The Sing-Off Breathes Life into NBC Lineup
For music lovers, the period between the Glee finale and the commencement of American Idol’s ninth season looked like it would be a dry spell for music on television. Then NBC made their contribution to the musical TV show genre with The Sing-Off. Hosted by Nick Lachey, and judged by Ben Folds, Shawn Stockman and Nicole Scherzinger, the show features eight groups competing for a prize of $100,000 dollars and a Sony recording contract. Eight of the country’s top a cappella groups had to perform the songs of their choice. Contestants hailed from all parts of the country, from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Los Angeles, California and even from Medford, Massachusetts. Tufts University’s locally known a cappella group, the Beelzebubs, with AB graduate Kent McCann, was selected as one of the finalists, exciting many Acton-Boxborough residents.
The Sing-Off opened with a full cast performance of “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie, introducing the audience to the sound of a cappella music. The competition began as the eight teams split into groups of four and performed a song that showed their unique style. For the first time, classics such as “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz and “Somebody to Love” by Queen were performed without lip-synching or any help from back up bands. The Beelzebubs’ theatrical rendition of the Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour” stood out as a solid performance that showed their upbeat, lively style. The pilot episode closed with the elimination of two groups decided upon by the judges.
On the second night, each team was given the challenge of performing both a recent Top Forty hit and a song they considered a “guilty pleasure.” A group of soccer moms amazed the judges with a barber shop quartet-style rendition of “Love Story” by Taylor Swift, while Cleveland, Tennessee’s Voices of Lee, made a spectacular comeback with Alicia Keys’ “No One.” However, a performance of Jay Sean’s “Down” by Nota, a Puerto Rican group largely influenced by Latin music, was received with the most enthusiasm. By the end of the episode, Brigham Young University’s all-female a cappella group, Noteworthy, were sent home.
After the singing of an a cappella version of “Mr. Blue Sky” by Electric Light Orchestra, the third episode saw the five remaining teams perform medleys of songs from iconic artists including Michael Jackson, The Beatles, and Journey. The Beelzebubs stole the show with their performance of classic songs by The Who, which The New York Times described as having begun as “slow [and] haunting” but ending with characteristic energy.
Following the tradition of almost every other performance-centered reality show, The Sing-Off allowed viewers to vote for a winner prior to the finale. Voices Of Lee, The Beelzebubs, and Nota emerged as the three finalists. A live event, the fourth and final episode of The Sing-Off, featured the three groups singing with a number of guest performers. The finale began with full cast performance of “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U2. Following this, Voices of Lee joined British pop sensation Natasha Bedingfield in an a cappella version of her hit song “Pocketful of Sunshine,” a choice well-suited to their style. Adding to the list of guests, Smokey Robinson joined Nota in singing “The Tracks of My Tears,” while Bobby McFerrin, a renowned a cappella artist, led the cast in an impromptu performance of his song “Drive.” Halfway through the finale, Voices of Lee were revealed to come in third place after which The Beelzebubs and Nota accompanied judges Nicole Scherzinger and Ben Folds in performances of “You Don’t Own Me” and “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” Despite the Beelzebubs enormously entertaining and well-sung performance, Nota was announced as the winners by popular vote in the final five minutes of the show. Nota closed the series with a performance of their popular a cappella version of “Down,” accompanied by the original artist, Jay Sean.
The Sing-Off was a one-of-a-kind show in that it chose to showcase a cappella music. While popular on a small scale, the genre has yet to find mainstream success. The word-of-mouth success and format The Sing-Off contributed towards presenting a cappella artists with an extraordinary opportunity to project this style of music to a new level.
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