Anybody watching The Sing-Off?

[Sakrysta]

I didn't get hep to this show until this season. Just wow. These performers are brilliantly amazing. The groups that are left at this point are so very talented! I confess, I'm rooting for Pentatonix - everything they have done has been so innovative, interesting, and solid. Afro Blue is my other favorite of those that are left. There have been times where the judges didn't like something they did where I was absolutely flabbergasted. They are SO GREAT.

One of my favorites - Delilah - went home last week. I was really disappointed, but not surprised. I think if they had had more prep time together before the competition, they would have made it farther.

I confess, I'm a little biased against the college groups. They're fun, but they just don't seem to have the same artistry as the other groups. They ARE a lot of fun to watch perform, though. Dartmouth Aires especially have a special quality that lifts them above the typical college glee fare.

Once I got started watching this season, I went back and bought the first two on Amazon. There's really no comparison in the quality of the groups - this year just so far surpasses the first two years. I think the art form is really catching on - or rather, the show is attracting better representatives in the genre. I will also say that, while I think Nicole Scherzinger is adorable, Sara Bareilles is a much better judge - offering a lot more constructive comments.

But yeah, I'm rooting for Pentatonix this season. Anyone else want to weigh in?

 

[intrinsical]

I've been watching since season 1, but I have loved acapella music ever since I was a little kid.

Pentatonix has certainly been the front runner for over 2/3rds of the episodes. However, it is hard to say if they will win as voters get to choose the winner, not judges. If it is anything like last season, Street Corner Symphony was musically the best team with the Backbeats coming in second. But both groups lost out to Committed because the viewers loved Committed's "homely choir boys turned boy band" story.

Pentatonix's problem is that their story so far has been "We're innovative, we easily impress the judges and beat the competition", whereas Afro Blue and Urban Method can say "yeah we're the underdogs but we've worked hard look at how much we've grown". So in a way, things are not looking good for Pentatonix at all.

 

[Spot's Meow]

Yes, I have watched this season and last season. I wasn't very happy with the winner last season, all of the groups were great, but Committed really wasn't the best. I was kind of surprised that they won, they didn't seem all that likeable or relatable to me.

Anyway, this season the groups are just awesome. One of my favorites was Vocal Point, so I was sad to see them go this week. I really like the Dartmouth Aires and Pentatonix. Delilah was actually my least favorite group, because of their singing but mostly because of their personalities, especially that one blonde girl who acted like a dumbass every week when she would reveal how little she knew about the chosen genre. I was surprised that Delilah lasted as long as they did, I thought they would go home in the second week.

 

[Kestra]

I watched some of the first season, but forgot about it until this season started up. One of my fave groups went home a few weeks ago so I haven't been as into it since then, but the performances are really good. I've downloaded a few of the songs.

 

[intrinsical]

Anyway, here are what I feel is Pentatonix's top three performances. Enjoy!

Pentatonix - Video Killed The Radio Star
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JC3db0rEus[/yt]

Pentatonix - Love Lockdown
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUyL26IHiCI[/yt]

Pentatonix - Let's Get It On
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhTh6BqK6Nw[/yt]

 

[Sakrysta]

I am currently obsessed with this performance from the first episode of season 2:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAT5AqinOeg&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/yt]

This kind of stuff is why I love the a capella movement so much.

 

[Velocity]

Never heard of it.

 

[Caretaker]

Yeah, I'm enjoying The Sing-Off. The only problem now is the final two episodes of the season come down to home audience voting, so a concentrated effort could bring down Pentatonix.
I kind of want Afro-Blue to win, just because I'm living in the DC area and want to see the local team win. That being said, all the remaining bands (just like last year) are very, very good and any of them would be worthy to win the competition.

 

[intrinsical]

Now that the competition is over, I thought I'ld give a recap of how the top 6 groups did.

6th - Delilah: This is a team that I initially thought had the potential to go all the way to the finals. What did them in was that (a) they lacked a good musical director/arranger who can adjust songs to highlight the group's strengths and (b) they choose not to feature their strongest lead singer, Amy Whitcomb. Its puzzling, just compare "Grenade" and "Dream On" with the rest of the songs that they did. Its like Delilah has split personality disorder.

5th - Vocal Point: I had high hopes for these boys, they came in 2nd at ICCA this year (last season's Pitch Slapped who were kicked out of The Sing-Off in week 1, won ICCA), They are cool, they can sing, they can entertain. The problem with Vocal Point is they are laid back. At one point, it felt like they got through to the next round by pulling a cheap tribute to one member's dad who recently died. Perhaps its because they were juggling college work while singing, it just felt like their hearts were not in the competition and they chose the easy way out one too many times.

4th - Afro-Blue: I am sorry guys, I admit I am not a trained musician and I am not a jazz person. When I hear Afro-Blue sing, I feel like I am in a five star restaurant and the chef is standing beside me instructing me on how to eat his meticulously prepared gourmet meal when I can be happier chomping down on a nice steamy hotdog or burger at a corner stand. Musicians can tell me Afro-Blue's singing is wonderful, pitch perfect and technically above reproach. I respect that these guys are AMAZING even though I can't appreciate their tech technical sophistry. Sorry, I'm so sorry.

3rd - Dartmouth Aires: Dartmouth Who? To be honest, this group barely registered with me throughout this competition. The only blip that registered is their rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody" in medley week. Even that, I have seen a better version on youtube a few years ago. While they are in the finale, I do not believe they have any chance of winning.

Urban Method: Right from the start, I can tell Urban Method is this season's Street Corner Symphony, a bunch of seasoned musicians who think they can have a better than good chance of walking away with the Sing Off prize money. I am not 100% certain, but I get the feeling they tried to play it smart by having a mid-season "falter" with their female singers in order to show how they've "grown". Yet, their female singers didn't have that problem in their very first song of the season. Still, I think they played a good game finishing the season with two strong showcases of their ability and would probably have clinched the first prize if not for Pentatonix.

That brings us to...

Pentatonix: Pentatonix's lowest point was on par with some of the other group's better performances and when Pentatonix is great, they are stratostropic. I really don't have to say anything about this group other than it will be a huge travesty if they don't win. Just listen to their final song before voting began (I seriously recommend using headphones or a good set of speakers).

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_VCF-9IrOE[/yt]

 

[Spot's Meow]

I too think Pentatonix should win. As for the final three, I feel that Urban Method and Afro-Blue should have switched places. Urban Method just doesn't sound that great to me, especially in the last half of the competition. I really don't think their female singers are very good. Okay, well, by American Idol standards they are good, but by the standards of this competition, where the pure vocal artistry has to be just absolutely perfect, they don't measure up to me.

The performance that really made me take notice of the Dartmouth Aires was their Pinball Wizard song. That's actually the only Sing-Off song I actually went online and downloaded after watching it. Also, their performances are so high energy and a lot of fun to watch.

 

[intrinsical]

Okay I admit it, I am a crazy Pentatonix fan who can't get enough of their singing and I check youtube everyday in hopes that someone will upload a new video featuring Pentatonix. Instead, I found someone as crazy as I am.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNxlRibUJm8[/yt]

 

[Sakrysta]

Okay, that actually made me feel a little less crazy.

I was so thrilled that Pentatonix won! I went and found all their performances on YouTube and made myself a playlist, and I can't seem to go a day without watching it again.

I will say, though, after looking up videos of Scott, Mitch, and Kirstie - the group wouldn't have been worth anything without Avi and Kevin. I can't wait for a studio album! Have any of you heard their "We Three Kings" from the Sing-Off Christmas album? As amazing as they are live, the addition of studio polish just pushes them to even more brilliance.

 

[intrinsical]

Care to share that playlist?

 

[Sakrysta]

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC239CC8F4D20B8B5

There you go.

 

[intrinsical]

Nice list, I don't have a list of my own but from seasons 1 and 2, the good groups are:

The Backbeats
Street Corner Symphony (They should have won season 2)
Noteworthy
The SoCals (Scott lead singer of Pentatonix was a member of this group)

Most songs from Backbeats and Street Corner range from pretty good to f'ning great. As for Noteworthy and SoCals, well, I have a soft spot for them as they are the seeds of several later groups, including The Backbeats, Delilah and Pentatonix. Its nice seeing how some of the group members such as Courtney, Amy and Laina have grown musically.

Outside of the Sing-Off, there is pretty much just a pair of performances that blow me away and that is Duke's Men of Yale singing Umbrella. They took a song that I didn't like and totally transformed it into something great. There are two versions, a live version that the sang at ICCA and a studio verson, both are great in different ways.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSt11YjJra0 (ICCA 2009)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3qrgqpX2Ho (Studio version)

 

[intrinsical]

New Pentatonix Song!
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5wqHrUD4Xg[/yt]

 

[Sakrysta]

Finally gave in and just bought the season on Amazon, and I've been rewatching it this week. I'm discovering that although I pretty much agree with the order groups went off, the ones whose performances I keep going back to are, in order: Pentatonix, Afro Blue, and Delilah. I could watch PTX all day. Afro Blue and Delilah, when they were on, were unbelievable.

And I just have to say, "Once in love with Amy, always in love with Amy!"

 

[intrinsical]

Pentatonix has released their very first EP, PTX Vol. 1, and its available on iTunes! *squee*

Together with their EP launch, they have also released their first music video, a pure acapella cover of Nicki Minaj's Starships.
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6K8mkytEMY[/yt]