Kirstin Maldonado & Pentatonix Group Mates Announce “Best of” Christmas Album & Tour

Kirstin Maldonado is preparing for the greatest Christmas…

The 27-year-old half-Mexican and part-Spanish American singer and her Pentatonix group mates have announced their latest holiday-themed greatest hits album, The Best of Pentatonix Christmas, due October 25 via RCA Records

Pentatonix

The festive record will feature four new songs in addition to the Grammy-winning a cappella group’s best-selling tracks from its last four holiday albums.

Pentatonix renditions of yuletide carols have been celebrated on the Hot 100 over the last few years: “Little Drummer Boy” played on at No. 13 in 2013, their Christmas version of Leonard Cohen‘s “Hallelujah” held down the fort at No. 23 in 2017, and “Mary, Did You Know?” delivered at No. 26 in 2014. The latter two hits were certified platinum.

Additionallu, the quintet will also embark on A Pentatonix Christmas Tour, presented by SiriusXM. Pentatonix will kick off the tour with two shows at New York’s Hulu Theater at Madison Square Gardenon November 30 and December 1 before heading to 14 other stops around the country.

Tickets go on sale Sept. 20 at 10:00 a.m. local time here.

Pentatonix – A Pentatonix Christmas Tour 2019
Nov. 30 — New York, NY @ HULU Theater at Madison Square Garden
Dec. 1 — New York, NY @ HULU Theater at Madison Square Garden
Dec. 5 — Fairfax, VA @ EagleBank Arena
Dec. 7 — Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
Dec. 8 — Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
Dec. 10 — Boston, MA @ Agganis Arena
Dec. 11 — Boston, MA @ Agganis Arena
Dec. 12 — Hershey, PA @ GIANT Center*
Dec. 14 — Verona, NY @ Turning Stone Resort Casino
Dec. 15 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Met Philadelphia
Dec. 16 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Met Philadelphia
Dec. 18 — Rosemont, IL @ Rosemont Theatre
Dec. 19 — Rosemont, IL @ Rosemont Theatre
Dec. 21 — Sugar Land, TX @ Smart Financial Centre
Dec. 22 — Grand Prairie, TX @ The Theatre at Grand Prairie
Dec. 23 — Grand Prairie, TX @ The Theatre at Grand Prairie
 
*Tickets go on sale at 12pm local time.

Lido Pimienta’s “La Papessa” Wins Polaris Music Prize’s Canadian Album of the Year Title

Lido Pimienta has a massive reason to celebrate…

The Colombian Canadian musician’s La Papessa has been declared Canadian album of the year by the Polaris Music Prize grand jury.

Lido Pimienta

The award comes with a check for C$50,000 ($41,000) and was presented by last year’s winner, Kaytranada.

As the 11-member grand jury — selected from the larger jury pool of music media — debated about and voted on the 10-title shortlist behind closed doors at the venue, those artists were honored onstage with a thoughtful essay about their work and a custom-designed poster.

Some of the nominees also performed: Pimienta, Feist, Tanya Tagaq, Lisa LeBlanc, Leif Vollebekk and Weaves.

The audience of 900 was mostly comprised of industry, artists, sponsors and jurors with a small quantity of tickets sold to the public.

Lido Pimienta

The other nine albums on the 2017 short list were A Tribe Called Red‘s We Are The Halluci Nation; BadBadNotGood’s IV; Leonard Cohen‘s You Want It Darker; Gord Downie’s Secret Path; Feist’s Pleasure; Lisa LeBlanc’s Why You Wanna Leave, Runaway Queen?; Tanya Tagaq’s Retribution; Leif Vollebekk’s Twin Solitude; and  the eponymously-titled release by Weaves.

The albums are judged solely on artistic merit, without consideration of genre, sales or professional affiliation, according to the Polaris mandate. The eligibility period for the titles is June 1, 2016 to May 31, 2017.

The nominated albums had been selected by a two-part calculation process. This year’s 201-member jury — made up of music journalists, broadcasters and music bloggers from across Canada — selected 188 titles on the first online ballot, which asked for their top 5 picks ranked in order. The 40-title long list was then determined and the same jurors picked their top 5 from those 40 to determine the short-list.

Slaight Music again donated the prize money, C$50,000 for the winner and C$3,000 ($2,275) for each of nine short-listed acts.

Artists who have previous won the Polaris Music Prize are Kaytranada (2016), Buffy Sainte-Marie (2015), Tanya Tagaq (2014), Godspeed You! Black Emperor (2013), Feist (2012), Arcade Fire (2011), Karkwa (2010), Fucked Up (2009), Caribou (2008), Patrick Watson (2007), and Final Fantasy / Owen Pallett (2006).

Maldonado & Her Pentatonix Groupmates to Salute the Bee Gees at Grammy Tribute

Kirsitie Maldonado will be experiencing disco fever…

The 24-year-old half-Mexican and part-Spanish American singer and her fellow Pentatonix members will be helping commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack next month.

Pentatonix

Maldonado’s a capella group will perform at Stayin’ Alive: A Grammy Salute to the Music of the Bee Gees, which will premiere April 16 on CBS.

The event, led by the Recording Academy, AEG Ehrlich Ventures and CBS, will focus on improving music life and culture through the Bee Gees‘ legacy, celebrating the members of the five-time Grammy-winning group and Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award recipients.

Barry Gibb, the Bee Gees’ co-founder and last surviving member, will make an appearance and perform classic hits from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.

In addition to Pentatonix, special tributes from musicians will include performances by Stevie Wonder, Keith Urban, John Legend, Nick Jonas, Tori Kelly, Celine Dion, Little Big Town, Thomas Rhett, Jason Derulo, Kelsea Ballerini, Andra Day, Ed Sheeran, DNCE and many more.

Other guest appearances to add to the lineup are John Travolta, Cynthia Erivo and Wilmer Valderrama.

Pentatonix, who earned a Grammy for their collaboration with country legend Dolly Parton on “Jolene,” recently released their cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine,” part of the group’s upcoming album.

Maldonado and the gang previously covered Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” performed a Star Wars-themed medley at the American Music Awards, and performed the Oak Ridge Boys’ “Elvira at the CMA Awards.

Garcia & “The X Factor” Contestants Pay Tribute to the Newtown Shooting Victims

This season’s The X Factor contestants, including Jennel Garcia and the members of Fifth Harmony, have performed a touching tribute to the victims of the Newtown shooting…

During Wednesday night’s performance show on the Fox singing competition, the 18-year-old half-Puerto Rican singer, sent home in a shocking exit last month, joined fellow Latina singers Camila Cabello, Ally Brooke Hernandez and Lauren Jauregui – members of the all-girl group Fifth Harmony – and the rest of the show’s contestants this season to perform Michael Jackson’s “You Are Not Alone.”

X Factor Newtown Shooting Tribute

After a short introduction by Simon Cowell, the X Factor contestants — Beatrice Miller, Arin Ray, Diamond White, CeCe Frey, Paige Thomas, Garcia, Vino Alan, Emblem3, Tate Stevens, Fifth Harmony and Carly Rose Sonenclar — each contributed a verse of the song.

The performance — aided by a children’s choir — concluded with the names of the departed students and educators on the screen behind them.

Earlier this week, NBC‘s The Voice honored the victims with their own heartfelt offering of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah,” while Bruno Mars performed a beautiful tribute to the victims on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Aguilera & “The Voice” Pay Tribute to the Newton Shooting Victims

Christina Aguilera gives voice to a nation’s mourning following the heartbreaking Newton school shooting…

The Voice Tribute to Newton School Shooting Victims

During Monday night’s episode of The Voice, the 31-year-old half-Ecuadorian American singer joined her fellow coaches, the NBC reality singing competition’s contestants, host Carson Daly and social media correspondent Christina Milian took the stage at the beginning of the show to pay tribute to the 26 victims in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

Lined up across the stage, Aguilera and the group gave a solemn and heartfelt performance of Leonard Cohen‘s “Hallelujah,” each holding a card with the name and age of one of the people killed in the tragic incident.

Aguilera held up the card with the name of Grace McDonnell, one of the youngest shooting victims.