Sing It On 1.8

Sing It On

Season 1, Episode 8

Season Finale

• The Nor'Easters are still mourning their loss of Kevin.
• All Night Yahtzee is gearing up for the Wild Card video submission.
• No Comment's video is their version of "Bang Bang".  I feel like I'll never hear this song again without thinking of Sing It On.
• Nor'Easters decide that the show must go on, and submit their rendition of "Elastic Heart".  
• A.N.Y. pushes themselves to meet the deadline, and the audio file is lost on their best take, so they just submit their first one.
• Nor'Easters wins the wild card, by a lot of points.  They get to go to finals.
• Nor'Easters pull the last performance slot, and Samantha is convinced that Kevin worked it from heaven.
• GMen set the bar really high with their alien-like sound.
• SoCal Vocals rock "Bang Bang" during their set.
• Voices In Your Head's solo has a soloist with an amazing vocal range.
• Vassar Devils sound great and seem to make Nor'Easters nervous because they've beaten each other previously this season.
• Faux Paz makes the judge smile.
• VirtuOSO does "Uptown Funk", which is kinda too choral-like for me, despite the vocal percussion.
• All the King's Men sings "Proud Mary" and they don't sound British at all.
• Nor'Easters have Kevin with them in their hearts, dedicating their set to him, and saving a space on stage for him.  They sound awesome.  
• John Legend sends a video to encourage everyone.  He was in an a capella group in college.
• 3rd place:  G Men
• 2nd place: Voices In Your Head
• 1st place: SoCal Vocals  -- Congratulations! (See this is why they need to follow the California groups next season if they have one).
• The ICCAs end with all of the groups singing "Sing A Song".

Well, that was fun, but not my favorite reality show.  I think that it had to do with the really strong personalities of the leaders, mostly those of the annoying leaders.  Oy.  Their speaking voices were grating to me.  I guess it wouldn't be as good TV if they were more mellow, but I just wasn't as into it as I would have liked to be.  I would have liked to hear more actual singing, like entire sets.  But that's because I'm more of a music fan than a reality show fan, I guess.

Sing It On 1.7

Sing It On

Season 1, Episode 7

South Semifinals

• All Night Yahtzee is relaxing in the pool and they are still talking about the fact that Michael doesn't want them to have a ballad in their set.
• The Nor'Easters drink champagne with alumnus Ty, and he agrees to film the Wild Card video.
• Michael thinks that A.N.Y. needs more sexiness in their faces to bring forth the emotion that the judges found lacking in their performance.
• No Comment celebrates Morgan's 21st birthday with a surprise party.  They sing "Bang Bang" on helium.
• Michael invites Amanda to ride the bus with A.N.Y. because he wants her to join them next year.  But first, he invites some theater majors to help show the group how to turn their "dead faces into sex faces".  OK, then.
• Amanda feels weird on the .A.N.Y. bus, and she's spying on Michael because she wants to run for Acabelles music director.
• Molly broke the spirit stick, and all I can think about is "Bring It On".
• Amanda is appalled that Michael is allowing A.N.Y. to blow out their voices by screaming and dancing on the party bus.  Amanda is a smart cookie.
• Michael doesn't believe in the power of the spirit stick, but still brings the broken one up with him to pull the order number:  9th.  Christian is being a good boyfriend and being comforting to Andie.  Amanda texts Michael during the other performers' shows, and he relays them to A.N.Y., for which they're appreciative.  They decide to check out some of the competition for themselves, and they're confident.
• A.N.Y. wins choreography. They also get 3rd place, and they're devastated, but trying for the Wild Card.
• The Nor'easters mourn the loss of Kevin, whom lost his battle with depression, and they hold a concert to raise money for suicide depression.  And Sherry cries.

Looking forward to the quest for the wild card spot!

Sing It On 1.6

Sing It On

Season 1, Episode 6

Northeast Semifinals

• BONR festival: Best of Northeastern Regional a capella showcase takes place.  Melodores, Nor Easters, and All Night Yahtzee are on the schedule.
• The emcee embarrassingly falls down while trying to exit the stage, which gets more response than the Nor'Easters' set.  Uh oh.
• It's Spring Break time, and No Comment is going to recharge before submitting their Wild Card video.  They get sunburned because they don't know what sun is like.  
• Nor'Easters analyze away, and decide to change their set for competition, which is freaking out the soloist.
• No Comment meets All Night Yahtzee, and Michael is surprised that they're attractive.  He wants to have a Bang Off, which isn't as dirty as it sounds.
• It's pedicure time for the Nor'Easters, and it's Isaac's first.  Samantha is still freaking out about a solo that she's never done before, and now has to do at Semis.
• Northeast Semifinals take place at Symphony Hall in Boston.  I have good memories of that place.  :)
• Nor'Easters are up first, and their anxiety is high.  They are not happy about their placement in the show order.  Jessie's hand is shaking, and it's distracting other people in the group.  At least Samantha got through her solo.
• The Nor'Easters only get second place, so they don't get to go to Finals unless they get in via wild card.  They lose to the group they just beat in quarterfinals, the Vassar Devils.
• So far, there are 2 groups that we are following that are hoping for the wild card entry.  This should be interesting.

Sing It On 1.4

Sing It On

Season 1, Episode 4

ICCA South Regional Quarterfinals

• We start at FSU today, with Michael happy that the members of All-Night Yahtzee love each other, but doesn't want them to love each other too much, especially Christian and Andie.
• Uh-oh, she used air quotes for "innovative".
• Why are we back with the Nor'easters if we're doing the South quarters right now?
• Ty, an accomplished choreographer, and a former member of the group, is working with Nor'easters as a consultant.
• AcaBelles sound good, and Michael's best friend, Amanda, is looking forward to competing against him.
• Dani is having a special session with the two guys in the group that need the most help with the choreography, Daniel and Christian.  "It was on the way to being good."
• No Comment is at a firehouse to raise funds for their next party bus.  They seem to not be as amused by "Bang Bang" as their usual audience.
• Brittany is in a bass-off with Michael, and she's great.  Michael thinks the Acabelles aren't as good because their sound can't round out the whole chord like a group with a male bass.  While I tend to like the male bass sound more, I don't think that they're necessarily better because of that.  I think it's a different approach, and if you're a group with a male bass but your harmonies don't gel, then no, you're not better.  What's cool about an all-female group for me is that the harmonies are even tighter because the notes in their chords are so close together that they can create a different overtone.  (And to be truthful, Michael's being such a jerk that he's making me like girl groups more than I did before today).
• All-Night Yahtzee has a preview for their fans, and welcome critique.  So they're not *required* to do a ballad?  Interesting.
• I do agree with Michael that All Night Yahtzee may be messing with their voices on that party bus.  But I'm happy that he's pissed off about Christian and Andie going public.  Did they know about his rules?  Because it seems like they don't care.  "I'm kinda nervous about being an aca couple because Michael hates love."  HA!
• Acaphiliacs are also co-ed at FSU, but of course Michael thinks Yahtzee is better.
• I think Amanda rocked it with the Acabelles, but whatever with that audience.
• OMG, the guys announcing the groups remind me of the guys in "Pitch Perfect" emceeing at auditions.
• Yahtzee gets a standing ovation, which makes Michael's head grow bigger.
• All Night Yahtzee wins for choreography.  Yay, Dani!  
• Aw, AcaBelles get 3rd, so they don't get to go to Semis.
• All Night Yahtzee gets 2nd place, which pisses off Michael. So he's a sore loser, too.  Winning!

Next time:  Tattoos!

Sing It On 1.3

Sing It On

Season One

Episode 3: Northeast Quarterfinals

• Uh oh.  Eric's having a hard time in Nor'easters rehearsal, and he's cut.  Poor Eric.
• Ladies of Pitch, Please! are sick and breathing on each other.  Great.
• I was afraid that the song from "Frozen" was going to be in No Comment's set, but phew!  It was only a karaoke session.
• Ooh, aca-drama!  A couple from All-Night Yahtzee broke up, and as revenge, she formed the Acabelles, their rivals.  But I'm a shipper, so I want these two  to get together, partly because I want to see Michael freak out
• Northeast Quarterfinals take place at MIT.
• The Nor'easters get a standing ovation.
• Callie of Pitch, Please! is freaking out that she has a hole in her jumpsuit, but someone sews her up, and she's OK, but nervous because she's still sick.  They sound OK, but I don't think it's great.
• The Vassar Devils are small, but they have a nice, full sound.  
• Pitch, Please!  does not move on to Semis.  But Nor'easters and Vassar Devils do, with Nor'easters winning the evening.

All caught up now!  Next time:  South Quarterfinals.

Sing It On 1.2

Sing It On

Season 1

Episode 2: Midwest Quarterfinals

• No Comment auditions for the solo in their closer.
• The Nor'Easters goes to an a cappella party by all-female group Pitch Please!, "born out of the girls that didn't make it into the Nor'Easters".  Not nice, dude.  I've decided that I don't like him.
• Ooh, Aca Battle!  Oh, they actually get a chance to practice their arrangements (to Britney Spears' "Toxic") first.
• Pitch Please does sexy choreography throughout their song, more than the Nor'Easters, but the Nor'Easters have a better arrangement, and they win.
• Meanwhile, Michael of All-Night Yahtzee feels badly about all of the tension that he cause during the audition bargaining process, and puts together a scavenger hunt.  he didn't make it a fair game, though, so yeah, I'm not much liking Michael either.
• No Comment's Jessica is focusing too much on choreo instead of getting the music right, and Micah is unhappy.  I would be, too, especially when she wants an additional song.
• Uh oh.  No Comment is being really loud on the party bus, and one of the gals doesn't know why their group is called "No Comment"..  
• Top 2 from Midwest Quarters go to Semifinals.
• That vocal percussionist is outstanding, but I don't know which group he was from.
• Is Micah a human metronome AND a human pitch pipe?  Is she also a one-woman band?
• "Penalization" is a big word.
• The Huskie Hunks and No Comment advance to Semis.  I mean, of course, No Comment makes it.  Why would we be focusing on them so much if not?  I wonder if the other groups were being followed, or just the ones they predicted would go to Finals.

Sing It On 1.1

Sing It On 

Season 1

Episode 1: Auditions

How can I not blog about a new reality series about a cappella competition?  Especially when I'm almost done reading "Pitch Perfect", the book upon which the movies were based!  The new series (and the book) is about the International Championship of Collegiate of A Cappella competition.  The competition has already taken place in real life, and I'm playing catch-up today.  Here we go!

• Really? The Nor'Easters (of Northeastern University) hold 24 hours of auditions?  That's too much, dude.  Aw, they want to find more best friends.
• All-Night Yahtzee (of Florida State University) is rivals with the Acabelles.  Michael (of ANY) seems to be kind of a diva.
• Acabelles sound really good in the "Royals" video that went viral on youtube.
• No Comment (of University of Illinois) is a family that doesn't sleep together.
• Ooh, that "secret preference" is interesting.  So is that bartering thing.  I'm with the others and want to punch Michael.
• All of their auditions seem tough.  I know that I wouldn't have auditioned back when I was a freshman, because it was my first year of actual singing.  My friends would have needed to talk me into it, I think.

Not much to this episode because it was auditions, but I hope to hear more music in the next one.