The Sing-Off Season 2, Episode 2
Episode two opens with a group performance of “Use Somebody” originally by Kings of Leon. Cooler than usual visual to start with a couple prominent faces from each group up front with the rest of the performers standing behind them in silhouette, leading into the first chorus when the lights come on and everyone’s there to be seen. The song choice becomes more apparently awkward as it goes on. The lead guys from Streetcorner Symphony and Committed sound pretty at home on it, and Jerry Lawson sort of makes it his own and harmonizes nicely, but most everyone else sounds pretty awkward—the first Whiffenpoof too stiff and formal, the ladies a little off base (though one of the Groove for Thought girls came close to making it work). Eh, it’s a group number—no one really expects it to be good.
Nick Lachey leads off the show and lets us know that two more groups are going home tonight. The theme of the night is big hits.
On the Rocks lead us off tonight with “Live Your Life” by TI and Rihanna. They wear mostly windbreakers, untucked shirts and ties with black jeans. Nice falsetto on the hook, nice power sound on the “whoa-ohs” and they retain their great stage presence. The solo is lackluster on this one—I just can’t buy these guys rapping—unfortunately they sound exactly like the white college boys trying to do this song, as opposed to artists using the medium to transcend boundaries. They do a good job of demonstrating the way in which energy and confidence can make a performance enjoyable, resulting in a far more entertaining performance than the music necessarily justified.
Ben says the guys had great energy, nailed the harmonies, and that the percussion was good. He talked about them remaining 90 percent entertainer, and said he wanted to see where they were going to transition to being artists (Ben talking about what he wants to see from a group in the future turned out to be a kiss of death Monday night—this may not bode well from the Oregon boys). Nicole is very impressed, particularly with the sound effects the guys pull off on stage. Shawn says it was a lot of fun, though some of the harmonies got lost in all of their movement.
Streetcorner Symphony is up next with Train’s “Hey Soul Sister.” They open up sitting on the steps of the stage for a really cool visual effect, painting them as a bunch of chill guys, just hanging around on a porch somewhere down south. It’s a subtle step toward defining their identity. Great solo again, and the guys demonstrate the same sort of simple, clean, well-blended sound they did on the previous episode. The abbreviated arrangement of the song felt a little rushed, with the chorus kind of coming out of nowhere and transitioning straight to the bridge. So, about that bridge. The jazzed up remix reminded me a lot of Nota’s habit during season one of inserting a Latin beat in the middle of most of their songs, and I have a weird feeling we’re going to hear more of this from this group. I don’t think their change of pace to jazz has quite the same mainstream, contemporary appeal of what Nota did, but it’s still going to help them stand out—and as long as they continue to use cool robotic speed-up-slow-down sound effects going into and out of those bridges, people will probably like it. Overall, it was a good outing for the group.
Shawn says the performance was a lot of fun, and praises the solo, the blend, and the unique style on the bridge. Ben tells them the blend was beautiful, the arrangement was gorgeous and inventive, and he looks forward to hearing the soloist sing in his lower register. Nicole says there’s something warm and cozy about them, and praises the laidback southern bass sound.
Eleventh Hour takes the stage with Bruno Mars’s “Just the Way You Are.” It’s difficult to evaluate a high school group on the same basis as the rest of the group, because. For a bunch of high school kids, the sound, and the visual presentation are fantastic. By the standards of the competition, though, their youth really shows. The sound is comparatively thin, the perc is underdeveloped, the solo is relatively weak, and while the staging is quite well-planned, complete with a great wall of sound late in the song, some of the group members just look unmistakably awkward. Rough sound from both the group and the soloist going into the final leg. To her credit, the soloist keeps on smiling, and I am impressed with the lack of nerves.
Nicole praises the group and particularly the solo, but does say she would like to hear more of a blend. Shawn credits the group for the purity and sincerity of their sound. He notes that the arrangement was intricate and they did a great job of working it out. Ben seconds that it was a very ambitious arrangement, but says it sometimes came apart at the seams. He credits the soloist’s range, and notes how it challenged the group to keep it together. He likes the percussion. He says the last chord wasn’t totally in tune, but it sounded great otherwise.
Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town perform next with Duffy’s “Mercy.” The guys come clad in black and faded orange—nice look with Jerry in an inverted color scheme from the others—he has the black blazer, they have orange ones. A little more movement from the guys this time around, but the same basic formation—Jerry up front, the other six standing in a line behind him. Very simple arrangement. Same silky smooth, high quality sound, with a great blend, but there’s also just not a lot of complexity going on with the sound from where I’m sitting. Jerry breaks out a raw edge when he starts riffing toward the close, and the guys step up to dance and sing alongside them. It’s fun to see them cut loose, and the end of the song has almost an evangelical feel to it. Solid outing.
Ben calls Jerry cool, praises the blend, and questions if the group will be best-served by sticking to its current style or moving to a more contemporary style, to more directly challenge the rest of the groups. Nicole says they’re yummy and are like food for the soul. Shawn lauds the group’s energy, and says it was flirty, fun, and off the hook.
It’s time for the first elimination of the night. Eleventh Hour is going home. Right decision. I liked this group a good bit, but they just weren’t performing at the same level as their more experienced competition. The group’s swan song is “Leaving” by Jesse McCartney. Thank you for the lack of lyrical pronoun changes on this one. Lot of class from this group, as they leave the stage performing and smiling widely. I get the impression they’re thankful just to be there, which is refreshing and inspiring—good for them, and I hope we hear more from the group members in the future.
Last year’s Sing-Off champs, Nota make a guest appearance to sing The Black-Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling.” I had the chance to meet the Nota guys before a show in Rochester last winter and I have to say that they were a remarkably humble, friendly group—the kind of people who make you genuinely want to root for them (not to mention the fact that they were fantastic live performers). Really fun performance tonight, recalling the wonderful stage presence, energy and musical stylings the group exhibited in season one. The a cappella horns are back, and the guys trade off solo responsibilities in a really fluid way. True success story from these guys, and it’s great to see them back on the show.
The Backbeats are up next with “Break Even” by The Script. The group wears pink and black, and starts out with three separate soloists on the first three lines for a neat listening experience, reminiscent of the SoCal VoCals’ innovative, dramatic take on “Crazy Ever After” at last year’s ICCA Finals. Tremendous emotion on the solo here, though I would be interested in hearing one of the group’s other tremendous singers get a shot at a full-fledged solo. Nice sound all around, and a good, sharp shifts in dynamics. I think the coolest thing about a performance like this is that it’s an a cappella interpretation that legitimately carries a great deal more attitude and edge than the original, and so reinvents the song in a meaningful way. My only real complaint here is a lot of the choreography still looks like stereotypical, mediocre collegiate stuff. I appreciate that the group’s paying more attention to music, but knowing what the component members of this group are capable of visually, I’d like to see a bit more. Regardless, the group is finding a nice niche for itself as the one group that picks darker songs.
Shawn says he liked hearing more voices from the group, and recognizes their ability to nail melancholy melodies. Ben praises the group on the whole and the arrangement; he says he worried the arrangement was going to break down but it always ended up on the right side of the line. Nicole calls the VP righteous, and applauds the bass singer, and the group’s ability to sound like they’re all one singer. (Had she called them aca-Voltron, it would have gone a long way toward redeeming her value as a judge to me. Alas, it was not to be.)
Committed takes the stage in bright green and black to perform “Apologize” by One Republic. Sick sound on the start. Soulful soloist who sounds more polished than last night’s frontman, and who demonstrates a sick falsetto toward the end. Very smart decision to let the soloist go one hundred percent a cappella, without so much as vocal accompaniment, leading into the second verse, before the guys chime back in to dramatic effect. The guys show better dynamic range tonight. The funny thing is that I was going to say that I’d like to see the guys branch out further with their song selections, but what’s really happening is that they’re taking unconnected pop songs that are not-so-natural of fits for them, and making them distinctively their own. Very cool stuff. A lot of folks were pegging these guys as the top group of night one, but I didn’t see it. Tonight, I have to admit that they really did prove themselves and firm up a spot in the upper tier of the remaining groups.
Ben says there were a lot of things going right with the performance. He says the arrangement was brilliant. Shawn praises the pure musicality the guys are putting out, particularly celebrating their harmonies and the feeling they evoke from the audience. Nicole says she was moved.
Groove for Thought take on Mike Posener’s “Cooler Than Me.” They wear purple and black, and produce a very, very jazzy sound, complete with a string bass simulation (both orally and visibly) and very old school harmonies from the group. It’s a good song choice for the soloist, who has a way of carrying himself that makes him appear exponentially cooler than any of his group mates who, well, look like the high school teachers they are. The finger-snapping, the awkward smiling, and the bobbing is just really telling of where they all rate on the cool scale. To their credit, they produce a clean sound with very pretty harmonies. I can’t say it was bad, but the jazz thing just isn’t my flavor of choice.
Shawn says the group is living its gimmick—they come across as legitimately cool, and perfect for the song. Nicole give s big thumbs up to the soloist and the woman simulating a saxophone. Ben calls the soloist the group’s secret weapon, and praises the bass. He liked the harmonies a great deal.
The Whiffenpoofs take us home with Michael Buble’s “Haven’t Met You Yet.” I hardly recognize them without their tuxedoes! This time the guys wear black suits, white shirts, and royal blue ties. They start in similar fashion to how they did Monday night, standing in the traditional collegiate arc, singing out big, beautiful harmonies, before the soloist steps out to stand front and center. It’s a subtle touch, but I really like the facials from the soloist—smiling and shaking his head like a legit kid in love. And then it happens. The guys spring into motion on the chorus, snapping their fingers and sliding across the stage en masse, then cluster at one corner. They switch off, letting a number of guys get a nibble of the solo spotlight. Really cool effect as they form a line and spread out, continuing the trend of switching off who plays front man. Tremendous crescendo at the end, which helps the guys lure the crowd into clapping along. Very good sound, and, I never would have expected it, but this was far and away the best visual performance of season two thus far.
Nicole says they melted her heart and had a beautiful choral sound. Shawn says he likes the guys’ quirkiness and fervor. He says the leads weren’t as strong as he would have liked, but they were very entertaining. Ben applauds the group for bringing some Broadway flair into the performance.
Elimination time again. Tough going—in my mind, there was no clear cut bottom ensemble from the second half. Groove for Thought was certainly my least favorite based on their musical style, but I don’t think The Back Beats or Whiffenpoofs performed any better than them overall, objectively speaking. Lo and behold, The Whiffenpoofs are headed home. Man—just as they were starting to grow on me. Nonetheless, I have a feeling there were only so many stylistic tricks up their sleeves to match the demands of the show, so it’s probably for the best that they are gone early. The guys perform “Home Sweet Home” by Motley Crue as they exit the stage.
No real complaints on the groups that were sent home tonight. Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town remain among the frontrunners, but you have to ask yourself the less tactful version of the question Ben Folds posed after their performance--can a one-trick pony, regardless of how good it's trick might be, ultimately beat out all of the other groups? Meanwhile, based upon their superb second performance, Committed has asserted itself as a top contender as well. Streetcorner Symphony shored up its own footing by finding a more distinctive identity in this episode. On the Rocks slipped tonight. Despite remaining visually engaging, from a purely musical standpoint, they might be in danger on episode three. The Back Beats continue to do well, but aren’t standing out from the pack, and will need a big third episode if they are to make it much further in the competition. Groove for Thought is surviving thus far on the back of a charismatic and talented front man and solid harmonies--I’m not sure how much further the straight up jazz act is going to take them, though.
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