Out-of-key Christmas carolers might be a bit more ambitious this year, after the fall television season saw the airwaves inundated with group singing. High School Musical might be old news and American Idol another month away, but Fox’s Gleehas had everyone singing along to musical classics and chart hits, and this December, NBC took the hint.
The Sing-Off, a competition between eight a capella groups from across the country (and Puerto Rico, for that matter) showcases show choirs about as close to real-lifeGlee clubs as any fan of the new teen comedy-drama could hope for. And if anyone still had doubts about NBC capitalizing on the popularity of group singing and dancing, The SoCals’ rendition of “Don’t Stop Believin,” I think, made things pretty clear.
But The Sing-Off was by no means completely derivative—the most unique aspect being the lack of any and all musical backup. A capella, as host Nick Lachey mentions half a dozen times an episode, is “singing in its purest form, without a single back-up instrument.”
Fortunately, The Sing-Off’s a capella is a little more modern (and infinitely more entertaining) than Gregorian chanting or doo-wop groups. Even “Maxx Factor,” the single barbershop quartet on the show—a team of four ladies of a more “mature” age than the predominantly college-aged kids competing with them—couldn’t be called old-fashioned. Sassy, professional, and masters of the close harmony, Maxx Factor’s best performances included ABBA’s “Dancing Queen,” Taylor Swift’s “Love Story,” and Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab.”
Like most reality TV programming, the eight groups were talented, charismatic, and extremely diverse—from Tufts University’s hilarious brotherhood of the Beelzebubs (can we say Andy Bernard?) to Brigham Young University’s wholesome Mormon girls who could belt Aretha Franklin (while insisting that they would refuse to sing anything with cursing or innuendo). Needless to say, watchingthese groups sing was almost as entertaining as listening.
The sudden popularization of group singing shares something else in common with reality television—it’s democratic, and I don’t just mean the online voting. While it’s true that American Idol can easily turn into a venue for the ridiculous and tone-deaf, shows like Glee and The Sing-Off celebrate sheer talent. A capella, in particular, seems to be a reaction against the glitz, gimmicks, and clever editing of mass-produced media: pure, unadulterated voice is about as egalitarian as it gets. As one of The Sing-Off judges, Shawn Stockman, another boy band veteran, comments: “It’s about diversity, it’s about switching it up, and it’s about entertainment.”
The finale’s inclusion of Bobby McFerrin (vocalist and conductor, of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” fame) provides a particularly good example. Looking very cool in a t-shirt and jeans, among the sweater-vested and done-up finalists, McFerrin led the singers in a live, improvisational a capella lesson. Tapping on his chest for percussion and weaving together nonsense syllables into an original, extemporaneous song, McFerrin’s class was more reminiscent of School of Rockthan Glee—especially with the college a capella singers in such classic prep school attire.
The completely unrehearsed character of the session was what made it the highlight of the finale—that’s the beauty of live music (that, and watching Natasha Bedingfield botch her own song on stage, smiling nervously all the while).
But along with following the Glee model of taking popular songs and the most geeky venue possible—a singing competition. When the Beelzebubs (‘Bubs for short) decided to perform Flo Rida’s “Right Round” sans any sort of accompaniment, one of the members had this to say: “I think there’s something really cool about rap and something really dorky about a capella.” The combination was as big a success as any Glee number for judge and Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger, at least, who found the ‘Bubs so “sexy” that she sang with them in the finale to “You Don’t Own Me.”
As dorky and fun as the performances could be, the stakes were high. The eight groups competed for $100,000 and an Epic Records/Sony Entertainment recording contract. And the ultimate winner of NBC’s a capella championship, while not my first choice, made a lot of sense—Bobby McFerrin’s emphasis on vocal innovation was best echoed by the last singers standing (and if you don’t want to know, stop reading now): Nota.
Six men from San Juan, Nota incorporated R&B, hip hop, mouth-drumming, and latin flavor into their performances (Nota was, without a doubt, the least geeky of the bunch—I’ll go so far as to say they were the first a capella group I’ve ever called “cool”). Even in their first performance, somehow, the men of Nota turned Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” into a salsa dance.
With the technical aspects of singing down pat—third judge Ben Folds was very serious about dynamics, theory, musicality, diction, and articulation—Nota was free to bring Puerto Rico to Los Angeles.
“You made it your own,” Scherzinger commented approvingly. “You showed us a little bit of your heritage and culture, and let us be involved with you.”
It’s just one more benefit of good television democracy—nothing planned could be half as creative as a bunch of normal guys with extraordinary talent, doing what they love on primetime NBC.
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Isabela Morales is a History and American Studies student who rabidly reviews indie science fiction at http://thescattering.wordpress.com/