The ICCA Finals

In this edition, we’re taking a look at The 5s of The ICCA Finals.

The five best Finals sets I’ve seen (in no particular)
1) The SoCal VoCals (2008): Musically tight, visually captivating, with unique song selections, leading into the take-no-prisoners triumph that was “Somebody to Love.” This is as close to perfect as I’ve seen.
2) SoCal VoCals (2010): Though it wasn’t quite as brilliant as the 2008 Finals set, it was arguably the more fun of the two outings, with an imaginative take on “Crazy Ever After,” featuring rotating soloists, and one of the great breakdowns in recent ICCA memory on “Living for the City.”
3) Noteworthy (2007): Righting the wrongs bestowed upon Divisi in 2005, Noteworthy became the first all-female group in over a decade to take the ICCA crown with a brash, bold and beautiful set that culminated in a stomp routine and lift to cap off “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.”
4) Fermata Nowhere (2009): This set lingers in my memory as the most fun ICCA set I’ve ever seen. These guys were all about energy and confidence, going from captivating the crowd with the raw emotion of “Fall For You” to positively bringing the house down with their pop medley, featuring Beyonce’s “Single Ladies.”
5) The Crosbys (2007): If raw power a cappella is your thing, the boys from Binghamton represented it in spades here with what remains in my mind the definitive showcase of what an all-male group can accomplish. The start of the body perc on “Hey You” remains one of the great moments in collegiate a cappella in my mind.

The five best Finals solos I’ve seen (in no particular order)
1) Purple Haze for “ I’m Coming Home” (2010). Soulful, controlled and emotionally ripping where it needed to be, this was truly a tour de force.
2) And 3) Pitch Slapped for “Halo” (2010) and All-Night Yahtzee for “Not Ready to Make Nice”. Very different songs with the common thread of a mixed group’s female soloist positively stealing the show on a middle song through raw emotion and a beautiful voice.
4 And 5)Fermata Nowhere for “Fall for You” (2009) and The Duke’s Men for “What a Good Boy” (2009). Rarely do you see two performances in the same night that are not only so strong, but so simultaneously the same and different. Fermata Nowhere was raw from the start here, whereas the Yale front man started quite prim and proper. Both ended in the same place, though, laying their souls out for all to see in superb ballads.

Five ways to improve the ICCA Finals.
1) Regularize the international factor. I realize a lot of this is beyond Varsity Vocals’ control but it’s frustrating not to know who will be performing at the finals, or what their road was to reach that stage. While the western European groups were staple for many years, many have come and gone and, at least for me, it takes something away from the credibility of the competition when these groups just seem “thrown in there.”
2) Expand to 15 minute sets. Now that the ICCA and ICHSA Finals have been re-split up, I think it’s time to think about taking the collegiate sets to the next level—truly challenge groups by having them come up with an additional song to showcase at finals. Besides, would anyone really object to hearing three more minutes out of the best groups in the country/world?
3) Introduce the a cappella celebs in the crowd. It’s high time a cappella celebrate it’s legitimacy and the prominent figures within its community. How many people even realized American Idol’s John Park was on stage at last year’s finals? Beyond that, let’s take our hats off to the professionals, the prominent alums, and so on from the crowd.
4) Invite semifinal runners up to perform a song or two like high school groups did in 2010 and/or show videos. There are so many talented groups that compete each year, and it’s a shame only one from each region (plus the wild card) can make it to the Finals. Let’s celebrate the best of the rest by seeing them, too, perform on stage on collegiate a cappella’s biggest night.
5) Have the judges provide a rationale for each award and placement. Many purists will reject this as a step towards the worst elements of The Sing-Off or American Idol but how many of us are genuinely curious to hear what the judges would have to say to explain the results—particularly when the panel includes luminaries like Bill Hare and Chris Diaz? Hearing from one judge to introduce and explain each award and honor would be a really nice touch for the competition.