Scott Hoying is reflecting on his career and how all of the “almosts” opened the door for a life in the spotlight.
The Pentatonix singer, 33, got candid about his journey to stardom and the frustrations that came with it while chatting with Parade in an exclusive joint interview with his mom Connie Hoying, whose new memoir The Untold Story of Scott Hoying hit bookshelves on May 6.
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“All of these shows — it’s not always you go straight to the Simon [Cowell], Randy [Jackson], TV round,” he begins. “There’s like, four rounds before it, and [in] like all of them, I would always make it to the executive producer or showrunner of the show that has to approve you one last time before you go on TV and do it for the celebrity judges. And it was always at that round, for some reason — that’s where I got cut on so many of these shows, and it was so frustrating because it was sometimes [a] months-long process.”
Noting that he had moved into a hotel for a month when he auditioned for The Voice and traveled to Kansas for American Idol only to come back two months later to get rejected, Scott tells Parade that a standout interaction with an unnamed executive producer was one of the catalysts of his road to fame.
“There was an executive producer on American Idol that I won’t say, but he was just like, not into it. He was like, ‘It’s too musical theater, it’s not right for the show,’” the Grammy winner recalls. “I made it there three times [in] one year. And I remember him being like, ‘I remember you from last year. You’re still not right for the show.’ But it ended up being such a blessing … The Sing Off, which was really where my career turned around, was right after The Voice didn’t work out. So one door closes, as they say.”
The mother-son duo go on to tell Parade all about Connie’s memoir, which follows Scott’s journey to find harmony in music and life. As for whether or not Connie was nervous to bring the idea to her son, she says they were both excited for her to take on the task.
“It seemed like he was pretty excited about it. I remember him having some questions [about] what exactly I was going to write about and stuff,” Connie says. “And you know, I just told him, [it ’s about] just our life. I mean, obviously most of it’s about him because he has a lot of interesting things to tell, but I think he was fairly excited.”
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Scott adds: “I was excited for you, Mom, to write about [me] because my mom is truly a dramaturge of the Scott Hoying lore. She’s been at everything, she comes to shows all the time, and she always has a bunch of stories … And also, seeing my mom talk about it. She would come alive, and she’s like, ‘I wrote three chapters of the book today, and I interviewed 17 of your friends, and I have all these new ideas.’ And it was just really inspiring and beautiful to see.”
The Untold Story of Scott Hoying, Pentatonix Star: My Son’s Journey to Find Harmony in Music and Life with a foreword by Scott himself, is available now.
