You know Scott Hoying. Even if you think you don’t, you do. He’s the tallest one in Pentatonix. The vocal architect behind those chilling Christmas harmonies. The one your mom definitely called “such a nice young man” while secretly Googling his Instagram.
But now Hoying has gone rogue.
“I think this is the real deal this time,” he laughs, talking about his first proper solo outing. “Back in high school, I was just living my pop star fantasy. But now, it’s different. This is me being vulnerable. Really going for it.”
The first salvo is a song called Mars—a theatrical, epic slow-burn of a ballad that sounds like Chris Martin got swallowed by a gospel choir on the way to a Pride parade. Which, for Hoying, is kind of the point.
“I think it’s the dramatic gay in me,” he grins. “I just love emotional music. That build, that climax, that moment. There’s something about timpani and choirs that just chills your soul.”
If that sounds a little extra, good. Hoying leans all the way into it, both in sound and in story. Mars isn’t just a love song—it’s a cosmic retreat, a metaphorical exodus from everything that ever made him feel small, awkward, or other.
“I don’t know if it was growing up queer or just being an awkward person,” he says, “but I developed all these insecurities. I tried so hard to fit in. To be cool, suave, whatever. But it only made me sadder.”
Then he met Mark, his now-fiancé and co-star in the Mars video. “With Mark, I can just be my quirky self. He accepts it unconditionally. And weirdly, once I stopped trying to fit in, I started actually fitting in.”
Cue choir. Cue crescendo. Cue underwater shot in Joshua Tree. No, really.
The Mars video—which Hoying co-directed with a group of friends on a micro-budget—features plenty of cinematic flair, including one particularly haunting underwater sequence. “I didn’t realize how bad my breath support was until that moment,” he admits. “Mark wasn’t even going to get in the water, but I talked him into it. He just dove right in.”
It wasn’t just a music video shoot. It was a mini filmmaking bootcamp, held somewhere between Airbnb and a makeshift piano-hauling expedition. “We literally carried a piano up a mountain ourselves,” Hoying says, still sounding a little winded. “It was my favorite video I’ve ever done, because it was just... us. No giant crew. Just pure creativity.”
Hoying credits the pandemic for helping him break free from the cycle of groupthink. Not in a woo-woo sense—more like a crash course in digital survival.
“Pentatonix had to record remotely during lockdown,” he explains. “So I had to learn Pro Tools. And once I got through the tedium of it, I became obsessed. I can literally have a demo for a song or a musical hours after I get the idea. It changed everything.”
He also wrote a whole musical. Life of Death, penned with friends Joey Orton and Petro, just completed its first union-backed reading in New York.
“I love Broadway,” he says. “There are no rules. It’s just... pure creative freedom. I’ve always wanted to be a guest star in a show, but writing one? It’s been amazing.”
Still, don’t expect him to ditch Pentatonix anytime soon. The group is headed to Japan and Singapore this spring, and Hoying doesn’t view his solo work as an exit strategy—more like a complementary outlet for his extra-ness.
“At first I thought, ‘Wait, if I add choral harmonies, is this just going to sound like Pentatonix again?’ But then I was like, ‘Why overthink it?’ I love choir music. It’s what I do.”
And it’s not just about the music. Even the credits for the Mars video feature a nod to the Wolf Conservation Center in New York, a cause dear to Hoying’s heart.
“These wolves are crucial to the environment,” he says, like it’s the most obvious connection in the world. “And if we don’t protect the earth, we’re all literally going to have to move to Mars. So... it fit.”
Whether we’re getting more singles or a full album is still TBD—Hoying is letting the songs lead. “I kind of want to just put out music all the time,” he says. “But I do love when a collection of songs tells one cohesive story.”
And speaking of collections: Pentatonix’s Evergreen scored the group their first album Grammy nod this year, even if it came a little late. (“It came out in 2021, but that’s the magic of the Grammy calendar,” Hoying shrugs.) Yes, they’ve already got three Grammys. But this one, for a full album, hits differently.
“It was our first post-pandemic project. We went into the studio every day. It was our favorite album we’ve ever made. So to get that nod? It just feels really good.”
He’ll be attending the Grammys, naturally. Dressed to the nines, but probably not in black this time.
“I’ve definitely worn all black before and had people assume I was waitstaff,” he laughs. “Apparently that’s a thing.”
So here he is: ⅕ of Pentatonix, 100% solo, a little theatrical, a little obsessive, and now—with Mars—finally landing in his own orbit.
“Let’s be Martians,” Hoying says. “We don’t have to be human.”
Watch the interview above and then check out the video below.
