The Barden Bellas

The competitive a cappella pop group at the center of the Pitch Perfect film franchise, the Barden Bellas (aka 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 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