THE SING-OFF “Season Premiere: Part 2″ Review

THE SING-OFF “Season Premiere: Part 2″ Season 3, Episode 2 – In this week’s episode, we got to see the second bracket of a capella groups that were vying for a $200,000 cash prize and a recording contract with Sony Music on The Sing-Off. The groups from the second bracket opened the episode with a rendition of My Chemical Romance’s “Sing.” I really love these group numbers at the start of each episode. There’s something moving about seeing so many talented vocalists come together to just sing their hearts out.

“Dartmouth Aires” was the a capella group from Dartmouth College that nailed a high energy performance of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground.” They had really great percussion, sustained animation and were solid entertainers. As Sarah commented, their control over their breathing while they were singing and moving all over the stage was incredible. It was a very impressive opening performance and this group is off to a great start.

“Pentatonix” from Arlington, Texas was the group of five that specialized in a capella versions of Top 40 pop hits. They performed a great arrangement of Katy Perry’s “ET” and for having so few people in their group, their sound seemed really big. I liked that they each had an opportunity to showcase their abilities during the performance. Pentatonix happens to be one of those groups that has really strong individual vocalists who have total control of their voices so that they are able to seamlessly blend in with the other singers in their group. Pentatonix was my favorite group from the second bracket and I’m looking forward to seeing them go far in the competition.

“Messiah’s Men” was made up of West African Liberians living in Minneapolis. It was tough to hold back the tears as we got their back story. The role that music played in these men’s lives as they were living in refugee camps because of the civil crisis in Liberia was really moving. I think Shawn described their performance perfectly when he said they had “storyteller voices.” Technically speaking, they weren’t the strongest performers tonight, but their performance was captivating nonetheless. They went home in the first round of tonight’s episode, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this group is in high demand when they get back to Minneapolis.

I wasn’t really sure “Sonos” from Los Angeles could technically call themselves an “a capella” group. They use effects pedals to augment their sounds in their normal performances but since they weren’t allowed to use their effects pedals for The Sing-Off, we got a real a capella performance by a group that might not otherwise be considered a capella. To me, the most impressive aspect of their performance was their ambitious arrangement of Chris Issac’s “Wicked Game.” I sided with Shawn’s critique when he said there seemed to be something missing in their harmonies, but Sarah liked the effect of the thinner sound and Ben boiled it down to a matter of personal preferences.

I’m not sure I entirely understand how “The Collective” came together. A contestant from Season 2 returned to Nashville to put together another group made up of his brother and his favorite local solo artists. I don’t think the guy that put it all together was in the group that performed tonight and the artists that were part of The Collective had never sung a capella before. Although there were some critiques about the group’s overall blend, the judges seemed to like this group. I don’t think they were bad, but personally, I don’t think I’m a fan of their sound.

“Soul’d Out” was the high school choir from Wilsonville. They definitely had an impressive sound for a high school group, but there was a juvenile feel to their performance. Their performance of “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” from Hair was good, but it was a show choir performance. Compared to the competition, their good sound wasn’t enough to keep them in the game and they returned to Wilsonville tonight.

“North Shore” was the group of guys from Boston trying to prove to the world that doo-wop was still alive and kicking. I was prepared to dismiss this group, but their lead singer opened his mouth and this youthful, effortless sound came out. They had energy without rushing through their music and, as Sarah commented, their blend was so tight that you couldn’t tell which person was singing which part. I’m hoping they’ll be able to keep up with the challenges in the coming episodes because I was surprised by how much I liked their sound.

The final group of the night was the “Deltones” from the University of Delaware. I liked the warm sound of this group and I actually wish they featured the background singers a little more in this performance.

Next week, the groups that made it past the first set of cuts in The Sing-Off will be in for more complicated challenges and I’m looking forward to seeing how they rise to the occasion.