The Sing-Off Season 3, Episode 6

It’s hip-hop hits week here on The Sing-Off. In the opening we learn there will be a one-on-one sing-off between the bottom two groups this week. Let the drama build. The show opens on “Nothin’ On You” by B.O.B. featuring Bruno Mars. The Vocal Point dude is the first to sound out of place in the genre. Urban Method gets a nice long bit to let loose, followed well by Pentatonix. Delilah and Ruby from The Collective take their part. By Ruby’s standards, this is understated—I’ll take it. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the cast follows Vocal Point’s lead sounding like they’re singing too carefully and just don’t fit here. The key to this episode is readily apparent—own the hip hop the way Urban Method and Pentatonix are likely to do, or reinvent a song to your interests. I fear anything in between is going to fail miserably.

As much as it’s a bit lame that we don’t get a competition performance before the break, I like the concept of the background video here. Hearing the groups talk about the challenge of getting 2 hip-hop songs ready this week is interesting and, particularly for those of us in the audience who haven’t performed like this, it demonstrates that getting music together on the fly isn't as easy as the Glee kids make it look...

The Dartmouth Aires lead us off this week. They’re singing Flo Rida’s “Club Can’t Handle Me.” Squeaky clean classical sound on the opening. The guys just plain don’t look natural here. Way out of their element. The rap is on tempo to the guy’s credit, but the tone just plain is not connecting here. The guys are working the stage fairly effectively, but even the energy seems subdued for their discomfort with the music. I’m not hearing the low end. The lead guy gets a few moments of attitude and gets his power note at the end as the group swells nicely behind him. The good news is that this got much stronger toward the end, and they left on a good note. I just don’t think much about the song worked prior to that point, though.

Sara loved the energy and that the guys enjoyed what they were doing. She thought the guys sounded rushed early, but they found themselves and their swagger later on. Shawn says they kept the attitude of the song while lending their own spin to it. He talks about the importance of having fun and letting the music flow, and says they pulled it off. Ben says it was fun and lauds the way in which two of the hey parts blended. He describes the sound as polka hip hop, and says they found their tempo toward the end. He compliments the tenors.

Here comes Afro-Blue with their take on The Fugees’ take on “Killing Me Softly.” Smart way of blending what’s more natural for them with the theme of the episode, but let’s see how they execute it. The sound starts out loose and fun, and the group looks remarkably at ease. It sort of harkens back to Street Corner Symphony’s chill treatment of “Hey, Soul Sister” last year. Nice beat. The solo is working early on and I like the little backing harmonies they’re throwing out there. Pretty little backing on the solo for the chorus. The bass and perc are performing quite nicely. When this group gets big on some of those power chords, it’s just fantastic. This comes a bit un-complex and static relative to what we’ve heard from the group before—but that’s a lofty standard. This was comfortable and quite good. Above all else, I sort of liken this to the ICCA group that’s sort of forgettable when you watch them live, but if you buy their CD after the show, or re-listen on YouTube, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how pleasing the sound really is.

We get a touch of battle rap banter from Ben folds and Nick Lachey. Wow, never thought I’d write that sentence. Ben calls the performance gorgeous, and credits the decision to omit the bass early on then work it in. He praises the solo. Sara calls it a flawless arrangement and performance of a classic song. Shawn says Roberta Black would be proud, and calls the bass the foundation of the group. He comments on how they sound like a record track, which is dope.

The Collective is here. They’re singing Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything.” Uneven sound on the opening. Just too high for the group—awkward arrangement. Awkward visuals to match as they—uh—groove into the first verse. They’re harmonizing the lead too much, to the point that the rest of the group just sounds way thin. Fun, competent rap. The three-way breakdown is quite good. I know I’m biased at this point, but Ruby just comes off so uncomfortably smug to me. Even when the group tries to get big for their finish, it isn’t clicking, in part because the dynamic range just wasn’t there throughout the song. The wave feels forced. Overall, this performance is just too weak for this late in the season. I think The Collective just shored up a spot in the bottom two.

Shawn credits the group for letting its hair down, but says they lost the groove. He liked the music they infused into the track. Sara calls the performance ambitious, and credits the male trio. She thought it fluctuated, but when the group had it they were powerhouses. Ben praises the rap. He says the group sings in unison well and harmonizes well, but they haven’t overcome some of the science of a cappella, and he wants to hear more of a rhythm section from them.

Vocal Point is taking on Puff Daddy’s “I’ll Be Missing You.” Interesting, en medias res sound on the opening. They’ve removed the rap altogether, singing it instead. Vocal Point demonstrates why the group belongs with little insertions of perc and a bass groove amidst the melancholy of that first verse. It’s a thinner sound than we’re used to from the group, and bits and pieces seem to slip a bit out of tune. Nonetheless, they’re striking just the right balance of blending a classical sound with enough aof the familiar licks of of a hip-hop anthem. Beautiful handling of the bridge. The emotion of the solo really seems to slide into place there. Well-orchestrated if cliché bit of visual presentation as the guys remove their fedoras around the final bend.

Shawn talks about the group taking the song and making it their own. He points out that there were some points where the group went out of key. Sara says the performance transcended music to get to the emotion of the song. She heard the pitch issues, too, but credits their group for the vulnerability. Ben says the performance was beautiful and respectful, and the first that’s got him on the edge of tears. He says the guys took a chance by adding a melody to the song. He thought the groove could have been more present given it’s hip-hop week.

Quasi-elimination time as we determine the first group that’s headed to bottom-two-sing-off purgatory. Afro-Blue and The Aires are safe. Surprised to see Vocal Point, rather than The Aires in this spot. Nonetheless, justice is served as it’s The Collective that gets shipped off to the bottom two.

Urban Method starts out on Tupac’s “California Love,” but switches to B.O.B’s “Airplanes.” Urban Methods calls and says, "Be careful with that, young'ns." Pentatonix pats them on the back and tells them not to sweat it. Back to reality. Interesting, subtle little cricket sound effect on the opening. The female leads on the opening are good if unspectacular. Nice bass and perc as always, and I actually think this is the best the rapper has sounded on the show—just more power and verve behind his sound this week. The airplane buzzing sounds are a little corny for my taste. One of the girls bounces a bit too much on the chorus and her sound fluctuates accordingly—poor choice. This was solid, but not as much of a blow-away performance as you might hope for in Urban Method’s signature week. But then, they’ve been performing this style every week anyway, so it’s hard to really exceed that.

Shawn liked it a lot, but he wanted for the chorus to be a bit more powerful from the female leads. Ben calls the performance brilliant. He liked the tension at the beginning leading into the rap. He liked the female lead harmony, but thought the arrangement of the background vocals against those leads on the chorus were too close, so it didn’t sound as strong as it should have. Shawn and Sara praise the cricket sounds. Sara calls the bass sound thick and consistent. Sara wanted more from the ladies, but says it didn’t get to the breaking point for her. She calls the rapper a superstar.

Pentatonix sings next, bringing us Kanye West’s “Love Lockdown.” Nice swirling wind sound in the background—I can never get enough of that effect. Nice slow soft open in general. The second solo sounds great this week. Love the intensity on the bass. Back to the primary solo and he just sounds a little cartoonish to me. He’s never been awful, but he’s also never really nailed it for by my ear. Nice transition into the groove of the song. The low end is sick, but I just can’t help feeling, as I often do with Pentatonix, that with one or two more voices, they could sound so much more full, whereas this is just missing something. I like the reimagining of the song, and I ultimately think that the call not to rap was the right one. Good, but just sort of incomplete.

Sara says the group delivered on the performance—they pushed the genre to the edge and thrived with it. She lauds both solos. Ben calls the performance primal, and says the beginning was just green. He praises the violin bit. Shawn loved it. He says you can single out each of their parts, and says the risks they’ve taken have played in their favor.

Hey there, Delilah. The women are singing “How To Love” by Lil Wayne. Interesting choral effect on the opening. I love this first solo. The bass takes over next and sounds quite good, too. Enter the third solo. Interesting way to attack the song. The sound on this is way slow and mellow—bold choice. Elegant little bass lick at the end of the first verse. Excellent transition into the groove and YES YES YES they’re killing the power parts this week. This is the caps lock and italics-warranting version of Delilah I’ve been missing since week one. Slick transition back to the first soloist on the close. I’m sure many will disagree, but, in my book, this is far and away the top performance of the week so far.

Shawn praises the group’s ability to work out the song and make it their own, and really draw out the emotion. He applauds the solos. Ben says, coming out of the previous weeks’ failures, they excelled this week, finding the music that makes them happy, at which point the rest takes care of itself. Sara talks about Delilah getting to show their lady nads this week. I love you, Sara Bareilles. She calls the sound beautiful and authentic.

The Yellow Jackets are our last first-run performers of the night. They’re singing Lupe Fiasco’s “The Show Goes On.” Wow are they driving home the Kenya thing. It’s a wonderful element to the group, but we’re verging on pandering in the context of the show. Enormous V-formation to start here. The sound is completely inauthentic on the attempted hip-hop groove to open. Holy shnikeys the classical voice of The YJs can actually rap! The weight of this performance is 100% on his shoulders right now. The group sound on the chorus just reminds me of Andy Samberg satirical rapper on SNL (for reference, see below). Just not right. The articulation’s too clear, the diction too precise. Beyond that fundamental issue, the group just seems to stay in one place for the duration of this song—no real dynamics, no moments. The rapper transitions to classical chops on the end, which actually works pretty nicely here. Not bad, but not one of the group’s finer moments on this show.

Ben says that the group drew on a lot of emotion and he liked the rap. He notes the group came into the song with a bit of a deficit, missing the mind over muscle element of the song. He says they could have used their dynamics more. Sara says the group is all heart and she loves that. She said this was a little fast for her, and she felt like the lead was rushing a little. Her favorite part was when they slowed down and he sung at the end. Shawn talks about the difficulty of the song selection, and says he wanted to hear more of the group and wanted to hear the swells—the lows and the highs.

It’s time for quasi-elimination two. Pentatonix and Delilah are safe. Urban Method is, justifiably, safe. The good news for The YJs is that they’re squaring off against The Collective, which, not to be mean, is exactly the group you want to see across the stage in this context. They’ll perform back to back renditions of Nelly’s “Just a Dream.”

The Collective is up first. Cool little fade in fae out effect on the start. Straight forward presentation here with two of the guys rapping and one of the female leads riffing off them. This is way better than I ever thought it would be. Nothing spectacular, but a fun send up of the original, and very nice sampling decisions as they slide into the breakdown early, and work their own name in, calling on the crowd to get behind them. This may be a fight yet.

The Yellow Jackets start with a nice swelling of sound. They’re pushing all in with the rap again. Same rapper as before, but his classical sound is sneaking out a lot more this time around—less of a rap. Very nice decision for the group to fall out to let just a few guys sing the “no one knows.” Cool transition into the finish.

While neither group is a real shock to see in the final two, they both executed better than I expected. Reluctantly, I’m going to have to give The Collective the nod for a more innovative, comfortable and smart sampling of the song.

F’reals elimination time. Shawn picks the YJs, as the more harmonically cohesive group. Ben has the same reasoning, but he picks The Collective. Sh*t’s about to get real, Sara. We call this first-year judge hazing. She choo-choo-chooses The Yellow Jackets. While I don’t agree with this elimination based on what happened this week, I can’t really fault it, eitehr—real dogfight at the bottom here. The Collective has come a long way. Swan song time, and they’re singing Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.” Pretty vapid interpretation—nothing wrong, just not much going on with it. The group seems in good spirits, to their credit. It’s a classy exit.

Appropriately Halloween-themed episode next week.

Be sure to check back here at The A Cappella Blog this week for further analysis of this week’s episode and, of course, the updated Power Rankings!