Welcome back to The Sing-Off, arguably the best singing competition on television. Let me get one big thing out of the way before we go any further. I work as a music director for theater. I've done vocal arrangements, transcriptions, and staging before. I have a very critical ear for the tiniest mistakes in a capella music and hold these contestants up to a very high standard. If you're going to claim to be one of the best groups in America, you better not be making rudimentary mistakes. I'm talking about things I don't let six year olds get away with, like poor diction, not listening to each other, and sloppy transitions. This season, sixteen of America's best a cappella groups are competing for a recording contract with Sony Music. It's your standard mix of collegiate groups, family groups, professional groups, alumni groups, and even The Sing-Off alumni groups. We have a new judge joining singer/songwriter Ben Folds and Boys II Men member Shawn Stockman. Her name is Sara Bareilles and if you claim not to know her, you've either been living under a rock or (sadly) listening to radio stations that don't name the artists. She is the singer/songwriter behind "Love Song" and "King of Everything." She's awesome.
The cardboard cutout of Nick Lachey--with a fresh coat of body wax and slightly more relaxed wardrobe--comes out to introduce the show format. The constants have been split into two heats of eight groups each. They will compete within their heat for two weeks each (four weeks all together) before the final eight contestants merge together through the rest of the season. They'll be given different a cappella challenges to test their versatility. It's a great and fair challenge that any seasoned a cappella group can handle, no problem.
Let's get to the singing!
The season opens with a group number from the first eight vocal groups performing "[Redacted] Perfect" by P!nk. They are: kinfolk 9 (struggling musicians/friends), Urban Method (rapappella group put together by music studio producer), Delilah (a bunch of girls from groups that lost The Sing-Off in previous seasons), Vocal Point (Brigham Young University's all male a cappella group, versus their co-ed group that lost in season 1), [The] Cat's Pajamas (professional entertainers in Branson, Missouri), Afro-Blue (Howard University's select jazz choir), Fannin Family (eight siblings, for real), and [University of Rochester's] Yellowjackets (University of Rochester's all male a cappella group).
The choreography this season is much more workable for these groups. It looks great with a filled stage and fits the music. I assume they have a new choreographer. The balance is also better than it's ever been on a big group number. New sound mixer? All of this leads me to believe that the show has a budget and sweet-talked some very talented singers into competing.
One thing they didn't change was the stupid brackets with brackets thing. The first four groups are competing against each other for three spots; same with the last four groups. This rarely ends well. With so many contestants this season, I predict I'll be scratching my head over the results at least four times before the end of the run. A bad group gets by because a good group did worse for one week in one half of the show while a great group goes home because two good groups magically gave their best performances ever in the second half. It's maddening. Throw them all together and get rid of the two worst.
Up first are [University of Rochester's] Yellowjackets. They're performing "Wavin' Flag" by Anon.
It's a brave song choice for the first week. The song is not as well known and it's in a different musical vocabulary than anything else that's been done on the show. Their choir arrangement is stunning. The beatboxers and bass could overpower the rest of the members in a heartbeat if they wanted to. I have issues with the soloists. The first one is putting on an affected accent that does not translate out of a greater understanding of the song. The second soloist is scooping--hitting a high note beneath a high note and sliding up--every high note and is somehow causing the tempo to go all wacky. The fourth soloist, however, has a beautiful classically trained tenor and should take over their lead vocals from now on.
Shawn think the performance was very believable, powerful, and showed great dynamic range. Ben thinks it was a great group effort, the backing choir sounded great, but there were major tempo issues. Sara loved the effect at the end when the chorus changed and wished there was more of that. I agree with Sara. It was a missed opportunity, but a solid rendition nonetheless.
Second is Fannin Family. They are performing "Who Says" by Selena Gomez
Right off the bat I don't like this arrangement. They try to do a more advanced vocal technique called a scherzando piano crescendo and fail miserably. Then they keep trying it throughout and don't get it right once. Essentially, you hit a note really loud, get very quiet, and then get louder again. They try to do it on "beautiful life." They're hitting the note and then pushing the note. Not the same thing. It's not pretty.
The soloist is ok, but she keeps going flat whenever she transitions into her head voice. The harmonies are too simple for this contest, the tempo is horribly inconsistent, and the soloist keeps screaming. It's pretty darn bad. They have potential but need a whole lot more training than what they've received and the heavy hand of a music director to make this work.
Ben says the family is lucky to have great blend but cursed to sound the same and criticizes the bass. Sara says the soloist is a great performer but has big pitch issues. Shawn says the soloist is great but the harmonies are problematic. I agree with all three. Not the way you want to start out in this contest.
Third is Afro-Blue, my favorite performers this week. They sing a jazz version of Corinne Bailey Rae's "Put Your Records On."
The arrangement is very playful. The backing choir is in a different rhythmic pattern than the lead singer, which is very hard to pull off. It's even harder when you realize that they only took the chord changes from the original song and created something brand new. Their lead singer is fantastic. She has mastery of her full range, including transitioning between her chest voice and her head voice, which she's mixing to create the impression of effortless belting. They actually sped up their song a little, which is a good thing in this contest. The one issue is that the second soloist is a bit too quiet near the end of the song.
Ben says he loves the relaxed lead and the bass and praises the group on an accessible arrangement. Sara says she was entertained, the group looks great, and they seem versatile. Shawn says "class, style, slick, smooth, effortless." I agree with Shawn. You can't over-think this group. You just need to absorb their musical wisdom and let it wash over you.
Ending the first bracket is Delilah. They're singing "Grenade" by Bruno Mars.
I know from the key they choose and how the lead singer is approaching this material that I will hate this performance. I don't like female vocalists who think they're belting by shrieking. This is compounded by an arrangement that has the sopranos in the upper parts of the register and their lady bass barely singing below a mezzo soprano's range. Their beatboxer is terrible and that will hurt them in the future. The soloist isn't just screeching, she's scooping and has no transition between her chest and head voice. This was painful. And yet, I'd rather watch a group that at least tries to go for something than oatmeal on school paste like Fannin Family.
Sara, who is an awesomely awkward nerd and I love her for it, thinks it was an awesome performance with great dynamics, versatility, and emotions. Shawn says the lead was believable, passionate, and sexy. Ben says the song was a bad choice (thank you), the lady bass was good (he heard her?) and he loved the harmonies. You know what happened here? NBC fixed the bottom half of the mixing board but ran out of money before they could tweak the top half. This might have sounded good in person.
Fannin Family are out. They do not redeem themselves with their awful swan song performance of "Tomorrow" from Annie.
Kicking off the second heat is Urban Method. They're singing "Love the Way You Lie" by Rihanna & Eminem. Their gimmick is that one of their members is only a rapper. That...seems stupid. Really stupid. You're going to put someone in your group in an a cappella singing competition who can't beatbox and/or sing? What about when you can't get away with rap?
Another group goes for a very slow and soft start. That's three for people playing at home--Fannin Family, Delilah, Urban Method. At least this song can stand that treatment. The soloist has pitch issues when she tries to belt in her upper register. Her natural head voice is strong and lovely, so she should avoid that. There are big issues with tempo transitions, harmonies when the rapper first kicks in (takes a good fifteen seconds before they're all on the right notes), and balance between the bass and the rest of the group. Urban Method has potential. Their producer who pulled them together has a great ear for arrangement. The group just messed up this time.
Shawn thinks they're cool and didn't sound like singers (a compliment). Sara thinks the rapper has a great star quality and the group had great theatrical presence. Ben thinks the producer makes the group works, hated their articulation, and loved their bass. I'm between Sara and Ben here.
Second is [The] Cat's Pajamas. They're performing cruise ship standard "Some Kind of Wonderful" like they're performing on a cruise ship. Which makes sense because they started working on a cruise ship for the first three years of their existence. This ends badly.
They have a very dated sound. This is 1980s a cappella in 2011. Think Rockapella performing on Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?. There's a place for this sound, but not when you're competing for a record contract. They also seem way too safe and clean to rise above it. The arrangement is empty. There's nothing too it. It's the Splenda of a cappella music. Sure, it's balanced to sound like the real thing, but it's not nearly as satisfying as the stuff that can do a number to you. The lead also has major pitch problems in his falsetto--he's very flat.
Ben says there is an art to covering and these guys gel but chose the wrong song. Shawn likes the bass but hates the arrangement. Sara says they're a tight package but not versatile at all. Agreed. They'll go home for sure.
Third is kinfolk 9. They're singing "Secrets" by One Republic.
I can tell from the key they choose this will be awkward. Helpful hint for music arrangers: if your lead singer doesn't have the high note to sing the song in the original key, don't raise the song a whole step and leave him out to dry. The song is way too slow (fourth group to do that), but they have great dynamic variation going on in the backing arrangement. I can't knock the arrangement (except for the key that would be perfect a fourth lower), but I can knock the weak beatboxer and blend/pitch issues on the bridge. Those were bad. Potential here to do great things.
Sara says the lead is great, the bass is "wow" and the performance was emotional. Ben says the lead is great, the blend is off, and the group clearly loves what they do. Shawn says there were harmony quirks and the blend was off. I'm on Team Shawn here. The lead was in an awkward part of his range and the group was missing their transitions.
Closing out the night is Vocal Point. They're singing "Jump Jive an' Wail" by Brian Setzer Orchestra. Helpful hint for future reality show contestants: if you're competing against trained jazz singers, don't do songs in the jazz wheelhouse unless you're equally or better trained. Stupid.
Vocal Point do not get into the groove of the song until after the first chorus. It sounds forced and uneasy until then. The syncopation they're going for is off, as well. Their use of dynamics is great but their diction is a bit too loose. They're also rewriting lyrics to not go against their Mormon beliefs. That'll be fun in future weeks.
Something wonderful happens on the third verse. The group clicks. They suddenly sound fantastic have great stage presence, and are really selling their choreography. Where was that group for the first minute of this performance and can we have them every week? Love that side of them.
Ben says they had a great groove, the beatboxer and bass were great, and they made him feel good. Shawn says they were fun and entertaining but suffered because their baritone couldn't perform and fill out the gap between bass and tenor. I say they should have taught a tenor the baritone part and ditched one of the super high trumpet sounds at the beginning. Stupid. Sara says they had a great blend, were unpredictable in a good way, and epitomize what's great about classic collegiate a cappella. I'm in between Shawn and Sara.
Cat's Pajamas go home for failing to outperform non-paid performers.
Coming back to The Sing-Off was like the first pumpkin pie spice latte of the season. It's warm and comforting like grandma's house and puppy kisses. What did you think? Sound off below.