The Sing-Off Episode One

Mike Chin checking in here, live from my couch in front of my television screen. The first episode of The Sing-Off is in the books, and from where I’m sitting, the show did not disappoint. I took in this first episode alongside ACB Production Manager Mike Scalise and University of Rochester Vocal Point alum and ACB contributor Genevieve Chawluk via the magic of Google Chat. What follows is a traditional ACB Event Review, peppered with highlights from that conversation.

Mike Chin (MC): Nick Lachey opens the show, touting it as “the first ever singing competition that’s all about harnessing the raw power of the voice.” Umm, Nick, you have two recent International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella winning groups here, alongside the reigning Harmony Sweepstakes champions. First televised competition of its kind, I will grant you.

OK, enough nitpicking for now. Nick’s only on for a moment before he hands over the floor to all eight competing groups to perform Queen and David Bowie’s seminal classic, “Under Pressure.” Each group gets a moment in the spotlight, and each gets to send one representative to center stage for the song’s epic climax. Good sound all around, though no individual group gets enough time to do anything particularly memorable. From this snippet of a preview, I’d say The ‘Bubs, Noteworthy and SoCals shine brightest. MAXX Factor seems a little out of its element—I think this just isn’t their song. Solo, as a group, isn’t looking as sure of itself as the rest of the pack.

Lachey moves on to introduce our three judges—Ben Folds, Nicole Scherzinger and Shawn Stockman.

For this first evening, each group will perform its signature song.

Group #1: Nota

Nota hails from Puerto Rico. We get glimpses of the guys performing in a variety of venues, jamming at a barbecue. One guy tells the tale of singing to his wife while she was in a coma.

Nota is made up of six guys who wear black jackets, olive t-shirts and jeans. The guys open with Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours.” They trade off on the solo throughout, some of the front men riffing more than others, one busting out the Spanish, at which point we get a sprinkling of Salsa dancing and the guys seem to be a) having the most fun, b) demonstrating the most energy and c) proving to be at their most entertaining.

Mike Scalise (MS): They’re good, but somewhat simple. The only thing really memorable about it was when they sung in Spanish.

MC: Nicole says the song takes her back to her native Hawaii, and then to Puerto Rico, and that a cappella is cool and stuff. Ladies and gents, I think we might have judge who represents the worst of American Idol’s Paula/Kara bumbling duo. It’s still early, though, so I’m going to hold off a bit of my bile.

Genevieve Chawluk (GC): Nicole Scherzing-whatever doesn't know anything.

MC: Agreed. Moving along, Ben notes that it was an interesting song choice given its laid back style, but that they used dynamics to draw the crowd in, and they were in tune and had a unique sound. He praises the “mouth drumming” for being appropriately understated. Shawn hands out praise all around, particularly for the energy of the Spanish remix, and says they brought the song to life.

Group #2: Voices of Lee

The pride of Cleveland, Tennessee is up next. We see the collegiate group playing ping pong, then frolicking in the leaves, before moving into serious mode for rehearsal. Musical Director Danny Murray is the law for the group, pushing them to their limits, promising to kick their fannies if they don’t win.

The group comes clad in light blue, bright pink and khaki to perform Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten.” Shaky start—they sound muted and very unsure of themselves. The tempo’s slow, the audio increasingly muddled. The choreography is way too literal for my taste. To their credit, they keep smiling, seem focused. They start moving more at the end, and whether it’s an illusion generated by motion, or a sign of the group growing more comfortable on the stage, they seem better for it, finishing far better than they started.

GC: Voices of Lee was bad.

MS: They really weren’t that good.

MC: Shawn’s a bit more diplomatic, noting that they have a “different blend,” and notes that they need to stay on key, and the movement seemed to result in shaky notes. He praises the choreography and energy though. Ben calls the performance fun and uplifting, but suggests the arrangement was overly-ambitious. He suggests it built well, but he wanted to hear the solo more clearly earlier on. Nicole enjoyed the spirit and the heart on the solo. She thinks the group should be proud, and says they made “sweet noises.” Yes, that’s a quote.

Back from the commercial break, Nick sells for the umpteenth time that there are no instruments, and the groups are doing this all with the power of their voices. Some might knock the redundancy, but I’m actually on board with this aspect of the show. A cappella is still relatively foreign to the mainstream, and I’m hopeful that the mainstream is comprehending how cool this is.

Group #3: Face

The group purports itself to be a rock band, first and foremost. They all have regular jobs and get on stage to do their thing for the love of the music. The six guys come out in green flannel and jeans.

MS: I really don’t like the flannel.

MC: There’s a choral start to Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer,” and soft solo on the first verse. Good Lord, WHERE is the build on this chorus? “You live for the fight when it’s all that you’ve got” and we hardly even register a crescendo. In its place, we do get some motion in the form of fist-pumping. Way short on energy and volume. You get one and a half minutes to do a Cliff Notes version of f’ing “Livin’ on a Prayer.” This should have been a spectacle. The guys just did not deliver.

GC: WTF is going on? That was so bad.

MC: Ben indicates that the guys kept the rock alive, and expresses his amazement that an assemblage of working dads can summon the energy and dedication to bring this group together. He does point out that the chorus didn’t hit like it should have, though. Nicole thinks it’s neat that people can rock out to voices. Did no one give her a heads up on what a cappella is? Shawn lauds the vocal percussionist who does a brief demonstration. He says he wanted to hear more from the solo, and it got lost in the busy-ness of the beginning.

Group #4: Noteworthy

Nick says that the crew took a trip to Brigham Young University to see what makes these ladies “noteworthy.” Ahhh—ya see what he did there? To be fair, he has been punning his way through most of these introductions, and I’m actually OK with that. Puns are essentially a part of a cappella culture at this point. Anywho, we get a vignette of the girls studying in the library, rolling down hills, then singing in front of a mountain range. The girls note that they opt not to use curse words in their songs. They summarize their sound as “power pop.”

Noteworthy comes out in yellow sweaters, white tops, old school black ties and black pants to take on Aretha Franklin’s “Think.” While I ordinarily support women performing songs by female artists, I feel like Noteworthy pigeon-holed itself a little here—from my experience, they rock as hard as any guys and could have done some sick, mind-blowing stuff here. To their credit, they were damn good. Ton of energy and attitude and they’re the first group to bring full-blown choreography to the stage. A lot of it is lost in the camera angles, but you get enough to know how serious they are. Kick ass solo of the night thus far.

GC: This song selection was kind of boring for them, and they were clearly nervous and shrill early on, but this is still, by far, the best performance so far.

MS: I like the green ties-black shirts a lot better than their current get-up.

MC: Agreed. I think they're going for a more traditional look for the show, though.

Shawn lauds the attitude and flavor, praises the yellow sweater. He cautions them to be careful about getting shrieky on their high notes. Ben expresses his agreement. He says they need to kill on dynamics and should be more careful with their arrangement. He gives props to the percussion and asks for more cussing. Nicole says she’s proud of Noteworthy for being female.

As we round the bend into another commercial break, I ask the experts their picks for the best song selection so far—that is, the best song to match the group.

MS: I would go with Noteworthy or Nota. I didn’t personally like Noteworthy’s song much. I did like Nota’s, and their performance was OK.

GC: I’d hand it to Noteworthy by far.

MC: It’s time to eliminate our first group from the show. Nota stays.

GC: I think the “Old Navy commercial” group [Voices of Lee] has to go.

MC: I have to say that I agree with Gen on this one.

Noteworthy stays. We’re down to two. Nick gives a recap of the judges’ critiques.

And Face is gone.

GC: Ugh. Well, they were musically better, but, personally, more irritating.

MS: In your FACE

MC: Face says it was an honor to be on the show and choose Daughtry’s “Home” for their “swan song.” The guys make their way off stage as they finish the first verse.

GC: Are you serious? I mean, they are so pitchy.

MC: OK, throwing out another commercial break opinion question. If you were to assign a song to The Beelzebubs, what would you pick for this show?

GC: Something with lots going on. No block chords. Boring. I’d pick something by Muse.

MS: I’m going to say something by Gavin DeGraw.

MC: I think i would go with a ballad--something to undermine the douchebag frat boy image I could otherwise see them getting saddled with early.

Group #5: The Beelzebubs

We cut to The ‘Bubs running across campus and performing outside. They explain they’re all about having energy and communicating it to the audience. They explain ‘Bub Gear, which is a shirt, tie, jacket and pants, but the pants shouldn’t match the jacket so it won’t be a suit.

The guys are off and running with The Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour.” Booming sound from the start, animated intro with a ton of movement, but staying bunched together—this works for the live audience and the camera alike. Lots of individualized motion—these guys are bursting with energy and charisma.

MS OK, they've already got my vote for best choreography.

GC: Agreed.

This is my kind of a cappella.

MC: The guys lift one member up on their shoulders, and have him ‘driving the tour bus.’ This was so off-beat, with no clear cut solo, and so much going on musically. Really in a different league than anyone (with the possible exception of Noteworthy) to perform tonight. Ben praises the energy and the song selection. He notes it was pitchy at the same times that it was most entertaining, which kind of works. Shawn notes that the guys are entertainers, and that he was impressed by the way in which the guys covered the stage in a minute-thirty. Nicole says The ‘Bubs proved a cappella isn’t boring, and calls the guys innovative and says they did their “Beatlebub” thing. I’m honestly not sure if that was kind of clever or a slip of the tongue.

MAXX Factor is up next.

OK, so in your opinions, what does this old school barbershop quartet need to do to be competitive?

GC: They need to be funny. Really funny, like barbershop can be. And the harmony needs to be tight. No mistakes.

MS: They need to not sing a boring barbershop type song, and add a unique visual presentation--not necessarily a lot of movement, but something unique.

MC: I’m going to venture that they need to absolutely kill it on musical precision. Sort of like Gen's saying, they're not going to be as entertaining as The ‘Bubs, or have the volume of bigger groups. I think they need to play their game and nail it. Hopefully have a song choice that also connects with younger people.

MS: I can think of a few songs that would be good for a group like them to sing. I’d like to see them do “Respect.”

GC: I hope they sing “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.”

Group #6: MAXX Factor

MC: MAXX Factor indicates that they’re out there to represent the working woman. One of them recalls hearing her father perform barbershop and laments that he passed away before he got to hear her current group.

The ladies wear red blazers and black slacks for a very old school look. They stick with a basic barbershop sound on the intro to Abba’s “Dancing Queen.”

MS: I really don't like their sound. It's not bad, but just not for me.

GC: They are musically really tight. This is so cheesy but musically on. There are four of them—remember that. Listen to how full this is.

MC: These women are absolutely sticking to their game. They look confident and completely at home, despite (or perhaps because of) sounding completely different from any other group in this competition. This one really comes alive as it moves on. As much as barbershop isn’t any more my style than it is Mike’s, I have to say that this is pretty awesome.

MS: They are really good as a barbershop group.

MC: Shawn lauds the women’s sass and harmony, but said he wanted to hear a little more of the lead. Nicole says they’re dope. Ben notes that the barbershop style helps the women overcome the typical challenges of an all-female group, and lauds them for taking a chance before making a punny allusion to another Abba classic.

OK, so the SoCals are the group that probably has the least well-defined niche in this grouping--they’re not barbershop, not all-male college guys, they don’t have the human interest story. What should they do to stand out?

MS: They should leverage the fact that they are a co-ed group and choose a song that will show their range.

GC: Seriously. And look out for wayward sopranos.

Group #7: The SoCals

MC: We see The SoCals splashing around in the ocean, then singing in an outward facing circle on the beach. From there, we see them file into the SoCal VoCals house. They have a house? Neat?

I can hardly express my excitement at SoCals taking on Queen’s “Somebody To Love.” The SoCal VoCals, from which the group is derived, positively killed this song at the ICCA finals in 2008, and it’s exactly what I would have picked for them. The purple and black threads they sport this time are way sharper and more cohesive than that of the championship group. Like they did in the finals, they positively kill on choreography—some of it maintained from the college group’s rendering, some of it new.

GC: They are pitchy and sharp, but I really like this soloist.

MC: They didn’t implement the slow build crescendo part—I think that’s probably a mistake. Also, the soloist’s voice audibly cracks late in the game.

GC: The soloist started out great but tanked at the end. Overall, the performance was much better than the actual singing.

MC: Ben lauds the performance and the ambition of the song choice. He notes that the key shifted a lot, and the group did a good job of coming back together, but says basses were sharp early on, setting them on a rough path. He goes on to say no one’s really noticing the pitch problems, and that they’re killing it. Shawn calls them on pitchiness as well, though, but lauds the recovery and the group’s professionalism. Nicole says they were really fun.

Three solid acts so far this half. What are your recommendations and/or song selections for this last group so that they stand a chance of staving off elimination?

MS: They should sing “All My Life” by K-Ci and JoJo. That or something current.

Group #8: Solo

MC: We see images of the rundown buildings of north Omaha. Solo took shape to bring music and hope to the community. The Sing-Off represents an opportunity for them to really achieve something. It’s a great opportunity and a dream come true. We see the group singing “Fame” on a bus.

Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek” got celebrated, then used, then abused throughout the a cappella circuit a couple years back. I suppose that Jason Derulo’s derivation, “What You Say,” had might as well get its own treatment. Solo is clad in pink, black and white. The perc guy shows some good creativity, shifting between standard beat boxing and some record-scratching sounds.

The group has charisma. They’re fun, but, all around, the sound really doesn’t seem to be at the level of the evening’s top groups, and the movement and mannerisms aren’t polished at all. To be fair, they would probably have looked better in the first half of the show, but following the last three acts, things don’t look so good for them.

GC: That was painful.

MC: Shawn likens Solo’s experience to his own, growing up with a dream in southwest Philadelphia. He praises the group for arriving on a national stage, but notes the shortcomings of their performance, particularly that they didn’t stay tight as a group. Nicole highlights their story and journey to the show, but notes that their harmonies didn’t all click. Ben observes their gift for singing and the quality of the vocal percussion. He notes the challenge of this song, given the original is so heavily dependent on production tools. He observes that the solos were uneven.

OK, so as we wait for the results of the second half, one last question—what are your picks for overall best of the night and worst of the night?

GC: The best were The ‘Bubs. They were a little bit off pitch-wise but their performance was so good I barely noticed. They were likeable and that was a cappella the way I like it.

The worst was the group that got kicked off already, Face. With Solo as a very close second.

MS: I think Solo was the worst of the night. The best—yeah, The ‘Bubs.

GC: Most surprising (pleasantly) was MAXX Factor. They're likable, talented, and they have guts to go out there and do their thing that's so different from everything else.

MC: Back for the results. The Beelzebubs are safe. The SoCals are still in it. We’re down to MAXX Factor and Solo. These groups represent the polar opposites of the show—immaculate musical execution versus a group that’s greatest strength is its human interest story. This could define what the show is all about. MAXX Factor is safe. Solo goes home on an emotional singing of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.”

Nick announces that each group sings two songs tomorrow night, the first a big hit from the last two years, the second a guilty pleasure. We close with samples from the groups who will be back tomorrow.

GC: MAXX Factor is so sick. I love it. They are sassy.

MC: 100% fact. The ladies offer a taste of Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” and if that snippet is any indicator, they’re promising to steal the show.

Any last thoughts?

GC: To summarize things: the correct decisions were made tonight, and Nicole is an idiot.

MS: I think the groups will look less nervous tomorrow night.

MC: Good notes to end on. Thank you for the insights to you two, and thank you to you readers for checking out what we had to say. Be sure to stop back again for a review of The Sing-Off Episode Two.