Newsline

Presenting... The 2010 ACB ICCA Bracket Contest Winner

By Mike Chin on May 21, 2010 in Newsline

The A Cappella Blog is proud to announce the top finishers in our first annual ICCA Bracket Contest.

The second runner-up is Ben Haist, from Tulane University's THEM, who will receive five ACB VH1 Save the Music wristbands, for which five dollars will be donated to the Save the Music Foundation.

The first runner-up is Susan LaBarr who will receive a copy of the 2010 Best of Collegiate A Cappella CD.

And, our grand prize winner is Jacob Schwartz who will receive a Best of Collegiate A Cappella prize pack with every CD from 1999 through 2009. Jacob is the now-former director of Lehigh University's A Whole Step Up, who will be singing with Celebrity Cruise Lines on their boat The Infinity from July through mid-January with his vocal quartet On Tap.

Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to everyone who entered!

Newsline: ACB Bracket Contest Results Coming Friday, New Video Contest

By Mike Chin on May 17, 2010 in Newsline

-The winner and top runners up of the first ACB ICCA Bracket Contest will be announced this Friday on the site. Be sure to check back to see who won out!

-According to a representative of the website, MakeAStar.com will sponsor an ongoing contest for a cappella groups, starting soon. Interested groups will be able to submit video entries through the site, after which point a judging panel and fan votes will determine which groups ultimately earn cash prizes.

-DC-based a cappella group The Suspicious Cheese Lords were the center of attention in a recent Washington Post article on non-profits struggling with a change in tax law.

Newsline: AcaPolitics, Tritones and Taylor Swift

By Mike Chin on May 7, 2010 in Newsline

-AcaPolitics is a serialized novel about the collegiate a cappella scene at a fictitious college. It's written by Washington University After Dark alum Stephen Harrison, and certainly worth a look.

-We're a little late in getting to the video, but the rumors The ACB reported on earlier proved true, and the UC San Diego Tritones joined Taylor Swift for her performance at the 2010 Country Music Awards show. The group first appears just before the 4 minute mark.

The 3 Gs of American Idol Week 9

By Mike Chin on April 20, 2010 in Newsline

The 3 Gs of American Idol

In a departure from our normal content, we will be guiding you through this season of American Idol from The A Cappella Blog’s perspective. We’re going to do this through the 3 Gs format.

Good: Represents my thoughts on the best performance(s) of the night—these are the star-makers, the tearjerkers, the ones we’re all going to remember.

Gone: Represents my thoughts on the contestant(s) who I think is most likely to be going home (not necessarily the one I think should be going home).

Give it a second look: Represents the act(s) you might not remember, or that we might not have expected much from, but which delivered just the same, and deserve another listen.

Here are my thoughts from tonight’s episode:

GOOD
Lee Dewyze plays what we want to hear so we can disregard the rest. While most of this season’s contestants have gone downhill, or at least stagnated in the competition, Lee’s the one guy who still seems to be making strides forward. This may have been his best showing yet with a soulful rendering of Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Boxer.” It sounded good, there was some real emotion, and he made it his own—you can’t ask for much more from an Idol performance.

GONE
I’ll try to make this kind and clear, I just hope Tim Urban can find better days… not on national television OK, so it’s inspiring song week. So what would happen if you took a somewhat inspiring song like “Better Days” by The Goo Goo Dolls and stripped it of all its melodic intensity—you know—50% of why it’s an inspirational song? Well you’d end up with Tim’s performance, that’s what. I think Tim’s personal likeability has finally run its course, and this will be his last week on the show.

Newsline: Gargoyles Blog, Country Music Stars Embrace College A Cappella Groups

By Mike Chin on April 17, 2010 in Newsline

-The Oxford University Gargoyles have started up their own a cappella blog, which you can check out here.

-Rumors are running rampant that Taylor Swift has invited The UC San Diego Tritones to join her at The Academy of Country Music Awards tomorrow night to perform "You Belong With Me." The awards show airs tomorrow night on CBS.

-Speaking of country music celebrities discovering a cappella groups Gloriana recently came upon The Lehigh University Melismatics' rendition of "Wild at Heart" and asked the group to put together a promotional video. You can check out the results below.

The 3 Gs of American Idol: Week 8

By Mike Chin on April 13, 2010 in Newsline

In a departure from our normal content, we will be guiding you through this season of American Idol from The A Cappella Blog’s perspective. We’re going to do this through the 3 Gs format.

Good: Represents my thoughts on the best performance(s) of the night—these are the star-makers, the tearjerkers, the ones we’re all going to remember.

Gone: Represents my thoughts on the contestant(s) who I think is most likely to be going home (not necessarily the one I think should be going home).

Give it a second look: Represents the act(s) you might not remember, or that we might not have expected much from, but which delivered just the same, and deserve another listen.

Here are my thoughts from tonight’s episode:

GOOD
People, don’t you understand, Michael Lynche needs a helping a hand. Big Mike’s performance of “In the Ghetto” may not have set the world on fire, but it did get to his roots as a guy with a beautiful voice and acoustic guitar skillz to complement it. He’s an engaging guy, and on a strong night, he offered the best pure musical performance out there.

GONE
Andrew Garcia won’t ever cut a record and he ain’t no friend of mind. OK, so Andrew probably will cut a record, because everyone who makes it this far on the show does. Nonetheless, this snore of a performance of “Hound Dog” continued to expose Andrew as a talented, but mellow, and sort of a one-note performer. Last week exposed the fact that Andrew is in danger of elimination. While I expect Michael’s faithful to come to his aid and make sure he’s safe after last week’s scare, I don’t think Andrew has enough of a fanbase left to keep him around.

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