The Sing Off: What you might have been missing
Anyone been watching this acapella singing competition? I’m loving it. The live finale is on next week. So far, the judges–Ben Folds (!!), Nicole Scherzinger (Pussycat Dolls), and Shawn Stockham (Boyz II Men)–have been controlling who leaves the show, and I’d say they’ve made the correct picks. Now it’s narrowed down to four groups, which America got to vote on this week. And the winners will be revealed next week.
Here’s some of my fave performances from this season:
Check out what they do at the end of that song. Incredible.
1:04 – that’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout.
Highlight: falsetto at :57.
Didn’t know I could enjoy Lady Gaga so much.
NOTE: There is no lip syncing or studio effects, according to the show. All just vocals.
The finale is going to be on next Monday.
Posted on December 16, 2010, in Music, Television. Bookmark the permalink. 19 Comments.
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My cousin was in the BYU group that competed last year. The Courtney in Backbeats that the judges seem to love was also in that group.
I think the competition is much better this year, but I wish there was at least one all-female group.
I like the Talk of the Town group, but they don’t really seem to be in this competition–what they do is just very different from the other groups. I thought the same about the Jazz group that was eliminated last time and, to some extent, the Wiffenpouffs, or whatever the Yale group was. That said, they were smart to not actually make the cut (of the older group) themselves and to let the public do it.
I am not the voting kind, but if I were, I would vote for Committed, runner-ups Street Corner Symphony. Not that crazy about Backbeats–the bigger groups are just too big to really connect with them.
I liked the Creep song. Otherwise, I only watched in passing as my wife watches. Most of the tunes I tuned out.
Oh–and I find Ben Folds to be the only useful judge. That Pussycat lady is just a cheerleader and the Boyz II Men guy gives “vibe” counsel, but Ben Folds is the only one who actually gives musical critique to the groups.
Courtney gets attention because she’s the only female percussionist, which is fine with me. I actually don’t like the voice of the lead singer for the Backbeats. Sometimes she’s ok but when she did that Beyonce song, first episode, it was painful.
I’m rooting for Committed as well.
I think it’s funny that my favorite round was the “guilty pleasures” songs.
So it’s Glee without the characters you want to punch in the face?
And actual live singing without all the glossy production behind it.
I really think Glee would be a much better show without all the overproduction, auto-tuning and bad lipsyncing.
Just been catching up on this show over the weekend. Totally awesome. Unbelievably cool. Absolutely love it.
The Backbeats version of Landslide. Unreal.
I also love that the groups from Berkley and Yale started out all cocky and then got their butts handed to them. The Yale guys actually said that they invented a capella, which the Boys II Men guy sarcastically thanked them for. Awesome.
I think they had an interesting mix of groups on the show. Who are you rooting for MCQ?
I think it’s going to be very tough to beat Committed. They have the judges behind them and for good reason. I have a soft spot for Street Corner Symphony, however. They’re definitely my favorite group. The Backbeats obviously have some amazing ability, but they don’t seem to have quite the same chemistry as the other groups.
I don’t really get the judges’ love-fest for Talk of the Town. Jerry Lawson looks like he’s about 90. I understand giving the old guys some respect, but they just don’t seem that good to me, compared with what the others are doing.
Lawson was in the Persuasions, which I guess was a really popular a capella group way back when? It’d be kind of like having Dionne Warwick as a contestant on American Idol, or something.
I think the old guys are really stupendous at what they do, they just don’t do anything outside their own style. Which some of the other groups had in common–like the jazzy one, they made all their songs jazzy. There’s just no way the judges could eliminate Talk of the Town.
I guess that’s right, and I appreciate the fact that Lawson and his guys are the old masters, but their thing just doesn’t do that much for me. I actually really enjoyed On The Rocks, because they just were so much fun. I don’t know much about singing or about the technical part of a capella groups, so the entertainers are the ones I like. Even I can tell, however, that Committed is something special.
I really like the judges on this show too. None of them are stupid or annoying. They all seem to know something about what they’re talking about and they all bring something different to the table. Ben Folds is obviously the most cerebral and articulate one, but I think Nicole has been very helpful as well, often pointing out the negative things, like when Groove For Thought went off the rails at the end of a song in the third show, and when Committed didn’t rock their rock song enough.
Yeah, I like all the judges too. Which surprised me. Didn’t think Nicole would have much valuable input.
I love Ben Folds. Especially after the whole chat roulette thing.
Susan, I just looked at the chat roulette thing, but that Merton guy is not Ben is it? They look a bit alike but not when you see him up close.
No Merton is no Ben Folds, just looked like him.
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