May the force and Princess Leia be with Kirstie Maldonado…
The 23-year-old half-Mexican, part Spanish-American singer and her fellow Pentatonix members performed a special Star Wars-themed medley at this year’s American Music Awards, complete with a surprise appearance by Han Solo himself.
The a cappella pop group was accompanied by a 65-piece symphony orchestra to sing portions of John Williams‘ epic Star Wars score, which will be ringing in fans’ ears again soon when the franchise’s newest installment, The Force Awakens, comes out in theaters next month.
After AMAs host Jennifer Lopez introduced a new clip from the film, Harrison Ford appeared onstage to remind the audience, many of whom might not know John Williams by name, of his many other famous scores they would certainly recognize, such as from Jaws, E.T. and Indiana Jones.
He then let Pentatonix take it from there, with Maldonado even wearing Princess Leia-esque buns in her hair.
The group’s beatboxer Kevin Olusola recently talked to Rolling Stone about his own Star Wars obsession, saying, “When we’re on tour, I’m planning on re-watching each movie before we go onstage; then I’ll be ready to go for when the newest one comes out next month.”
Pentatonix previously dazzled audiences at this year’s Country Music Awards with their performance of the Oak Ridge Boys’ “Elvira.”