special plans this holiday season…

The 30-year-old half-Mexican, part-Spanish American singer and her Pentatonix group mates will star in a new unscripted holiday special for Disney+.

Pentatonix: Around the World for the Holidays follows the a cappella group, which is struggling to find inspiration for their annual holiday album, and the clock is ticking. To make matters worse, their well-intentioned but misguided manager mistakenly locks them in a magic mailroom.

It is produced by Done+Dusted and executive-produced by Ashley Edens, David Jammy and Katy Mullan.

Pentatonix was formed in 2011 and subsequently won the third season of NBC‘s The Sing-Off, receiving $200,000 and a recording contract.

Pentatonix have won three Grammy Awards: they were the first a cappella act to win Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella, doing so in 2015 and 2016 and Best Country Duo/Group Performance in 2017.

Sheila E to Receive Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023

Posted on June 17, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Sheila E’s star is shining brighter than ever…

The 64-year-old half-Mexican American percussionist and singer will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023.

Sheila E began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist and singer for The George Duke Band. After leaving the group in 1983, she began a successful solo career, starting with her critically acclaimed debut album, which included the career-defining song, “The Glamorous Life“.

Commonly referred to as The Queen of Percussion, she became a mainstream solo star in 1985 following the success of the singles “The Belle of St. Mark“, “Sister Fate“, and “A Love Bizarre” with the last becoming one of her signature songs. She is.

Prince joined forces during the Purple Rain recording sessions. She provided vocals on the B-side to “Let’s Go Crazy“, “Erotic City” in 1984. Though taken under Prince’s wing, she proved to be a successful artist in her own right.

But Sheila E isn’t the only Latinx artist getting their star…

Marc Anthony, the late Jenni Rivera, Kirstin Maldonado and her fellow Pentatonix members.

The honorees are chosen by the Walk of Fame selection panel of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Ellen K, chair of the selection panel and a top radio personality, announced the new honorees on www.walkoffame.com.

Kirstin Maldonado & Her Pentatonix Group Mates to Perform at iHeartRadio Holiday Special

Posted on November 6, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstin Maldonado is helping people get into the holiday spirit…

The 29-year-old half-Mexican, part-Spanish American singer and her Pentatonix group mates will perform Christmas classics at the second annual iHeartRadio Holiday Special later this month.

Pentatonix is part of a lineup that includes Kelly Clarkson, Michael Bublé and Train.

Hosted by Mario Lopez, the virtual concert will take place on November 24 at 7:00 pm ET.

It will be broadcast across iHeart AC, Hot AC and Classic Hits stations and on the iHeartRadio app, with a video stream on the company’s YouTube and Facebook pages. Fans can also watch the concert in VR through the Horizon Venues app on Meta Quest.

The concert will mark the annual switch to exclusively holiday music through Christmas Day on more than 80 stations in key markets nationwide.

According to iHeartMedia, that switch sometimes doubles the audience size for a station from typical non-holiday programming.

“Our listeners always anxiously await the day our stations flip to Christmas music,” said Tom Poleman, chief programming officer for iHeartMedia. “Kelly Clarkson, Michael Bublé, Train and Pentatonix have some of the best songs of the holiday season, and we’re excited to have them perform on our show.”

Pentatonix dropped their sixth holiday-themed project Evergreen, which features collabs with Alessia Cara and Lindsey Stirling, on October 29; the a cappella group also kicks off a Christmas tour on November 27 in Baltimore.

In addition to local stations, listeners can head to the iHeartRadio Holiday page to see all the dedicated Christmas stations across the iHeartRadio app and beyond.

Kirstin Maldonado & Her Pentatonix Mates to Perform on ABC’s “The Queen Family Singalong”

Posted on October 16, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstin Maldonado is bringing some Love to ABC…

The 29-year-old half-Mexican, part-Spanish American singer and her Pentatonix group mates will take part in the fourth installment of the network’s successful Singalong franchise with The Queen Family Singalong.

Hosted by Darren Criss, the special one-hour, one-night-only event will air at 8:00 pm on Thursday, November 4.

The special will feature an hour of killer Queen hits, performed by musical artists including Pentatonix performing “Somebody to Love.”

Other performers include Adam Lambert (“The Show Must Go On”), Derek Hough and Alexander Jean (“Another One Bites the Dust”), Fall Out Boy (“Under Pressure”), Jimmie Allen with Miss Piggy (“Crazy Little Thing Called Love”), JoJo Siwa and Orianthi (“We Will Rock You”) and OneRepublic (“We Are the Champions”).

Additional performances will be announced at a later date.

In a celebration of Broadway’s reopening, Disney Theatrical Production’s Broadway cast members from The Lion King and Aladdin will come together to perform a showstopping version of “Don’t Stop Me Now.” Performers include Milo Alosi, Tia Altinay, Lissa DeGuzman, Bonita Hamilton, Mduduzi Madela, Brandon McCall, Michael James Scott and Adrienne Walker.

The Disney Family Singalong premiered in April 2020 as TV’s highest-rated show among Adults 18-49 on any network on any night since ABC’s 2020 broadcast of The Oscars. The three editions of The Disney Family Singalong drew in a combined 29.9 million Total Viewers after 35 days of delayed viewing on linear and digital platforms.

The Queen Family Singalong is produced by Done+Dusted.

Kirstin Maldonado & Her Pentatonix Group Mates Taking on Wilson Phillips on This Week’s “Celebrity Family Feud”

Posted on September 18, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstin Maldonado is feudin’ for a cause…

The 29-year-old half-Mexican, part-Spanish American singer and her Pentatonix group mates are facing off against Wilson Phillips on Sunday night’s new episode of Celebrity Family Feud.

In a clip from the upcoming episode of the primetime ABC game show, premiering exclusively on Billboard, host Steve Harvey introduces the Grammy-winning a cappella group.

“Y’all can sing,” Harvey tells the quintet.

Harvey introduces each individual member — Scott Hoying, Maldonado, Matt Sallee, Mitch Grassi and Kevin Olusola — and pays special attention to the “smooth” pronunciation of beatboxer Olusola’s last name.

Pentatonix recently released a deluxe edition of their latest album The Lucky Ones on September 10, via RCA Records, following up the album’s initial February 12 release with seven additional songs.

One of those new tracks is “Midnight in Tokyo,” for which PTX joined forces with all-female Japanese vocal group Little Glee Monster and released a music video along with the deluxe edition.

Tune in to Celebrity Family Feud at 8:00 pm ET on Sunday night on ABC to see Pentatonix take on Wilson Phillips for harmonic supremacy.

Kirstin Maldonado & Her Pentatonix Mates Release Mash-Up of BTS’ “Dynamite” & “Butter”

Posted on August 21, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstin Maldonado is K-poppin’ it like it’s hot…

The 29-year-old half-Mexican, part-Spanish American singer and her Pentatonix group mates have released a mash-up of two Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits from BTS.

Cutting into the group’s rendition of Jung Kook‘s hook on “Dynamite,” Scott Hoying slides in like a “criminal undercover” with the first verse of “Butter.”

Pentatonix’s colorful jackets and suspended newspaper props had a more serious air once the video turned black-and-white, like the official “Butter” music video. But don’t get it twisted: Hoying led the group into a groove that was anything but serious.

Eventually Matt Sallee and Mitch Grassi took the lead when the two got back into Pentatonix’s technicolor “Dynamite” performance before switching back to black-and-white with the group’s airy “Dyn-na-na-na, na-na, na-na, ayy” harmonies smoothly flowing into “Get it, let it roll!”

In late July, Pentatonix asked their Twitter fans in a poll which BTS song they should cover between “Butter” and “Dynamite,” and even though the former single took the lead, the quintet decided why not just go for both?

CNCO to Perform on NBC’s New Year’s Eve 2021 Special

Posted on December 21, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

CNCO has major plans for the New Year…

The Latin boy band will be ringing in the new year with a performance on NBC’s New Year’s Eve 2021 program.

CNCO joins a roster of new additions to the lineup that includes Gwen Stefani, Blake Shelton, Chloe x Halle, Jason Derulo, Kirstin Maldonado and her Pentatonix group mates.

Carson Daly will host NBC’s New Year’s Eve special live from Times Square in NYC. Amber Ruffin, the star of Peacock’s The Amber Ruffin Show and writer for Late Night With Seth Meyers, and Stephen “tWitch” Boss, DJ and co-executive producer for The Ellen DeGeneres Show, will join him as co-hosts.

The star-studded lineup also includes AJR, Goo Goo Dolls, Kylie Minogue, Busta Rhymes with Anderson .Paak, Bebe Rexha with Doja Cat, and Sting with Shirazee.

NBC’s New Year’s Eve 2021 will air on Thursday, December 31, at 10:00-11:00 pm and 11:30 pm-12:30 am. ET on NBC.

Kirstin Maldonado & Her Pentatonix Group Mates Release Genre-Bending “12 Days of Christmas”

Posted on December 1, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstin Maldonado is counting down to Christmas in an entertaining way…

The 28-year-old Mexican & Spanish American singer and her Pentatonix group mates are ringing in the annual countdown to the season but with a sonic twist in their new “12 Days of Christmas” music video.

Starting midway on the sixth day of Christmas, the five golden singers in the Grammy-winning a cappella group – Maldonado, Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, Kevin Olusola and Matt Sallee – deliver their verses with a wide range of genres, including hip-hop, electro-pop, island folk and more, predominantly backed by Olusola’s beatboxing.

“The PTX holiday cheer continues as we countdown to Christmas with our version of ’12 Days of Christmas,'” Pentatonix wrote on their social media. “We had fun putting our touch on this iconic Christmas song!”

Their funky-yet-festive rendition of “12 Days of Christmas” is the first song on their sixth holiday set We Need a Little Christmas, which peaked at No. 4 on Billboard‘s Top Holiday Albums chart, dated November 28.

The five-piece group also released holiday visuals for “Thank You” and “Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)” off the Christmas album.

Kirstin Maldonado & Her Pentatonix Group Mates Release New Single “Thank You”

Posted on November 26, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstin Maldonado is singing a little appreciation…

The 28-year-old Mexican & Spanish American singer and her Pentatonix group mates have released the single “Thank You,” as their way of show what they’re grateful of despite 2020 being unlike any other year.

In their heartfelt new video for their holiday song, “Thank You,” Maldonado and the rest of the five-piece a capella group are seen building snowmen, having a snowball fight, enjoying a family dinner and chatting with loved ones safely and virtually.

“Thank you for your smile / It’s warmer than the fire / Your gentle laughter / Is sweeter than a choir,” the group sings in the chorus.

“Thank You” is featured on Pentatonix’s festive album, We Need A Little Christmas, which dropped earlier this month.

The group performed at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday (Nov. 27), and will join NBC‘s Christmas in Rockefeller Center next Wednesday, December 2.

Kirstin Maldonado & Her Pentatonix Mates Release Inspirational “Amazing Grace” Cover

Posted on November 7, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstin Maldonado is bringin’ a little grace to the holiday season…

The 28-year-old Mexican & Spanish American singer and her Pentatonix group mates have surprised the world with the release of the music video for their new cover of “Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone).”

In the Jimmy Bates-directed clip, Maldonado and her Pentatonix mates infuse the enduring gospel classic with their trademark a capella harmonies while wandering through a stunning outdoor church in the misty woods.

“My chains are gone/ I’ve been set free/ My God, my savior has ransomed me/ And like a flood/ His mercy reigns/ Unending love/ Amazing grace,” Mitch Grassi belts, while his bandmates provide crashing percussion and background vocals. Maldonado then takes over lead vocals on the next pitch-perfect stanza.

The track will serve as the lead single for the band’s upcoming sixth holiday album, We Need a Little Christmas, which is slated to drop November 13 via RCA Records.

While Pentatonix has yet to reveal the studio set’s complete track list, it will follow The Best of Pentatonix Christmas, their 2019 holiday compilation which featured collaborations with Tori Kelly (“Winter Wonderland/Don’t Worry, Be Happy“), Kelly Clarkson (“Grown Up Christmas List“), Maren Morris (“When You Believe”) and Jennifer Hudson (“How Great Thou Art“), as well as a posthumous duet with the late Whitney Houston on “Do You Hear What I Hear?”

Previously, the Christmas-loving a capella group has also released 2012’s PTXmas, 2014’s That’s Christmas to Me, 2016’s A Pentatonix Christmas and 2018’s Christmas Is Here!

Their next non-holiday full-length, titled The Lucky Ones, is currently expected to hit shelves, digital retailers and streaming services on February 12, 2021.

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