Hi-5 (American virtual group)

Hi-5 is an American, formed in early 2020 in association with the television series of the same name. Created by Percy Stevenson and produced by, the series premiered on in late December 2019. The group is the successor of the Australian band, and is best known for their playful, upbeat style of music.

Karlie Palmer, Ann Sparks, Victoria "Vicky" Holland, Shane Colburn, and Darren Massey are the five animated members of the group. The group has appeared in a lot of TV shows, recorded albums, and toured all over the world. The series features puppet characters Chatterbox and Jup Jup, who appeared in two of its segments, just like the original.

Hi-5 is the first virtual band to emerge in the decade. Their albums were certified Multi-Platinum (Five in the Air, Ready or Not (Soundbreakerz Remix)), Platinum (Summertime Fun), and Gold (Let's Get Away, Boom Boom Beat (Feel That Heartbeat)) by the.

Unlike more recent iterations of their predecessor group, they were also a critical success in their early months. Critics have referred to the group as "the new generation of Hi-5 USA."

2019–2020: Formation, debut, and early success
Percy Stevenson, a television producer, came up with the idea for a new show that would be a remake of the Hi-5 TV show, which ran from 1999 to 2011 and was revived in 2017. The Hi-5 animated reboot, according to Stevenson, is primarily a television series, although the soundtrack stands on its own. While the series is primarily aimed at kids, it caters to an audience of all ages and contains many levels of work designed to appeal to them. He was also interested in resurrecting the band as a virtual band.

The Hi-5 remake television pilot was largely driveninspired in part by voice auditions held in July 2016. The members were to be voiced by Leigh McKinney, Alexander Thornton, Tiffany Nash, Bridget Greene, and Maxwell Knight were picked to voice the members.

Later, in mid-April 2019, the series was announced. The members of the group were revealed in the first trailer. Karlie Palmer, Ann Sparks, Victoria "Vicky" Holland, Shane Colburn, and Darren Massey are the members, who are all CG-animated characters. The series eventually premiered on on December 26, 2019.

Hi-5 made their debut in mid-January 2020 and were signed with. During the same month, RCA Records released the corresponding debut album, Five in the Air, and it peaked at number 17 on the Super Albums Chart.

Five in the Air earned Hi-5 the RIAA Super Award for Best Debut Children's Album of 2020. Let's Get Away, Boom Boom Beat (Feel That Heartbeat), Summer Fun, Five in the Air, Ready Or Not (Soundbreakerz Remix) have all received gold, platinum, and multi-platinum certifications, respectively. Five of their albums charted at the top of the RIAA Super Albums Chart, with five of them breaking the top 20; Ready Or Not (Soundbreakerz Remix) (number five, May 2020), Summer Fun (number two, July 2020), In A Different Place (number six, August 2020), Techno World (number three, November 2020, and Boom Boom Beat (Feel That Heartbeat) (number seven, February 2021). In mid-June 2020, there were reports that a feature film starring the group was in the works, as well as plans to release a single.

Hi-5 played to sold-out crowds in venues such as Madison Square Garden during their national tours, which lasted up to three weeks per month. At the 2020 Tony Awards, their production of Hi-5 Alive Again won the Best Children's Presentation Tony Award; their Feel The Beat production was nominated in the same category in early August 2020. The group's first tour in Asia took them to New Zealand in late September, and in early December, they performed in arenas across Singapore to maximize audience capacity. Hi-5 has been performing at Universal Orlando's Mardi Gras every year since April 2020, in addition to their regular touring schedule.

2020–2021: Replacement of original music arranger, executive producer, and voice director
Executive producer Donna Young announced her pregnancy on September 4, 2020, and stated that she would be taking maternity leave beginning in December. Jodi Panos took her place temporarily; Young gave birth to two baby boys later that month. Panos served as an executive producer fill-in for the television series, which began filming in early October 2020. Later that month, Young announced her intention to return to the Hi-5 USA 2020 series as executive producer, but she stepped down permanently in late November to focus on being a mother. Panos took over as full-time executive producer in her absence.

Hi-5 composer and arranger Michael Evans was unable to keep up with the series' production after a motorcycle accident on January 13, 2021. Darrell Cureau had been hired as Evans' understudy a few days earlier and was immediately assigned to work as his temporary replacement. Less than a week later, the group went on a tour of the Hi-5: Outer Space Dreams show, a space-themed show that taught the audience about "space wonders" and the solar system. Evans stepped down as composer and arranger permanently at the end of January, and Cureau took over on a full-time basis.

The remaining crew members have stated that they will depart by March 2021. During the latter half of October 2020, voice director Sandra Long announced her intention to leave at the end of the year to pursue other opportunities, and a week later, producer Carol Alexander announced her intention to leave and focus on older-audience shows. Another three weeks later, Helen Jackson, who coached Hi-5's voice actors, announced her intention to resign as well after her family planned to relocate to Canada due to her husband's company's relocation. According to a CNN report, Hi-5's production company asked Jackson, Alexander, and Long to leave and was "deciding to hire younger, cheaper crew members." Jackson responded, but Alexander denied the rumors, stating that no pressure had been applied to them to resign. During Hi-5's stage performance in iSing for You! 2021, held at the, the three retiring crew members discussed their retirement in a moving speech.

2021–2022: A new generation of crew members
In March 2021, the remaining crew members were joined by Oretha Dewitt, Rachell Schulze, and Eryn Richie, completing the new Hi-5 production team. Richie, Hi-5's new voice director, described the transition as difficult, leaving them uncertain about the future. The series' 100th episode aired on May 14, 2021; a week later, the group re-recorded several songs performed by the original Hi-5's later lineups. The new production team received the same amount of praise as the original; most critics praised Dewitt's ability to improve performance, stating that "she helps Hi-5's voice actors become more skillful singers." Hi-5 became ambassadorslater in May, going on a promotional tour in Singapore and volunteering in the Philippines at the end of the month. They also became representatives in two months, and as part of their tour, they visited hospitals on a semi-regular basis.

Director Joey V. Grewell's final day working for the Hi-5 production company was August 17, 2021, when the DVD "World Tour Memories" was published. Grewell would depart from Universal Kids to "explore other career options," according to Frances Berwick, president of Universal Kids. Mitchell Aaron, Grewell's replacement, started working for the Hi-5 production firm a week later.