Peter Hollens

Peter James Hollens[1] (born March 4, 1980)[2] is an American singer/songwriter, producer and entrepreneur. He has been involved with a cappella music since 1999 when he and Leo da Silva founded the University of Oregon's a cappella group, On The Rocks, known as the first official collegiate a cappella group in Oregon.[3] He regularly releases new music videos to his YouTube channel. With over 5 million followers and subscribers, his content has received over a billion total views since 2011.

Not to be confused with Peter Hollins.

Peter Hollens
Hollens in 2014
Background information
Born (1980-03-04) March 4, 1980
Ashland, Oregon, U.S.
OriginEugene, Oregon
GenresClassically trained vocalist, A cappella
Occupation(s)Vocalist, YouTuber, entrepreneur
InstrumentsVocals, vocal percussion
Years active2002–present
Websitewww.peterhollens.com
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2011–present
GenreMusic
Subscribers2.46 million
100,000 subscribers
1,000,000 subscribers

Career

Hollens was born on March 4, 1980 in Ashland, Oregon to James and Deborah (Melone) Hollens.[4] He graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal performance. Since his graduation from the University of Oregon, Hollens has become involved with collegiate a cappella,[5] including recording, producing, and judging a cappella competitions throughout the United States. In 2010, he participated in NBC’s The Sing Off, working with music director Deke Sharon and receiving acclaim from The Sing-Off judges Shawn Stockman, Nicole Scherzinger and Ben Folds for solo performances leading his group, On The Rocks.[6][7] They were eliminated 6th out of the 10 groups performing.

Hollens records and produces from his home studio in Eugene, Oregon, and also has recorded for Sony and Epic Records. Hollens's recordings include tracks for "The Sing-Off Season 2-Greatest Hits" as well as many collegiate a cappella albums for such groups as On the Rocks, Divisi, Cornell's Chordials, the Duke's Men of Yale and the Whiffenpoofs.[8] He has also recorded Sing-Off Season 2 winners, Committed, the Backbeats, and the Grammy Award-winning group The Swingle Singers.[9]

In 2011 he started his own YouTube channel, mostly posting music videos with multi-tracked a cappella covers. Repeatedly teaming up with other artists, he frequently collaborates with Lindsey Stirling and Taylor Davis. As of March 7, 2020, his channel has over 2.46 million subscribers. To support his musical endeavors, Hollens joined the newly founded crowdfunding platform Patreon in 2013. In an interview in March 2017 he mentions he's become an adviser for Patreon.[10] In 2012 he released his first album.

In 2014 he signed a deal with Sony Masterworks;[11][12] later he considered this a mistake[13][14] and cut ties with the label in 2015.[15] Hollens released a self-titled album on October 27 of that year.

In 2015, he performed guest lead vocals for Brian Wilson's album No Pier Pressure on the song "Our Special Love".[16]

In 2016, Hollens teamed up with Home Free, the winners of The Sing-Off Season 4, to record an all-vocal arrangement of the hymn Amazing Grace. "I had the absolute honor of working with Home Free on this one," Hollens states in a video message at the close of the song's YouTube release. "I love these guys, they are so talented and fun. We have worked together once before on a video called "19 You + Me".[17]

Hollens debuted on Broadway in the show "Home For the Holidays, Live on Broadway" which was presented November 17 to December 30, 2017, at the August Wilson Theatre.[18] On December 12, 2017, he was a guest on The Piano Guys live stream called 'Light The World Christmas Concert with The Piano Guys and Friends', in which he made a comment that he is in "Home For the Holidays, Live on Broadway" and would be getting a cab to the theatre.

Personal life

Hollens is married to Evynne Smith, co-founder of the a cappella group Divisi.[19][20] Evynne has her own YouTube channel, posting music videos, occasionally collaborating with her husband. She co-wrote a musical called "Milagro", which was first performed in 2018.[21] The couple performed in their first Broadway show, Home for the Holidays, in November 2017. They have two sons named Ashland (born 2014)[22] and Saylor (born 2018).[23]

Discography
  • 2012: Hollens [HD]
  • 2012: Covers Vol. 1
  • 2012: Covers Vol. 2
  • 2014: Peter Hollens
  • 2016: Misty Mountains: Songs Inspired by The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings
  • 2016: A Hollens Family Christmas
  • 2017: Covers Vol. III
  • 2018: Legendary Folk Songs
  • 2018: The Greatest Showman A Cappella
  • 2019: Legendary Covers Volume 1
  • 2019: Magically Legendary Covers Volume 1

Awards and nominations
Year Award CategoryNominee(s) ResultRef.
2013 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Song By A Solo Performer "Shenandoah" on Covers Vol. 2 Won [24]
2014 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Song By A Solo Performer "I See Fire" Won [25]
2015 Game Audio Network Guild Awards Best Game Music Cover/Remix "Baba Yetu" (Civilization IV) feat. Malukah
Finalist
 [26]
Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Best Folk/World Song "Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair" feat. Avi Kaplan Won [27]
Collaborative and Solo Performer Awards/Best Pop/Rock Song "Dark Horse" feat. Sam Tsui Nominated [28]
2016 Game Audio Network Guild Awards Best Game Music Cover/Remix Award Assassin's Creed Syndicate – "Underground" Won [29]
Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards Collaborative and Solo Performer Awards/Best Song By A Solo Performer "Now We Are Free" Won [30]
2017 A Cappella Video Awards Outstanding Collaborative Video "Hamilton – An Acappella Medley" Won [31]
Outstanding Special Effects "Hobbit Drinking Medley" runner-up
Best Musical / Soundtrack Video "Hamilton – An Acapella Medley" runner-up
2018 A Cappella Video Awards Best Folk/World Video "Desert Rose" Won [32]
Best Holiday Video "Carol of the Bells" feat. BYU Vocal Point, One Voice Children's Choir, and BYU Men's Chorus runner-up
2019 A Cappella Video Awards Outstanding Collaborative Video "From Now On" Won [33]
Outstanding Special / Visual Effects "Tightrope" runner-up
2020 A Cappella Video Awards Outstanding Collaborative Video "Hands of Gold & Rains of Castamere" Won [34][35]
Outstanding Video Editing "The Lion King vs. Aladdin" Nominated
Best Country Video "Take Me Home, Country Roads" Won
Best Show Tunes / Soundtrack / Theme Song Video "The Lion King vs. Aladdin" Nominated
gollark: I agree.
gollark: What good design.
gollark: Well, it's an editor, and it works for all the languages I use and looks quite nice.
gollark: https://github.com/FPGAwars/apio ← fear
gollark: VSCode.

References
  1. Hollens, Peter. "My middle name is "James" what's yours?". Facebook. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  2. Hollens, Peter. "University of Oregon Key Commencement Speech 2015". YouTube. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  3. Zimmerman, Steve (January 29, 2004). "Hidden passion no longer". Ashland Daily Tidings. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  4. "James Michael Hollens". Mail Tribune. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  5. Ehrlich, Brenna (May 20, 2011). "Our Favorite YouTube Videos This Week: The A Cappella Edition". Mashable. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  6. "On The Rocks". NBC Universal. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  7. ""The Sing-Off" Episode #2.1 (2010)". IMDb. 2010. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  8. hyperdel (February 16, 2011). "An Interview With Peter Hollens". Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  9. "Peter Hollens '05 Sings to Make a Change". University of Oregon Alumni Association. May 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  10. "How Peter Hollens Changed The Music Industry From His Living Room". Forbes. March 8, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  11. "Sony Music Masterworks Signs One-Man A Cappella Vocalist & YouTube Star Peter Hollens". broadwayworld.com. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  12. "YouTube Singer Peter Hollens Earns Record Deal From Sony Music". Mashable. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  13. "How Peter Hollens Went From A Cappella Nerd To Internet Stardom". August 7, 2018. Archived from the original on June 21, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  14. "YouTuber Peter Hollens on Creator Academy: "I want to help as many people as possible do what they love for a living"". January 22, 2018. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019.
  15. "Back in harmony". December 24, 2016. Archived from the original on June 21, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  16. "Brian Wilson Taps Musical Peers for 'No Pier Pressure'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  17. Reuter, Annie (November 28, 2016). "Home Free Offers Stunning Rendition of 'Amazing Grace' [WATCH]". A Taste of Country. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  18. "Home For The Holidays Live on Broadway". New York City Theatre. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  19. Mickey Rapkin (2008). "Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate a Cappella Glory". 100 Vampire Novels. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  20. "evynne-hollens". evynnehollens. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  21. "Evynne Hollens: Real Broadway". The Shedd. 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  22. "Peter Hollens". www.facebook.com. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  23. "Evynne Hollens on Instagram: "Welcome Saylor James Hollens. Ashland has a little brother! Delivery was fast & furious and Mama tried hard for a VBAC but still ended with..."". Instagram. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  24. "2013 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Winners". Contemporary A Cappella Society. March 31, 2013. Archived from the original on July 25, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  25. "2014 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Winners". Contemporary A Cappella Society. April 14, 2014. Archived from the original on September 11, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  26. "2015 Awards". Game Audio Network Guild. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  27. Ardell, Shane (April 11, 2015). "2015 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Winners". Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on September 11, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  28. Ardell, Shane (February 23, 2015). "2015 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees". Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on September 11, 2019.
  29. "2016 G. A. N. G. Award Winners". Game Audio Network Guild. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  30. Ardell, Shane (April 9, 2016). "2016 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Winners". Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on September 11, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  31. Ardell, Shane (February 4, 2017). "2017 A Cappella Video Award Winners". Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on April 29, 2017.
  32. Ardell, Shane (February 10, 2018). "2018 A Cappella Video Award Winners". Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on June 23, 2019.
  33. Ardell, Shane (February 10, 2019). "2018/19 A Cappella Video Award Winners". Contemporary A Cappella Society. Archived from the original on June 1, 2019.
  34. "2020 A Cappella Video Awards Nominees". Contemporary A Cappella Society. November 26, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  35. "2020 A Cappella Video Awards Results". The Contemporary A Cappella Society Archive. Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards. February 8, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
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