New Year's Day

Pentatonix are known for their Christmas songs, but they take on a different holiday in this one, which celebrates the new year. It's a hopeful song, looking forward to what's to come and recalling the wonderful memories they made in the old year. "It's kind of about letting the past go and starting anew," Mitch Grassi, the group's tenor, explained. "Quite literally, a 'New Year's Day.'"

Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi and Kevin Olusola of Pentatonix wrote this song with Martin Johnson and Sam Hollander, who also worked on their track "Sing," also included on the Pentatonix album, the band's fourth. Most of Hollander's work to this point was with pop-punk acts like We The Kings and Boys Like Girls, but he had no trouble going a cappella with Pentatonix.

PTX baritone singer Scott Hoying explained how the song evolved: "At the beginning of it we weren't totally all on the same page. I was like: 'Wait, is this a seasonal song?' But then we all realized it was just like a metaphor for new beginnings and then, all of a sudden, it had such an impact. And we finished all the lyrics, and the lyrics turned out so great, I can't even explain. It's one of the songs I'm most proud of being a part of. There's a sense of nostalgia that comes with it, like I wish it was my senior high school song. It's just so beautiful and so epic and every time I listen to it on good headphones and I'm like in a mood, I'll just like start crying; it just, it really moves me. 'Hold on tight to fragile hearts and keep our friends forever by our side' - I'm done. That's where it gets to me, yeah."