ACB ICCA South Semifinal at The University of South Carolina

Stephen Hutchings is the music director of The UGA Accidentals. He writes reviews for The A Cappella Blog.

This past Saturday night I had the distinct pleasure of sitting in Booker T. Washington Auditorium in Columbia, South Carolina awaiting the South ICCA Semifinals, the hottest event of the year (literally, it was incredibly hot in that auditorium!). I remember the excitement, nervousness, and anticipation awaiting this competition last year, and hoped that this year's competition could be even better.

The first group was The University of Maryland’s Faux Paz. The mixed group came out in sharp black and red ensembles, a trend that seemed popular at semifinals this year. They opened with “Animal” by Neon Trees which started with a bang but really kept the song in the pocket in both choreography and dynamics until the bridge. At that point the group broke out physically while dropping in a choral breakdown which I thought was very well executed visually and aurally, and really gave us the level this group's music is at. The percussion kicked in at the end of the bridge as the group sang the last chorus in full. A nice opener, although I would have preferred more a more rockstar persona out of the soloist and more energy out of a couple of backing singers. Next up was Celine Dion’s “I Surrender,” a great slow middle song that really showcased the soloist. The group's blend was lush and choreography was simple and didn't attempt to do to much. When the vocal percussion kicked in in the second verse the song really got going and the soloist took off, really selling the song with her commitment to the emotion. The background singers never seemed to agree on one emotion for them to express as a group, and as a result the song didn't quite achieve all that I hoped it would. The group switched into Florence and the Machine’s “Cosmic Love.” A nice closer with a strong group sound, although the group waited until the end of the song to really unleash their real volume. A strong soloist was strengthened by an equally as strong backing soloist later in the song. Not the greatest closer, but a strong ending statement to a nice set nonetheless.

The second group of the night was The Melodores of Vanderbilt University. The Melodores came out in jeans and individual attire of their school colors, black and gold. The started with a choral intro complete with conducting before the guys started “How Low” by Ludacris and Chris Brown, dropping to the floor leaving one soloist singing the chipmunk solo. The song was quite impressive visually, with dance breaks, raps, multiple soloists and impressive choreography. I thought the background vocals could be crispier with more contrast, but the guys came out with incredible energy and swag and set the bar for the rest of their set. The guys marched to their new position to a drum as the soloist was thrown to the ground then sang the first verse of “Strange Fruit/A Change Is Gonna Come.” The group came in and brought a rich texture as the backing. The soloist was consistently put his mic too close which made the backing hard to hear at times, and I think the song needed more dynamic contrast to portray the two emotions they were trying to display, but it was a nice arrangement. The group closed with “Supermassive Black Hole” by Muse as the 'Dore who had done the impressive chipmunk voice and the wailing at the end of “Change is Gonna Come” was at the forefront of this song, singing AND doing incredible guitar solos. The choreography and commitment by the other guys to the song was electrifying, and the song climaxed when the group lifted the soloist into the air and then sucked him into the black hole at the end, an amazing end to a high energy set that just oozed swag, and the Melodores clearly set a high bar for the rest of the competitors.

Up next was Florida State's All-Night Yahtzee. With outfits very similar to Fauz Paz, Yahtzee brought to the stage a seamless set of 1960's music consisting “Dancin' In the Streets,” “The Times They Are a-Changin',” “For What It's Worth,” “We Shall Overcome,” and finishing with “Revolution” by the Beatles. The group burst onto the stage with fun energy in the party that was “Dancin'” followed by a complete dropout as a male soloist sang a gorgeous first verse to “Times.” The group joined him in this quiet narrative rendition and seemed to set the tone for what was to come. As the vocal percussion rolled in as the group moved into “For What Its Worth” that really showed the range of the group, meshing several elements of “War (What Is It Good For)” with creative choreography. The group transitioned into an introspective “We Shall Overcome,” but the hand holding bit came off as a little cheesy to me. Yahtzee held the last chord of “We Shall Overcome” as the last soloist came out and started Revolution very tenderly before the group sped up the tempo to a fun, upbeat version of the song that was a nice closer both to the mood of the set and to a set in general. Yahtzee's set was creative and the vocal percussion and dynamic range were impressive, but the energy and commitment from each member started lagging in the latter songs before coming back in the end, and it kept them from being a clear frontrunner.

Fourth for the evening was Acappology from NC State, adding white to the standard of red and black outfits into a style affectionately known as Hot Topic-chic. The group opened its set with “Gunpowder and Lead” by Miranda Lambert with a soloist who gave a nice full-throated performance to open the set. This song had been added to the set since I saw them at quarterfinals and it was a much stronger choice than their previous opener that is now their middle song, Snow Patrol’s “Open Your Eyes.” The group cut down the incredibly long intro/buildup since quarterfinals and improved the song significantly. The soloist was sometimes flat but fully committed to the story of the song and very believable. The buildup never really reached the climax I was hoping for. Their last song was “Ghosts n’ Stuff” by Deadmau5, an impressive number aurally, but the song never really took off and stayed more as a middle of the road energy song. It did have impressive and clean vocal percussion, a highlight of the set overall. The guitar solos were nice, but unfortunately they came soon after the Melodores' and didn't pack nearly the same punch. The set was OK, ut lacked the real energy and enthusiasm necessary to take home the gold.

The last group before intermission was The Octopodes out of Johns Hopkins University. They came out in blue and black, a nice contrast from all the red. They opened with Florence and the Machine’s “Cosmic Love.” It’s always unfortunate to perform the same song in a competition as another group because everyone is going to take it for the opportunity for direct comparison between two groups. I couldn't resist, and I really think the Octopodes outperformed Faux Paz across the board: blend, dynamics, vocal percussion, and solo. As the music dropped out all you could hear was a heartbeat as the soloist “died” and fell in the arms of the 2nd soloist. Very cool, although hearing the pitch blown and a count off ruined the moment for me. The next song was “Breakeven.” Nice, emotional solo on this one, and the group brought a lush, thick sound to layer under him. Interesting use of the line “she doesn’t know” for the syllables on the rhythmic motive heard in the verses. The buildup to choruses and then drop down before build at the end really impressed me with the arrangement. And the visuals were just enough to not take away from the story presented by the soloist. The Octopodes wrapped up with a mash up of Katy Perry’s “Firework” and Muse’s “Starlight.” There were some initial tuning problems, but the song really built up to the choruses, and the soloist did not back down from the high notes. The song lost energy when the group transitioned into “Starlight”, but when the two songs combined at the end and the soloists got together it really was impressive musically and visually. The group really took advantage of the benefits of co-ed groups with duet capabilities to make an impressive closer.

After the break The UNC Loreleis started off the 2nd half with “Misery” by Maroon 5. These ladies came out in all black and immediately got everyone's attention when they popped into the song. A very nice solo that was strengthened in choruses by an equally nice harmony. The arrangement was nice and in the middle of the girls' ranges and allowed them to put their take on the song, rather than just copy a male lead song, a problem I've seen with other girl groups. I could have used more volume in the backing vocals, they just didn't grab my attention like the leads. The group's next song was “Impossible” by Shontelle, which might just be this year's “The Chain”. A tiny soloist stepped forward and blasted forth this amazingly huge solo voice while really taking command of the stage. Again, the group had a great blend and clean tuning, but the song offered little dynamic variation, and not taking advantage of the range of the song. The Loreleis closed their set with an N'Sync Medley comprised of songs from the No Strings Attached album. The arrangement was great and seamlessly flowed through all those songs you know you still sing in your car to this day. I really enjoyed hearing all the songs again and the N'Sync-inspired choreography, but the constant changes created some muddy blocking issues and the group lack the attitude and energy of the boy band that would have made this a killer closer.

Next up were The Cocktails from the University of South Carolina. These ladies came out in black and garnet outfits with black blazers. The group opened with “Seven Bridges Road” by the Eagles, a group number that was strong when I had seen it at quarterfinals, but the group didn't seem to develop it musically or emotionally and left me wanting more. In the third verse the ladies dropped the backing sounds to give a very beautiful 3-part harmony third verse, but it took too long to get to that point. They then moved into “Russian Roulette” by Rihanna. The group started in a circle around the soloist and started with a thumping bass and some sexy VP. From there the song just blew me away: great dynamics, great choreography, and an arrangement that really allowed the group to show its abilities made this the song to beat. Not to mention a very strong solo. It made me wonder why the group hadn't decided to put this song first and put their best foot forward, before showing off their musicality. The Cocktails concluded their set with “Replay” by Iyaz . The song started with the ladies singing the first chorus comically in an operatic style and then exploded into the real version of the song as they threw their jackets off to the side. A fun song and good closer, however, this version lacked the swagger the original possessed. Nonetheless, this was still a strong set.

The last competing group of the evening were The AcaBelles from Florida State, who came out in black shoes and jeans and shoes with pink laces as if to say we're not just any ordinary all-female group. They started with a smoother, cooler rendition of “Stand Out” by Tevin Campbell before flowing into “I 2 I” by the same artist while still keeping the same coolness. Besides a pleasant reminder of why the music is so awesome from A Goofy Movie, the ladies really put on a great opener: three great soloists, crystal clear backgrounds, fun choreography, and full engagement from the group. The Belles seamless faded out and the into “Impossible” by Shontelle, the second time I heard this song tonight. The soloist started very intimately with the group holding some nice, quiet chords, but from there the song just blew up. I literally dropped my jaw and stopped writing as I had to enjoy this song. The soloist went on an emotional journey and showed off her amazing voice as the rest of the group was right there with her. Its songs like that that make me love a cappella so much. The ladies carried over the last chord from “Impossible” as they immediately transitioned into “Firework” by Katy Perry. The group chose to slow the song down to give it more emotion, and the result was very effective. The soloist gave a strong performance really nailed the high notes on the chorus. The rest of the girls were equally as committed and musically sharp. The group made very effective use of their choreography, especially the end, as they showed off their visual fireworks. An incredibly impressive set by The Belles, and a strong statement at the end of the competition.

While the judges deliberated I made my way out of the auditorium to calculate my predictions for placement and awards (but really just wanted to get out of the sauna that was the audience at that point). I thought Best Solo could go one of two ways: The Melodores soloist for “Supermassive Black Hole” for his amazing virtuosity, or the AcaBelles soloist for “Impossible” for her jaw-dropping emotional performance. Outstanding Choreography would go to The Melodores for their impressive dance moves. Outstanding Vocal Percussion would go to the guy from Acappology for the entire set. Outstanding Arrangement could have either gone to The Octopodes for their lush and beautiful version of “Breakeven” or The Loreleis for their fun mashup of N'Sync songs. I thought the results would be:

1st Place: The Melodores
2nd Place: The AcaBelles
3rd Place: All-Night Yahtzee

When Lindsay came back out I could see the anticipation in all the groups faces (not to mention the sweat--it was hot!) In the end the results were:

Outstanding Arrangement: Joey Harrell of the Johns Hopkins University Octopodes for "Breakeven"
Outstanding Choreography: Ben Edquist of the Melodores
Outstanding Soloist: Courtney Mickens of the AcaBelles for "Impossible"
Outstanding Vocal Percussion: Tiffany Ashfield of All-Night Yahtzee

1st: Florida State University AcaBelles
2nd: Vanderbilt University Melodores
3rd: Florida State University All-Night Yahtzee

Although I didn't get everything right I complete support and agree with the judges' decisions. The group that won deserved it and will represent the South well at Finals on April 16th. Since The Accidentals have a concert that night none of us will be able to go, but we will be rooting for them nonetheless and cannot wait to hear the results!