Viral Videos

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

Five reasons viral videos are good for a cappella
1) They boost awareness. I’ve long held that there are two essential components to effective advertising. The first is to make your audience aware of your product. The very nature of viral videos is that they appear all around the Internet, surface in Facebook posts, show up in Google Chat statuses, and get forwarded around ad nauseum. And so, by definition, an a cappella viral video enhances the public consciousness of the a cappella form.
2) They win people over. After making people aware of what you’re selling, the second essential component to effective advertising is to convince people that they should partake in your product. A cappella videos in general go viral because they’re especially unique, funny, or otherwise good. And so, viral videos go a long way toward convincing the everyday spectator that a cappella is worth listening to.
3) They demonstrate a level of quality for groups to strive for. As stated above, a part of why a cappella videos go viral is that they’re generally quite good. Groups that are trying to make a name for themselves can, therefore, look to these sorts of videos to study what other groups are doing well and how—maybe it’s a great arrangement, maybe it’s a unique sense of timing and setting for the performance, maybe it's attention to tuning, or maybe it’s as simple as good song selection. Whatever the case, the success of these videos gives likeminded groups something to shoot for.
4) They encourage creativity. While viral videos should influence and inspire groups, one of the most common threads between popular videos is their tendency to demonstrate innovation and genuinely different thinking. Groups trying to crack into the viral stratosphere are therefore, challenged and motivated to push boundaries and do new things, which can be central to a cappella on the whole continuing to evolve.
5) They are proof of a level playing field. One of the great things about the Internet, and particularly sites like YouTube are that they give people equal opportunities to make a name for themselves. No longer does a music group need to score a record deal, nor does a singer need to make it on a show like American Idol. That’s not to say that traditional means don’t help, but anyone with a video camera, talent, and a vision can put out a top-notch recording and earn itself a fanbase by the grassroots method of winning over fans, one by one.

The five best a cappella viral videos (in no particular)
1) “Bad Romance” by University of Oregon On the Rocks

Incredibly smooth sound and masterful editing—this one is at once clean and professional, while not betraying its collegiate roots---shying away from special effects and unrelated media, and focusing instead on off-the0charts choreography, facials, and, of course, music.

2) “You Belong With Me” by The University of Rochester Yellow Jackets

Take a fine a cappella group, add a popular song, throw in some masterful cinematography and the gumption to feature and celebrate a gay coupling. The end result? A positively captivating video.

3) “Dynamite” by Mike Tompkins

Tompkins isn’t the only one man a cappella group using today’s tech to record, but he just might be the most entertaining. This video got big enough to warrant a Today Show cast cover that, while anything but great, was certainly memorable.

4) Heath Row flash mob by The Swingle Singers and friends

The sheer scale of this T-Mobile-produced medley makes it a sight to behold. Sure, the Improv Everywhere folks are probably bucking at the liberal borrowing of their style—but I’m also sure they can’t keep themselves from smiling a little at this piece.

5)“Never Gonna Give You Up” by University of Oregon On The Rocks

Back to OTR, and back to basics. OK, so the guys from Oregon were a few years late on the relevancy of this prank. Nonetheless, you have to respect the sheer gall of these guys—as well as the remarkable indifference of their live audience.