Penatonix Inc.
Release Date: August 11th 2023
Reviewed by: Jonathan Andre
Penatonix – I Rise (Single) (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Track Listing:
- I Rise
Penatonix has been in and around the music industry for a loooonnng time. Since their time on the NBC show The Sing Off, the world’s most recognisable acapella band has been releasing chart-topping album after chart-topping album. Famous for their Christmas album releases every so often (they’ve released 6 Christmas albums to date- That’s Christmas to Me, A Penatonix Christmas, Christmas is Here!, We Need a Little Christmas, Evergreen and Holidays Around the World), as well as their covers albums (PTX, Vol. 1 & 2, PTX, PTX, Vol. IV: Classics, PTX Presents: Top Pop, Vol. 1) and their two originally-written albums (their self-titled album in 2015, The Lucky Ones in 2021), Penatonix have amassed a global fanbase and have reminded us that acapella need not be ‘less than’- that it can be every bit as ‘cool’ as ‘regular’ music. These five band members have defied the odds have have carved out a career full of heights and a plethora of no. 1 radio hits. We as a site even wrote about the band a little while ago, as we delved into Pentatonix and their influence on the music industry at large. Now fast-forward to 2023, and we see another musical offering by the band- whether it is a one off single or part of a bigger project, it remains to be seen, but regardless, we have new music from the band, in the form of a single titled ‘I Rise’.
Sung entirely by singer Scott Hoying, the song is about rising from adversity, expressing messages of resilience, strength, a sense of empowerment through perseverance, as well as a sense of pressing on through difficulty as we see the sun on the other end of the tunnel. A song that hopefully encourages people to never give up during difficult trials, we see Scott declaring through the chorus that in order to rise from the ashes from heartbreak to a heart full of gratitude and thanks, we ough to become like soldiers on a battlefield- pressing on no matter how you’d feel, knowing full well that our friends, family and God Himself are with us through the season as we move from despair to victory, because we know who we are as victors in Christ Jesus our Lord. There’s an overall message of a willingness to keep trying and moving forward, regardless of what might be in front of us. It’s a song that is fun to sing and a beat that is catchy, all the while also being a song that is compelling and challenging to say the least. Who knows, maybe the Lord can use such a song by Pentatonix to allow people to press on for the prize up ahead, knowing that in all things, good and bad, He works it for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28). Well done Penatonix for this inspirational and empowering song. Looking forward to whatever comes next, whenever that may arise.
Score: 5/5
RIYL: Little Mix, Tauren Wells, Peter Hollens, Hollyn, Carly Rae Jepsen