Kirstin Maldonado

Kirstin Taylor Maldonado (born May 16, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She is known for being a vocalist in the a cappella group Pentatonix. With the group, she has released seven studio albums, won three Grammy Awards, and sold over six million albums.

Kirstin Maldonado
Maldonado performing in August 2015
Born
Kirstin Taylor Maldonado

(1992-05-16) May 16, 1992
Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Other namesKirstin™, Kirstie Maldonado
EducationMartin High School
University of Oklahoma
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • actress
Years active2011–present
PartnerBen Hausdorff (2018–present)
Children1
Musical career
OriginArlington, Texas, U.S.
Genres
Labels
Member of
Websitekirstin.com

Maldonado released her debut solo single "Break a Little" on May 19, 2017, under the name Kirstin™ (stylized as kırstın™;™ stands for "Taylor Maldonado").[1] Her first extended play Love (stylized as L O V E) was released on July 14.[2] Maldonado made her Broadway debut in 2018 as Lauren in the musical Kinky Boots.[3]

Early life and education

Kirstin Taylor Maldonado[4] was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 16, 1992.[5] Her mother, Angelica Maldonado, is of Spanish and Italian descent, while her father, Michael Cisneros,[6] is of Mexican descent. She was raised by her mother in Arlington, Texas. She was only five years old when she first expressed her wish to become a singer. At eight years old, she sang at her mother's wedding reception, ultimately convincing her mother to enroll her in voice lessons.[7] She also got into theater and starred in several local productions. It was through the local theater community that Maldonado met Mitch Grassi, a future fellow Pentatonix member.

Maldonado attended Holy Rosary Catholic School, and later Martin High School. At Martin High School, she met Scott Hoying with whom she and Grassi would later form Pentatonix. The three friends created an a cappella trio and started getting attention around their school for their covers of popular songs.[8][9] She graduated from Martin High School in 2010 and attended the University of Oklahoma, where she studied musical theatre on a full-ride scholarship as a National Hispanic Scholar.[10] During her time in college, she joined Kappa Kappa Gamma.[11] She left before completing her degree to form Pentatonix.[12]

Career

Pentatonix
Main article: Pentatonix

In 2011, Maldonado was contacted by her high school friend Scott Hoying who wanted to put together a group for NBC's a cappella competition The Sing-Off. Maldonado agreed to join the group, which also included Mitch Grassi, another of her high school friends. Together they formed the a cappella group Pentatonix along with Avi Kaplan and Kevin Olusola. The group entered and eventually won the third season of The Sing-Off.[13] Since then, they have released several albums and EPs, reached 13 million YouTube subscribers and over 2 billion YouTube views, and toured the world.[14] On February 8, 2015, Pentatonix won their first Grammy for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella for their Daft Punk medley.[15] On February 15, 2016, Pentatonix won their second Grammy in the same category for their rendition of "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" which was featured on their holiday album, That's Christmas to Me.[16] On February 12, 2017, Pentatonix won their third Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for their cover of "Jolene" which featured Dolly Parton.[17]

Solo projects and appearances

In January 2016, Maldonado performed the song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" at the World Dog Awards in honor of the dogs who have played the role of Toto from the iconic story about The Wizard of Oz.[18]

In February 2016, the a cappella group Voctave released the video "Disney Love Medley" which featured Maldonado and her then-fiancé Jeremy Lewis. In the video, Maldonado and Lewis perform the songs "I See the Light" from Tangled, "You'll Be in My Heart" from Tarzan and "Go the Distance" from Hercules with the members of Voctave providing the backing vocals.[19] In May 2016, Maldonado, along with Grassi and Hoying, appeared in an episode of Bones.[20]

On May 19, 2017, Maldonado released her first solo single, "Break a Little". Her debut EP, L O V E, was released on July 14, 2017. The EP debuted at #1 on the iTunes Pop Albums Chart.[21] In 2018, Maldonado made her Broadway debut, portraying Lauren in the musical Kinky Boots alongside singer Jake Shears and comedian Wayne Brady:[22][23]

Personal life

Maldonado met singer and entrepreneur Jeremy Lewis in August 2013 through The Sing-Off, and the two started dating in October of the same year.[24] They got engaged on May 29, 2016, in Paris, France.[25] In 2017, the couple postponed their wedding to work on certain unstated "issues", eventually calling it off in October.[26]

Maldonado is currently in a relationship with freelance filmmaker and photographer Ben Hausdorff.[27] They have been dating since 2018, and have worked together on different projects for Pentatonix.[28] In March 2022, Maldonado announced that she and Hausdorff were expecting their first child.[29] Their daughter was born on June 28, 2022.[30] In March 2023, Maldonado revealed that she and Hausdorff got engaged in Japan.[31]

Discography
  • Love (2017) (as kırstın™)

Awards and nominations
Daytime Emmy Awards
Year Category Work Result Ref.
2017 Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" on Rachael Ray Nominated [32]
Grammy Awards
Year Category Work Result Ref.
2015 Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella "Daft Punk" Won [33]
2016 "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" Won [34]
2017 Best Country Duo/Group Performance "Jolene" (ft. Dolly Parton) Won [35]
Streamy Awards
Year Category Work Result Ref.
2014 Best Cover Song "Daft Punk" Won [36]
Best Original Song "Love Again" Nominated [36]
Best Musical Artist Pentatonix Nominated [36]
2015 Best Collaboration Pentatonix and Lindsey Stirling Nominated [37]
Best Cover Song "Evolution of Michael Jackson" Nominated [37]
YouTube Music Awards
Year Category Work Result Ref.
2013 Response of the Year "Radioactive" (with Lindsey Stirling) Won [38]
2015 Artist of the Year Pentatonix Won [39]
Shorty Awards
Year Category Work Result Ref.
2015 Best YouTube Musician Pentatonix Won [40]
Billboard Music Awards
Year Category Work Result Ref.
2015 Top Billboard 200 Album That's Christmas to Me Nominated [41]
Top Billboard 200 Artist Pentatonix Nominated [42]
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
Year Category Work Result Ref.
2016 Favorite Music Group Pentatonix Nominated [43]
2017 Nominated [44]
IHeartRadio Music Awards
Year Category Work Result Ref.
2016 Best Cover Song "Cheerleader" Nominated [45]
Webby Awards
Year Category Work Result Ref.
2016 Video Remixes/Mashups Evolution of Michael Jackson Nominated [46]

References
  1. Tom, Lauren (May 19, 2017). "Pentatonix's Kirstin Maldonado Drops First Solo Single 'Break a Little': Listen". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 20, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  2. Scott, Jason (July 14, 2017). "Kirstin Breaks a Little, But Pulls It Together With Triumphant 'LOVE' EP". PopCrush. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  3. "See Pentatonix's Kirstin Maldonado Make Her Broadway Debut in Kinky Boots". Playbill. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  4. Campbell, Kathy (May 30, 2016). "Pentatonix Singer Kirstin Maldonado Is Engaged to Jeremy Michael Lewis: See Her Ring". US magazine. Archived from the original on July 5, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  5. O'Malley-Greenburg, Zack (January 5, 2016). "Pentatonix: Everything You Need To Know About The World's Biggest A Cappella Act". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 27, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  6. First Command [@FirstCommand] (December 19, 2011). "Congrats Kirstie Maldonado and #Pentatonix, who won NBC's #TheSingOff ! Kirstie is daughter of FC's Michael Cisneros" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. "#WCW Kirstie Maldonado inspires as sole female in Pentatonix". The Daily Dot. June 24, 2015. Archived from the original on November 19, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  8. "Biography of Pentatonix". nbc.com. Archived from the original on October 11, 2011. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  9. Malkoff, Amy (November 27, 2011). "An Exclusive Interview With Pentatonix's Scott Hoying". casa.org. Archived from the original on September 12, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
  10. "Pentatonix Official Website". May 6, 2019. Archived from the original on May 6, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2021. Kirstin is a National Hispanic Scholar and was a sophomore Music Theater major at The University of Oklahoma before joining Pentatonix.
  11. "The Key Magazine Kappa Kappa Gamma Key Fall 2016". thekey.kappa.org. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  12. "Kirstie Maldonado- Interview With Pentatonix' Lead Singer". Asian Fusion. January 27, 2014. Archived from the original on November 19, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  13. Gallo, Phil (November 29, 2011). "'The Sing-Off' Finale: Pentatonix Takes The Trophy". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 30, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
  14. Jone, Preston (February 15, 2016). "Pentatonix takes home another Grammy; Fort Worth's Kirk Franklin also a winner". Star-Telegram. Archived from the original on July 20, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  15. "Huffington Post: "Grammy Winners List For 2015 Includes Sam Smith, Pharrell, Beyoncé & More"". HuffPost. February 8, 2015. Archived from the original on February 9, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  16. "Pentatonix Just Scored Their Second Grammy in a Row!". February 15, 2016. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  17. "Dolly Parton and Pentatonix win country duo/roup performance award for 'Jolene'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  18. Springfield, The CW (January 15, 2016). "Winners of 'The World Dog Awards'". WWLP.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  19. "See Pentatonix's Kirstin Maldonado perform sweet 'Disney Love Medley' with boyfriend". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. Archived from the original on November 25, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  20. Philpot, Robert (May 16, 2016). "Pentatonix to appear in 'Bones' musical mystery". Star-Telegram. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  21. "Kirstin Maldonado's Solo Debut EP L O V E Now Available". RCA Records. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  22. "Wayne Brady Will Return to Broadway's Kinky Boots | Playbill". Playbill. Archived from the original on February 13, 2018. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  23. "See Pentatonix's Kirstin Maldonado Make Her Broadway Debut in Kinky Boots | Playbill". Playbill. February 3, 2018. Archived from the original on February 16, 2018. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  24. "Pentatonix Singer Kirstin Maldonado Is Engaged: See Her Ring - Us Weekly". July 5, 2016. Archived from the original on July 5, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  25. "All the Details on Kirstin Maldonado's Romantic Proposal". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  26. "Split? Pentatonix Singer Kristin Maldonado Calls Off Wedding To Work On 'Issues'". Radar Online. October 10, 2017. Archived from the original on November 25, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  27. "kirstin™ on Instagram: "love you love you 🥰❤️"". www.instagram.com. May 6, 2021. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  28. July 2019, Nick Govoni 17 (July 17, 2019). "Ben Hausdorff Shoots Pentatonix and New Kirstin Maldonado Music Videos with Pocket Cinema Camera 4K". Broadcasting Cable. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  29. Maldonado, Kirstin [@kirstin] (March 19, 2022). "KTM2 era … 🥰👶❤️ @hausdo" – via Instagram.
  30. "BREAKING: Kirstin Maldonado Of Pentatonix Welcomes First Child With Boyfriend Ben Hausdorff". Music Mayhem. July 4, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  31. "Pentatonix's Kirstin Maldonado reveals how she told her bandmates she's engaged". Jam Broadcasting. March 23, 2023. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  32. "The 44th Annual Daytime Emmy Award Nominations" (PDF). New York City: emmyonline.org and National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. March 22, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 3, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  33. "Grammy Awards Winners". Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  34. "Grammy Awards 2016: See the Full Winners List". Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  35. Roberts, Randall (February 12, 2017). "Dolly Parton and Pentatonix win country duo/roup performance for 'Jolene'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  36. "Streamy Awards Winners". Archived from the original on December 7, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  37. "Streamy Awards Winners". Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  38. Lopez, Korina (November 4, 2013). "YouTube Music Awards winners list". USA Today. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  39. "YouTube Music Awards winners list". Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  40. "Pentatonix accepts the Best YouTube Musician Shorty Award". Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  41. "Top billboard 200 album finalists". Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  42. "Top billboard 200 artist finalists". Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  43. "Host Blake Shelton, Pentatonix nominated for Nickelodeon's 2016 Kids' Choice Awards". NewsOK.com. February 2, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  44. "2017 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards". Nickelodeon. Archived from the original on February 5, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  45. "2016 iHeartRadio Music Awards Nominees Revealed! | iHeartRadio". iHeartRadio. Archived from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  46. "Tyler Oakley, Pentatonix, and more lead Webby nominations | DailyDot". DailyDot. April 5, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.

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