The Drexel Connection to a Viral A Cappella Group

The Tonics sang the U.S. and Canadian national anthems at the Phillies vs. Toronto Blue Jays on Father’s Day weekend in 2025 — a special moment, Youngmoo Kim said, because some of the members brought their children on the field for the performance. Photo courtesy Youngmoo Kim, featured on the right with the red tie.

Drexel University Senior Vice Provost for Experiential Education Youngmoo Kim, PhD, is used to incorporating music — especially a cappella singing — into his personal and professional life. He’s not used to going viral for it. 

Kim has five degrees in engineering, music and media arts and sciences, and he has spent decades researching and promoting those disciplines. Since 2005, he has been a professor of electrical and computer engineering, and he later founded Drexel’s Expressive & Creative Interaction Technologies (ExCITe) Center focused on collaboration and community-research in STEAM and technology fields. After he began leading the Office of University & Community Partnerships (UCP) in 2023, music and music lessons have been further amplified through community events and outreach, including holiday videos with members of the University and local communities singing together.

But it’s the Tonics, a suburban men's a cappella group for which he is both the music director and unofficial social media director, that has gained a lot of attention over the past year.

Just look at the headlines from some of their biggest press hits:

From NBC’s “TODAY Show” on Oct. 26: “Meet the Viral Dad-Filled A Cappella Group ‘The Tonics’” (anchor Craig Melvin tried singing and beatboxing with the group).

From NPR’s “All Things Considered” earlier this month: “How these suburban a cappella singers became improbable social media stars.”

From the Philadelphia Inquirer in June: “The hottest musical act in Philly? A group of middle-aged guys in khaki slacks and sensible loafers.”

Youngmoo Kim, left, on stage with some of the Tonics.

It all started last December, when Kim posted an Instagram video of the group singing Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away” in a member’s kitchen. It was, Kim said, “nothing special,” but the ordinariness is, perhaps, the point.

“What you see in the videos is just how we rehearse,” he said. “We’re often around a kitchen or a dining room table. There are snacks and beverages. And we sing!”

The Tonics’ members are 18 men whose ages span five decades. They all live in the Philadelphia region. Most are fathers (and grandfathers), have significant day jobs and performed in a cappella groups as students. Post-collegiate a cappella options aren’t as well known or available, which partly led to the group’s 1990 founding (Kim joined the group in 2012).

The Tonics have performed at their own concerts, Phillies games and other private and public events. They currently have three albums and two EPs available for streaming on Spotify and Apple Music, with the most recent, “Surreal,” dropping Oct. 23 (and featuring some of the songs sung in their popular videos). They’re also celebrating Philly’s recent designation as the “Best NFL City in the U.S.” with a collaborative project inviting viewers to join their singalong video of “Fly, Eagles, Fly.” With the recent and continuing surge in popularity, they’ve seen more recognition, both online and offline.

That “Drift Away” video racked up one million views in five days and helped the group’s Instagram account grow from under 100 followers to 100,000. Now, their videos can reach millions of views on Instagram: their most popular Instagram post, a performance of Bill Withers’ classic “Lean On Me,” has 5 million views. For Kim, one of the highlights was when Michael Bublé liked, commented on and shared their performance of his song “Haven’t Met You Yet,” which has 3.2 million views.

The Tonics adjusted to their newfound virality. Some members were more impressed with the Inquirer article than the Instagram page views, and they all thought the invitation to perform remotely on a top Australian morning show was a prank, Kim said. He has continued promoting their discography, rehearsals and performances on the Tonics’ Instagram and Facebook pages; he first started their Instagram in 2024 after he became music director, a dozen years after he joined.

A group photo of the Tonics at one of their rehearsals. Photo courtesy Youngmoo Kim, standing second from left in the third row.

By then, Kim was already running Drexel’s Music & Entertainment Technology Laboratory (MET-lab) as a professor of electrical and computer engineering in the Nick Howley College of Engineering and Computing’s School of Engineering. He also is the founding director of Drexel’s Expressive and Creative Interaction Technologies (ExCITe) Center, now part of UCP. Over the years, he’s advised several Drexel engineering senior design projects inspired by the needs of singing groups; this year, it’s with a team leveraging digital networks to streamline audio setup for live events.

Kim is also a longtime promoter and supporter of Drexel’s multiple student a cappella organizations, in part because he knows the transformative collaborations, experiential learning and long-lasting benefits that come from getting involved. He was a member of a cappella groups at both Stanford University (as a graduate student) and Swarthmore College (as an undergraduate).

Now, he frequently cheers on Dragons at the Drexel-hosted regional quarterfinals for the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), a competition featured in the 2012 hit movie “Pitch Perfect.” (He competed in the finals of the first-ever ICCA championship at Lincoln Center with the Stanford Fleet Street Singers in 1996.) Drexel’s 8 to the Bar and Drexel Dhvani a cappella groups hosted the 2026 quarterfinal event, with the Cleftomaniacs winning awards for best choreography and best vocal percussion, and the Treblemakers placing third overall with their set, “AMERICANA.”

In 2025, UCP hosted those groups as part of the first-ever Drexel-Penn A Cappella Sing-Off, and this year’s event will be held on Nov. 13 in Drexel’s Main Auditorium . Some of those student members have performed at community events and taught free music lessons at the Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships, which is part of UCP. And Kim worked closely with former Treblemakers president, Shailly Verma, a health management and policy student in the Dana and David Dornsife School of Public Health, when she was the civic engagement chair of Drexel’s Undergraduate Student Government Association.

“Drexel a cappella singers are some of our most civically engaged students, and I could not be prouder of their efforts and the impact they have had,” he said. “Our connections go far beyond music, which we love, and include a shared belief in the power of music in bringing communities together.”

Some of Kim’s colleagues at Drexel are aware of his work, and newfound fame, with the Tonics. One already submitted a video for the “Fly Eagles Fly” project, and another sent Kim a text of the Inquirer article and joked that he’s worried Kim will leave Drexel to go on tour.

“My colleagues have been very supportive in attending some of our concerts and following on social media, and the Drexel a cappella groups are aware of my involvement in the Tonics and our social media presence,” he said. “I try to highlight their performances and events to raise awareness of Drexel, and Philly, a cappella.”