Just Sing — VoicePlay music video
In times of societal stress, art is not just a good thing, but a necessity. It connects people across time and distance, uniting us through the expression of common emotions. So when VoicePlay found themselves unable to create videos in person, they did the same thing as many others around the world — they went remote. Since everyone filming in the comfort of their own homes meant that geography was no longer a concern, the guys reached out to a couple dozen collaborators spanning decades of recordings, and brought them together into an uplifting chorus of supremely talented voices.
NOTE: Make sure you have the captions on to see who everybody is in relation to the group.
featured performers: Kristina Palazzolo, Liam Gerrity, Rachel Potter, Mykal Kilgore, Tony Wakim, Darian Yancey, Emoni Wilkins, Sarah Vela, Tim Foust, Honey La Rochelle, Matthew Darren, VJ Rosales, Adriana Arellano, Elizabeth Garazzo, Anthony Gargiula, John Pinto Jr., Scott Porter, Jeff Thatcher, & Jarrett Johnson
original performers: cast of Trolls World Tour (2020)
written by: Justin Timberlake, Sarah Aarons, Ludwig Göransson, & Max Martin
release date: 15 May 2020
the way Kristina's face lights up when Liam joins in
ramping up the accompaniment behind Rachel
the overlap between Mykal and Tony on ♫ "everybody" ♫
reuniting the trio of Earl, Eli, and Tony from the era when they became VoicePlay
the ladies of Ten bouncing the lead vocals back and forth
Sarah's brash little shoulder brush (Heck yeah, she's good!)
Tim being greeted with his own signature growl from Geoff
the extra oomph Honey puts on ♫ "lips" ♫ and ♫ "soul" ♫
having VJ sing in his own Filipino language of Tagalog rather than the original version's Korean
bringing the friendly bass-off full circle with Tim's subharmonic ♫ "else" ♫ and the captions calling him a "show off 🙄"
that slow bell chord behind the end of John's section
J.None taking the lead for Guy Diamond's part again
all three vocal percussionists showing off their different styles
Elizabeth's soaring glissando to lead everyone back in
seeing all the singers together on screen at last
ending with simple homophony from the five guys and the kids
As Layne notes in the outro, VoicePlay donated their revenue for this video to MusiCares, which provides support to musicians in need. Their services were vital during a time when live performances weren't possible. This campaign raised over $170,000!
This project got a nice write-up on Broadway World to help promote the video and associated fundraiser.
VoicePlay's previous song from the Trolls franchise was released almost exactly two years earlier in May 2018.
Kristina's dad Pasquale also sang in the high school chorus that spawned 4:2:Five / VoicePlay, though he was a couple years older.
Liam's dad Sean Gerrity was part of the rotating cast when 4:2:Five were in the Polar Express Conductors show at SeaWorld in 2011.
Rachel was VoicePlay's first guest singer in a music video, and remains one of their most prolific, despite having moved first to Nashville and then New York. (When these guys really like someone, they don't let go easily.)
Mykal was the group's original high tenor way back when they were a high school barbershop quartet called 4 The Love, and into the early days of 4:2:Five. He left the group when the older boys graduated.
Tony has joked that he sees the VoicePlay guys more now than he did when he was a member of the group. Considering how frequently they film in and around the PattyCake studio, it's not much of an exaggeration.
Darian (aka DeeDee) is one of many friends the guys met during the fourth season of The Sing-Off. She was the final collaborator on their "Collide" project, and later recorded a duet with Layne during his paternity leave.
Emoni may have started as a fellow Sing-Off competitor, but she quickly became a dear friend and frequent collaborator. She has guested in music videos, joined them for both the first Sing-Off tour and a series of educational workshops, and plays Ursula in PattyCake's Villains Lair series. Not to mention becoming an honorary auntie to Layne's youngest daughter.
Sarah was one of their youngest Sing-Off pals, as her group Vocal Rush was in high school at the time, but she was a powerhouse even back then. When this was filmed, she was about to return to her alma mater and take over directorship of the group she helped to found.
Tim's group Home Free and VoicePlay have often been compared or even pitted against each other by fans ever since The Sing-Off, but the guys themselves have liked and supported each other from the beginning.
Honey was a theme park buddy from way back, and enjoyed joining the guys for The Sing-Off. There was a bit of friction between them after she wasn't able to join them for the tour, but it's nice to see that the passage of years and some extraordinary circumstances could bring them together again.
Matthew was another theme park pal, and was in serious consideration to replace Tony as the group's baritone back in 2017.
VJ and his group The Filharmonic are yet more Sing-Off alumni, who the guys got to know well on the 2014 tour. When VoicePlay joke about passing the torch to "younger, cuter" guys, it's not hard to see where they got the idea.
Adriana was their most recent new collaborator at the time, and has returned for a number of full-length videos and shorts in the ensuing years. (But she still wasn't old enough to drive yet here.)
Elizabeth is a friend from the guys' early days in the theme park scene, when she was a member of the Voices of Liberty at Disney World. This is her first onscreen appearance with them, but not her first (or last) collaboration.
Anthony is also part of the extended theme park community, and was supposed to appear in a different video before the quarantine put the kibosh on that plan. They've definitely made up for that disappointment in the years since, though.
John always seems to appear during times of uncertainty. His first collaboration happened after Tony left the group, this was put together during lockdown, and his third appearance came about after Earl retired. (That's just coincidental, right?)
Although Scott left the group to pursue acting in 2003, he's always been supportive from afar, and maintained ties with their extended friend group in Orlando. He even gets to show off his vocal skills in the course of his acting jobs sometimes.
Jeff was not only an inspiration to the youngsters in 4:2:Five as a member of Rockapella, but quickly became a colleague and a friend. He produced their first eponymous EP, and has created several pieces of artwork for them over the years.
Jarrett occasionally subbed as 4:2:Five's baritone when Ryan Reed was starting to step away, and helped produce VoicePlay's "Once Upon an Ever After" album. The guys have enjoyed seeing him find success as both a part-time member of fellow a cappella group Take 6 and in the film industry.
As the guys noted in the Patron behind the scenes video, this project was (by necessity) new and unique in a lot of ways.
A group of fans created a tribute version a few years later using the karaoke track available through VoicePlay's Patreon.
This ended up being Earl's last video with the group, a fitting final bow, even if they didn't know it at the time. It almost feels like everyone came back to give him a great big send-off party.
