Best 'Different' Song, from Fermata Nowhere
The Best I’ve Seen highlights the very best in a cappella, as seen in the admittedly biased and limited view of the author.
This time, we share the best use of a really ‘different’ song I’ve seen.
The scene is the 2009 ICCA Finals. We’re more than halfway through the evening’s competitors, and the men of Mt. San Antonio College Fermata Nowhere have already gone a long way toward stealing the show. Clad in their matching orange jumpsuits, the guys roused the crowd with Sergio Mendes’s “Magalenha,” then stole our hearts with Secondhand Serenade’s “Fall for You.” Those first two songs were enough to place them as favorites to take that year’s ICCA crown, but what was coming next simply out of this world.
From “Heartless” to “Disturbia” to “Single Ladies” Fermata Nowhere strung together a medley of pop songs that absolutely tore the house down. The performance included the theatrics of feigning a break-up phone call, and full-tilt choreography that included some truly acrobatic flips. Most important of all, though, the guys managed to keep the music strong and fluid throughout the whole thing, this was quite possibly the most memorable collegiate a cappella song I’ve ever seen. The guys showed no fear and made no apologies, leaving everything on the stage, and closing with a beautiful choral blend.
Fermata Nowhere picked multiple songs that were off beat choices, not just for an all-male a cappella group, but for any a cappella group at all, added them together, and sold the entire thing full-tilt. Sure, it was hilarious, but equally important was the fact that the guys never let on that they were joking. A part of what makes this performance both ‘different’ and great is that you can appreciate as a serious piece of musical performance every bit as much as you can celebrate for its comedic value.
As I stood alongside many other audience members to give a these guys a standing ovation at the finals, I leaned over to my travel buddies, saying “These are your 2009 ICCA champions.” Truly one of the best performances I’ve seen.