* En anglais uniquement
The competitive a cappella pop group at the center of the Pitch Perfect film franchise,
the Bellas focus on songs made popular by women. Led by sympathetic underdog Beca Mitchell (
Anna Kendrick), 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
Sia,
Lauryn Hill, and
Britney Spears, just to name a few. All three of the series' original soundtracks reached the Billboard 200 Top 20.
Formed at fictional Barden University,
the Bellas (aka the Barden Bellas) consist of Beca, Aubrey (
Anna Camp), 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 (
Ester Dean), Jessica (Kelley Jakle), and Ashley (Shelley Regner). The first installment saw them competing at the 2012 collegiate nationals with medleys that included songs by
Miley Cyrus,
Bruno Mars,
Jessie J, 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
Beyoncé's "Run the World (Girls)," "Timber" (originally by
Pitbull featuring
Kesha), and, from the 1980s, "We Belong" by
Pat Benatar. That lineup of
the Bellas added
Hailee Steinfeld as Emily and
Chrissie Fit 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
DJ Khaled in a USO performance that also included
the Bellas' take on
George Michael's "Freedom! '90." The third movie's soundtrack album reached as high as number 20 on the Billboard 200.
In 2020,
the Bellas reunited again, this time for a recording of
Beyoncé'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