Kevin Oluwole "K.O." Olusola (born October 5, 1988) is an American singer-songwriter, beatboxer, and cellist best known for being a member of American a cappella group, Pentatonix. He joined the band to compete in The Sing-Off after Scott Hoying found him through a viral online video of him beatboxing while playing cello.
Bio[]
Kevin Olusola, originally from Pasadena, California, grew up in Owensboro, Kentucky. He is the son of Dr. Oluwole Olusola, a psychiatrist from Nigeria, and Curline Olusola (née Paul), a nurse from Grenada. He has a younger sister named Candace and a younger brother named Kellon.
Olusola's parents recognized his musical talent at six months and enrolled him in lessons. He began playing the piano at four, the cello at six, and the alto saxophone at ten. In Owensboro, Kentucky, he participated in various music programs, including jazz band, marching band, concert band, orchestra, and community youth orchestra. At 12, he was the principal saxophonist of the United States Collegiate Wind Band, touring Europe for three weeks. He also served as principal cellist in the Kentucky State Youth Orchestra and earned the highest accolade at the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts. As the winner of the American Fine Arts Festival, he performed solo and in a piano trio at Carnegie Hall, along with another solo alto saxophone performance featured in PBS’s special "From the Top at Carnegie Hall."
Olusola initially aimed for a medical career, completing pre-med courses. He started as a music major but switched to East Asian Studies after a 10-day trip to China with 100 Yale students. In his second year, he spent six months in Beijing through a PKU-Yale program. He took a leave of absence for the 2009–2010 academic year to study intensive Chinese at Yale's Light Fellowship in Beijing, part of the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Study. Olusola graduated from Yale in 2011. At Yale, Olusola was a key cellist in the Yale Symphony Orchestra and engaged in chamber music. In his junior year, he seriously considered a music career, inspired by his "celloboxing" experience in Beijing the previous summer. A mentor from a Harvard Chinese program urged him to blend his talents. He became a runner-up in Yo-Yo Ma’s "Celebrate and Collaborate" contest and opened for KRS-One at Southern Connecticut State University. Olusola recalls that during spring break, his pre-med advisor, C. Brandon Ogbunu, encouraged him to pursue music, noting he could always return to medicine later. After a summer of neurobiology research at Yale, Olusola moved to Beijing for a year of Chinese studies, where he honed his cello skills. He began posting celloboxing covers on YouTube and performed for Ambassador Jon Huntsman, Jr. at his home, also appearing on Beijing Television with Li Yu Gang and beatboxer Chong’er.
After his studies in China, Olusola spent summer 2010 in Beijing, working on his celloboxing version of Mark Summer's "Julie-O" while living in a friend's apartment, which helped him expand his skills. He continued developing it and decided to audition for music schools, ultimately enrolling at Berklee College of Music. In his senior spring semester, Olusola and YouTube star Sam Tsui were nominated for a graduation prize and recorded "Julie-O" with Jake Bruene. Olusola posted the video on April 14, 2011, and within two weeks, it reached number 6 on Reddit, becoming a viral sensation with national and international acclaim.
Career[]
With Pentatonix[]
While the video was going viral, Olusola was contacted by Scott Hoying, who admired his musical talent and beatboxing skills. Hoying was forming a group with Kirstin Maldonado, Mitch Grassi, and Avi Kaplan for season three of NBC’s The Sing-Off and invited Olusola to join. The weekend after Olusola graduated, he met the group before the audition, leading to the creation of Pentatonix. After the taping, Olusola briefly served as Gungor's cellist during the David Crowder Band "7" Tour before rejoining Pentatonix for the season finale. The group won The Sing-Off title on November 28, 2011, gaining a recording contract with Sony Music and a $200,000 cash prize. They moved to Los Angeles to record their debut album with producer, Ben Bram, whom they met on the show. Their first EP, PTX, Volume 1, was released on June 26, 2012, and reached No. 14 on the Billboard 200 and No. 5 on the digital chart, selling 20,000 copies in its opening week.
They began a fall 2012 tour and released their Christmas EP, PTXmas, on November 13, 2012. After their winter–spring 2013 tour, Pentatonix returned to finalize their second EP, PTX, Vol. II. Olusola became interested in songwriting and production, focusing on stomping and clapping to enhance their a cappella tracks. He co-wrote four songs for the album: "Natural Disaster," "Love Again," "Hey Momma/Hit the Road Jack," and "Run to You." Released on November 5, 2013, the album debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Independent chart, selling 31,000 copies in its first week. The Christmas album was re-released on November 19, 2013, as the "Deluxe Edition," featuring two additional tracks. One of these, "Little Drummer Boy," charted on several Billboard categories, peaking at number two on the "Streaming Songs" chart and number one on the "Holiday 100" chart, becoming the fourth highest-charting holiday song in Billboard Hot 100 history. After completing their third US tour and second European tour in 2014, Pentatonix signed with RCA Records and released their self-titled album on October 16, 2015. Additionally, Olusola released a solo EP, "The Renegade EP," in early 2015, reaching No. 1 on both the Billboard Classical Albums Chart and the Apple iTunes Classical Chart.
On February 8, 2015, Pentatonix won their first Grammy for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella for their Daft Punk medley. On February 15, 2016, they won their second Grammy in the same category for "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy," from their holiday album, That's Christmas to Me. On February 12, 2017, Pentatonix secured their third Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "Jolene," featuring Dolly Parton.
Solo career[]
Personal life[]
Olusola got engaged to his girlfriend, Leigh Weissman in October 2018. They were married on September 16, 2019. With help from Orange Blossom Special Events, they hosted two days of weddings with 225 guests at the American-style wedding and 165 at the traditional Nigerian wedding. Their rehearsal dinner doubled as a traditional Nigerian ceremony to pay respect to the groom’s heritage on his father’s side. His bandmates were all in attendance at the American ceremony.
Their first child, daughter Kaia Noelle, was born on April 3, 2021. Their second child, son Christian, was born in June of 2024.
External Links[]
X (Twitter): @KOlusola
Instagram: @kolusola
Facebook: @KO1Music
Gallery[]
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