Let’s settle this for all time: is it a cappella or acappella? The music, which is performed by one or more vocalists without accompanying instruments, is—drumroll—a cappella. Two words!
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Now that we have that taken care of, let’s dive into the music itself. Truly, a cappella music can get a bad rep—especially when people like the fictional character Andy Bernard from the NBC comedy television series The Office stan so hard for it. But it’s often exquisite when done correctly.
Here are five a cappella groups you need to be listening to right now.
1. Pentatonix
Likely the most popular a cappella group of today, this Texas-born five-piece began in 2011 and has since garnered billions of streams and views and three Grammy Awards. This year the singing outfit earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
2. Rockapella
The O.G. of popular a cappella groups, Rockapella is known for singing the theme song for the PBS television show, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? The New York City-born group was founded in 1986 and the five-piece is still going today, albeit with new members.
3. DCappella
Put together by Disney, this group, which was founded in 2018, sings classic Disney songs with precision, poise and party. It can be such a blast to hear songs from, say, Aladdin with the verve and joy a cappella groups like this one brings to it.
4. Voctave
Based in Florida, this 11-person group also performs popular Disney numbers, along with hits from Broadway and Christmastime. Their last album came out in 2022, Goodnight, My Someone. Together, they’re a vocal symphony.
5. Naturally 7
This group goes a step beyond, creating instruments from their voices, including using distortion effects. Founded in New York City in 1999, this group, brothers Roger and Warren Thomas, released its latest LP, XX 20/20, in 2020.
Photo by Jabari Jacobs / Courtesy of Oriel PR
