The Barden Bellas

The competitive a cappella pop group at the center of the Pitch Perfect film franchise, the Barden Bellas (aka <a href="spotify:artist:4pBZPaKdm0u7Joe6oAea6V">the Bellas</a>) focus on songs made popular by women. Led by sympathetic underdog Beca Mitchell (<a href="spotify:artist:6xfqnpe2HnLVUaYXs2F8YS">Anna Kendrick</a>), the group endured collegiate (2012's Pitch Perfect) and international competitions (2015's Pitch Perfect 2) as well as a USO reunion tour (2017's Pitch Perfect 3), all with Mitchell's stylish, choreographed renditions of songs by the likes of <a href="spotify:artist:5WUlDfRSoLAfcVSX1WnrxN">Sia</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2Mu5NfyYm8n5iTomuKAEHl">Lauryn Hill</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:26dSoYclwsYLMAKD3tpOr4">Britney Spears</a>, just to name a few. All three of the series' original soundtracks reached the Billboard 200 Top 20.

Formed at fictional Barden University, <a href="spotify:artist:4pBZPaKdm0u7Joe6oAea6V">the Bellas</a> consist of Beca, Aubrey (<a href="spotify:artist:2TWKf4JY0oVcjI7LrZAWts">Anna Camp</a>), Chloe (Brittany Snow), and "Fat Amy" (Rebel Wilson), each of whom returned for every franchise entry alongside group mates Lilly (Hana Mae Lee), Stacie (Alexis Knapp), Cynthia (<a href="spotify:artist:0v2Y5jwtcv8LiWNTRls1KM">Ester Dean</a>), Jessica (Kelley Jakle), and Ashley (Shelley Regner). The first installment saw them competing at the 2012 collegiate nationals with medleys that included songs by <a href="spotify:artist:5YGY8feqx7naU7z4HrwZM6">Miley Cyrus</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0du5cEVh5yTK9QJze8zA0C">Bruno Mars</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2gsggkzM5R49q6jpPvazou">Jessie J</a>, and more. The hit Pitch Perfect soundtrack reached number three on the Billboard 200. The women returned to compete in the 2015 World A Cappella Championship with material that included <a href="spotify:artist:6vWDO969PvNqNYHIOW5v0m">Beyoncé</a>'s "Run the World (Girls)," "Timber" (originally by <a href="spotify:artist:0TnOYISbd1XYRBk9myaseg">Pitbull</a> featuring <a href="spotify:artist:6LqNN22kT3074XbTVUrhzX">Kesha</a>), and, from the 1980s, "We Belong" by <a href="spotify:artist:43mhFhQ4JAknA7Ik1bOZuV">Pat Benatar</a>. That lineup of <a href="spotify:artist:4pBZPaKdm0u7Joe6oAea6V">the Bellas</a> added <a href="spotify:artist:5p7f24Rk5HkUZsaS3BLG5F">Hailee Steinfeld</a> as Emily and <a href="spotify:artist:593tFpGktkAsVgnuwUpgnx">Chrissie Fit</a> as Flo. Pitch Perfect 2's soundtrack topped the album chart in the U.S. and peaked at number three in Canada and Australia. Their 2017 reunion found Beca opening for <a href="spotify:artist:0QHgL1lAIqAw0HtD7YldmP">DJ Khaled</a> in a USO performance that also included <a href="spotify:artist:4pBZPaKdm0u7Joe6oAea6V">the Bellas</a>' take on <a href="spotify:artist:19ra5tSw0tWufvUp8GotLo">George Michael</a>'s "Freedom! '90." The third movie's soundtrack album reached as high as number 20 on the Billboard 200.

In 2020, <a href="spotify:artist:4pBZPaKdm0u7Joe6oAea6V">the Bellas</a> reunited again, this time for a recording of <a href="spotify:artist:6vWDO969PvNqNYHIOW5v0m">Beyoncé</a>'s "Love on Top" to benefit UNICEF in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It landed in the Top 20 of Billboard's digital songs chart. ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi