The Sing-Off is back! It only took a few notes from the start of the opening number — a Fun. medley performed by all of the competing a cappella groups — to remind me why I love this series. There’s nothing quite like the sound of great voices coming together with a great song. Unaccompanied by any other instruments, a cappella really has a way of making an overplayed song sound brand new. And Fun. has quite a few overplayed songs, but that’s all the more reason to appreciate the a cappella versions, as they’re good overplayed songs, made new by these talented voices.
The Sing-Off’s fourth season premiere introduced us to the series’ new judge. Singer Jewel joined returners Ben Folds and Shawn Stockman, and she fit in well at the table. Not only is Jewel beautiful and charming, but — like Ben and Shawn — she knows what she’s talking about. This is another reason I love this show. The judges’ know how to offer constructive criticism and point out the technical merits and issues with any given performance. It’s educational and part of what makes the show entertaining.
Singing also makes the show entertaining. Among my favorite performances last night, we have Street Corner Renaissance, a group of older men who threw a Doo-wop twist on One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful” and nailed it. Love these guys…
I was also surprised by how much I enjoyed the performance by Home Free, considering I’m not much of a country fan. These guys did a pretty fantastic job covering Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise.”
As for the act that was eliminated, the judges sent Princeton Footnotes home after they faced off with VoicePlay. Here’s the Footnotes’ version of Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble.”
Yeah, not perfect, but certainly not bad. None of the acts were, so I can understand why it would be a tough decision for the judges to make a cut. With that said, I trust the judges ear, so it doesn’t bother me that America isn’t doing the eliminating at this point in the competition. I’m excited to see what the remaining acts have in store when The Sing-Off airs tomorrow (Wednesday) night at 8:00 p.m. ET on NBC.
