Rewound {PTX}

Epilogue

"And the award for best album notes goes to... Mitch Grassi for 'New Agey Flute Smothered in Pre-recorded Bird Chirps!'"

I adjust my starchy cuffs inside my jacket sleeves for the millionth time and walk toward the stage. "Shut up, Scott." He is not helping my nerves in the least.

My invitation says row B. Here we are. Our seats are in the very middle, which is a good sign we're not actually going to win anything, but we are in the second row, so at least we'll have a great view.

The seats aren't labeled with names like they were at the 2015 and 2016 Grammys. We've begged Kevin to tell us more, but he claims he doesn't know either, even though he's performing. All we've learned is that Kirstie will be right in front of us and Avi will be right behind.

I suspect it's thanks to Kevin that we get to sit together, even though he claims he has nothing to do with any of it. He's ridiculously well-connected. ReKOrd, his label, has really taken off in the last few months. His hard work, patience, and leadership are paying off, and some of the artists he's signed, including Kirstie, are now in the running for Grammys.

After her voice acting job, Kirstie started a band. She's not singing pop music exactly, but her sound is quickly becoming mainstream. She signed with Kevin right away. "I know he won't treat me like a Barbie doll or a pin-up," she told the press. "With Kevin, it will always be about the music."

People said, "Aww, that's nice," but they didn't think it would work. It turns out, though, that talent really can sell better than bare skin, as long as you're not perpetually fighting your label to hold your ground. When Kirstie hit a billion YouTube views in a year and a half, sold at least a hundred thousand copies of all the singles she released, and sold out her whole tour in a week, all while wearing clothes she was comfortable in, artists started lining up at Kevin's door. Tori Kelly and Alessia Cara are both Kirstie's label-mates now, and it goes without saying that Avi released his album through ReKOrd as well.

Scott and I stuck with Sony at first. Kevin was just getting started, and he simply didn't have the capacity at his company to manage us all yet. He did agree, however, to publish "New Agey Flute Smothered in Pre-recorded Bird Chirps," and the album is now up for a couple of Grammys. In addition to my eloquent musical analysis of the tracks in the context of modern music, the album notes have pop-ups in every page of the booklet. Judging by our seating, though, the Grammy will be going to a more seriously titled entry. Kirstie is going to have so much fun destroying my social media. She deserves it, though.

Kirstie is in the front row, and nobody can claim it's only because she knows people who know people. She's been nominated for Best New Artist. In spite of my fears for my Twitter, I'm excited for her. I'm almost certain she's going to win. Of the nominees, she's the most popular, the most talented, and the most original.

As the seats slowly fill, Kirstie and I pass the time and distract ourselves by taunting each other. "I'm going to crush you and grind your sad remains into the dirt."

"I'm going to win so many Grammys you'll be a sobbing mess by the end of the night." Just because I know she's going to win and I'm seated in the middle of the row doesn't mean I'm going to stop baiting her. And who knows, I may yet win something. I do have seven nominations.

"NAFSIPRBC" is up for Best New Age Album and Best Album Notes. I listened to new age music almost exclusively for around a month before starting it, and I actually did a great job. Most of my time, though, I spent on a new electronica album. "Characters" is up for Best Dance/Electronic Album. "Re-PTX" wasn't nominated for anything, but it did--Beyoncé is here. Beyoncé is walking toward us. Beyoncé is sitting down. Right. In. Front. Of. Us.

I tear my eyes away from the back of her head for a moment to
catch Scott's absolutely priceless expression. I don't think he's breathing. I, on the other hand, am hyperventilating. Thankfully, Kirstie, who is sitting right next to Queen B, is still capable of speech. "Beyoncé! Wow, I am so happy to meet you. I've always wanted to be able to tell you what an inspiration you are to us."

"Why thank you, Kirstie! Thank you so much." Beyoncé knows who Kirstie is! Admittedly, everyone knows who Kirstie is, but Beyoncé knows who Kirstie is.

"I've also always wanted to see his face when he met you," Kirstie says, laughing at Scott. "I'm not disappointed." Avi must have seen it too, going by the deep laughter behind us. "Scott is a huge fan of yours," explains Kirstie, "and he and Mitch have arranged the absolute loveliest medleys of your music."

"Scott, Mitch, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." My brain short circuits. Scott is gushing, I think, and Beyoncé is smiling and nodding, and I don't even know what I'm doing. The lights dim and she turns back toward the stage. I try to replay the audio in my mind and parse it into something meaningful. Wait, did she just say she loves our album?

I spend the next hour staring at her styled hair and asking myself how this is my life. I don't pay attention again until Best Song Written for Visual Media comes up. The award goes to Sarish Asan. He wrote "Spring and Autumn" for this year's top box office movie, a loose adaptation of the story of Persephone. The song is about Cora's transition every year to and from the underworld, and it's almost as popular as "Let it Go" was. I can't help being reminded of my own transitions between worlds when I sing it.

"I'd like to thank Paige," says Sarish, "for directing the movie so wonderfully, the whole team at Disney Pixar for making it the success it was, and, of course, Kirstin for breathing life into the song. Thank you all so much!"

The night just keeps getting better from there. I don't win Best Album Notes, but Pentatonix wins Best Arrangement, instrumental or A Cappella, for the Rush medley we made when we all got together in March. We extended that meeting from one week to all month so we could record Re-PTX, an EP of songs we wrote in 2012 and 2013. It didn't seem right to submit that for awards in both 2013 and 2017, but we don't mind releasing it. The Pentaholics were astounded. We tweeted "#soon," then dropped the whole EP an hour later when they were only expecting one song.

I win Best New Age Album with Scott. He makes me give the speech. Later, I stand again to accept the award for Best Dance/Electronic Album, squeezing past half a row of people again but still immensely grateful to whomever put me in that seat. I've always wanted to make electronic music, and I'm incredibly proud of this award.

Three. Three Grammys. This is unreal. Admittedly, I had twice as much time in the last year an a half as all the other artists, but this is crazy.

"And the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance goes to... Mitchell Grassi for 'Please Wake Up.'"

I squeeze out of the row for the fourth time tonight. "I had a speech," I say. This is harder than when Scott's standing right beside me on stage. "But I know I can't talk about it without crying, so I just want to thank my Scott for never letting me go."

Kirstie wins Best New Artist and Best Pop Album. She's a real-live pop star. We'll probably end up both taking over each other's social media.

After the last award is presented, a string orchestra fills the stage and Kevin steps into the spotlight. "His cello's name is Beyoncé," Kirstie whispers to the legend on her left. Kevin puts his bow to his instrument, draws a deep breath, and performs "Cassandra" for us. It's beautiful beyond words.

I would say this is the most perfect evening, but back in 2013, Scott is telling me a funny story about a cat. His eyes are crinkling happily and he's waving his arms as he talks. I can't wait to get back.