Valley View: MKTO Performs At Penn State

MKTO performed at Penn State Monday night, March 23, in Alumni Hall at the Hub-Robeson Center. The event was hosted by the Student Programming Association (SPA) and judging from the line that extended down the stairs of the HUB and beyond, students were looking forward to seeing the pair perform.

Blue spotlights lit up the stage as the crowd waited for the clock to hit 8 p.m. Students shouted and cheered as MKTO took the stage—and they were not disappointed by the performance.

MKTO, which are the initials of the two singers, Malcolm Kelley and Tony Oller, only just started their career in January of 2013 with their hit single “Thank You.” They say their name also stands for “Misfit Kids and Total Outcasts” which they say they felt they were back in high school. MKTO creates music that is a mix of pop and hip- hop.

They opened the show with a song off their self-titled album, “Could Be Me.” The show continued to progress into a mix of songs from the album and also debuted some new songs that would be coming out soon.

One of their new songs began with Tony saying, “We said we like classic girls, but we also like bad girls” — and the song was rightfully titled “Bad Girls.” The crowd danced along and picked up on the chorus with ease. (We predict it will be a big hit once released!)

Another song they played from their album was the chart-topping “American Dream” during which Tony played piano while singing. They also managed to keep the crowd rowdy with “God Only Knows.”

Throughout the show, Malcolm and Tony were using a GoPro, alternating between recording clips of themselves and of the audience. They also had extra drums on the stage that Malcolm and Tony would, during certain songs, bang on with drum sticks, adding even more to the energy of the room.

At the peak of the show, they brought out water bottles that they sprayed the crowd with, increasing the hype even more.

MKTO put on a performance like no other. However, they did need a little lesson from us Penn Stater’s that the “We Are” chant must be done 3 times before saying “Thank You.” But it’s the effort that counts, right?

After leaving the stage, the crowd was left a smidge confused, having not heard their current most popular song, “Classic.” However, the hopeful audience chanted a mixture of “Penn State” and “Classic” until MKTO took the stage one more time for an encore that was, well, simply classic.

MKTO was well loved here at Penn State, and with a show like that it was for good reason. Who said Monday nights are boring?