“A 90s Classic Rewired in Seconds”: Pentatonix Turn As Long As You Love Me Into a High-Voltage A Cappella Opening
During their Wetten, dass..? medley performance, Pentatonix delivered a striking reinterpretation of As Long As You Love Me originally by Backstreet Boys. In just moments, the track was transformed from a nostalgic 90s pop ballad into a fast-paced, layered vocal engine that set the tone for the entire medley.
The opening seconds of As Long As You Love Me don’t ease the audience in—they hit immediately with controlled intensity. Pentatonix strip the song of its original production and rebuild it entirely using voices, turning a familiar hit into something sharper, faster, and more unpredictable.
Scott Hoying carries the lead with a bright, commanding tone, anchoring the melody while pushing it forward with urgency. Around him, Mitch Grassi layers intricate harmonies that feel almost synthetic in texture, blurring the line between human voice and electronic sound design.
Beneath it all, Kevin Olusola drives the rhythm with precise, relentless beatboxing, giving the performance its pulse and momentum. Meanwhile, Avi Kaplan anchors the low end with deep bass vocals that mimic a full studio arrangement, grounding the chaos above it.
What makes this opening so effective is its function: it doesn’t just recreate a hit—it detonates it. The original softness of the Backstreet Boys’ version is replaced with urgency and motion, as if the song is being launched into a larger narrative rather than simply performed.
Within seconds, the medley shifts forward, but this brief segment leaves a lasting impression—serving as both tribute and reinvention of one of pop music’s most recognizable choruses.
Watch the Performance
The real impact comes alive in motion—watch how As Long As You Love Me is rebuilt in real time, evolving from nostalgia into pure vocal adrenaline in seconds.