Scott Hoying
Scott Richard Hoying is an American baritone singer, songwriter, arranger, and musician from Arlington, Texas, who came to international attention as the founder and performer of two groups; the quintet a cappella collective Pentatonix, and the duo Superfruit. As of May 2020, Pentatonix has released ten albums, including two number ones, have had four songs in the Billboard Hot 100, and won three Grammy awards as "the first a cappella group to achieve mainstream success in the modern market"., Superfruit’s YouTube channel has over 2.4 million subscribers, and over 392 million views. As of 2016, Hoying lives in Hollywood, California.
Early life and education
Scott Richard Hoying was born in Arlington, Texas, to Connie and Rick Hoying. He met Mitch Grassi, another co-founder of Pentatonix, and his partner in the duo Superfruit, when he was young. He also met Kirstin Maldonado, another Pentatonix founder, in highschool. Hoying and Grassi were both active in theater arts in Arlington and met when they were cast in the musical Annie, they both also play piano. They were "giggly" together but not best friends immediately; they then were split up being sent to different schools for a year and a half, and reunited while performing in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.Pentatonix started as a trio, as Hoying, Grassi, and Maldonado had been in choir for most of their high school careers. The three quickly put together an a cappella cover of Lady Gaga's 2010 "Telephone" featuring Beyoncé to compete in a local radio station contest to meet Glee cast members. They did not win but kept competing and performing, gaining popularity.
Hoying heard about The Sing-Off reality-show competition for a cappella acts; he gained an interest in the genre once in college. It was the first time the three really embraced a cappella. The show required groups to have five or more members, so they recruited bass vocalist Avi Kaplan and singer/beat boxer Kevin Olusola. After they won, all relocated to Los Angeles to pursue recording artist careers. The main goal of the group was to become the first modern mainstream a cappella group; which they have done.
Pentatonix
Pentatonix is a quintet a cappella collective, with most of their songs being covers, and much of their success comes from touring, including internationally. They gained national attention in the U.S. competing on NBC's a cappella reality show The Sing-Off in 2011, which they won. The group got a record label, who dropped them as their audience was too niche—with no guarantee of selling albums, or concert tickets—but the group felt it was ultimately advantageous as around late 2012 Pentatonix started posting videos to YouTube building an international fan base. Pentatonix also released the debut EP, PTX, Volume 1, on their new label in June 2012, followed by a Christmas EP, PTXmas in November.Superfruit
Hoying and Mitch Grassi, lifelong friends, vlogged skits, comedy videos, and duets to YouTube quickly gaining a following; after hundreds of videos they saw the music ones were the most liked so created Superfruit. Some of their viral videos include: Frozen medley ; an "Evolution of Miley Cyrus" and a Beyoncé album medley. According to Hoying, Superfruit "came from Mitch's random mind". Hoying noted, "Our first rule with starting Superfruit was: This is for fun,... This is to be free and do whatever we want. So, let's write stories that we want to write, let's make videos that we want to make, let's not put limitations on it. And not care so much about calculating it to where we think it might be more successful... And I think that's why it feels so good to the fans." The first Superfruit video was released on August 13, 2013. Navigating Pentatonix versus the duo's projects and touring schedules was simplified by the quintet's rule that the larger groups' commitments come first. Grassi feels Superfruit is raunchier, "more gay-friendly and a lot more open, more sexual, more liberated".They started to incorporate original music into the project, starting in 2016. Superfruit's first EP, Future Friends, Part One, was released in June 2017, Part Two in September 2017, followed by a full-length album of the same name. The EP's concept is that a friendship can run even deeper than any romantic component. They wrote with songwriters and producers collaborators including Robopop, Justin Tranter, and John Hill; and produced videos for each song. The album won critical acclaim and rose to ninth place on the Billboard 200 album chart.
Superfruit's debut video for Future Friends, "Imaginary Parties", was noted by InStyle for the bold fashions that their stylist Candice McAndrews helped them secure. McAndrews has worked with Pentatonix since the beginning as well. She used Gucci and Balenciaga to elevate with high-fashion inspiration and "a pop art approach to their look". McAndrews shared that a Superfruit fitting will have seven to nine racks of clothing for each, including designers "Alexander Wang, Loewe, Vetements, Haider Ackermann, Raf Simons, and Maison Margiela".
Acapop! KIDS
On October 18, 2019, Hoying decided to make another A cappella group, only this time, the members are 10-15 year old kids, creating Acapop! KIDS. The group featured Preston C. Howell from The Voice season 17 and Eliza Pryor from Team Kaylie.Personal Life
Hoying is openly gay, he has been in a relationship with model Mark Manio since 2017.Awards and nominations
World Choreography Awards
| Year | Category | Work | Result | |
| 2017 | Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program | "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" on Rachael Ray |
| Year | Category | Work | Result | |
| 2015 | Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella | "Daft Punk" | ||
| 2016 | Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella | "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" | ||
| 2017 | Best Country Duo/Group Performance | "Jolene" |
| Year | Category | Work | Result | |
| 2014 | Best Cover Song | "Daft Punk" | ||
| 2014 | Best Original Song | "Love Again" | ||
| 2014 | Best Musical Artist | Pentatonix | ||
| 2015 | Best Collaboration | Pentatonix and Lindsey Stirling | ||
| 2015 | Best Cover Song | "Evolution of Michael Jackson" |
| Year | Category | Work | Result | |
| 2013 | Response of the Year | "Radioactive" | ||
| 2015 | Artist of the Year | Pentatonix |
| Year | Category | Work | Result | |
| 2015 | Best YouTube Musician | Pentatonix |
| Year | Category | Work | Result | |
| 2015 | Top Billboard 200 Album | That's Christmas to Me | ||
| 2015 | Top Billboard 200 Artist | Pentatonix |
| Year | Category | Work | Result | |
| 2016 | Favorite Music Group | Pentatonix | ||
| 2017 | Favorite Music Group | Pentatonix |
| Year | Category | Work | Result | |
| 2016 | Best Cover Song | "Cheerleader" |
| Year | Category | Work | Result | |
| 2016 | Video Remixes/Mashups | Evolution of Michael Jackson |