Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town made magic with their wide array of vocals.All of my evaluations are done by myself and any friends who happen to be watching with me while I view the performance. I make a point to not read any other reviews (not even Judge Ben Folds' own blog) before posting my own because I don't want to cheat a group out of my honest opinion. Here is my take of each group, listed in order of appearance last night.
GROUP 1:
On the Rocks
Eugene, Oregon
15 members: all male, former and current college students, diverse
The original version of "Live Your Life" by Rihanna is already a vocally interesting and dynamic song. On the Rocks actually improved the sound, giving it a honey smooth texture by emulating the instruments with their voices. What I love about On the Rocks is the way that they trade lead singer roles, entertain with energetic choreography, and know how to make even red sweaters and windbreakers look cool. Judge Nicole Scherzinger was especially impressed with their simulated delays, something I did not pick up on until I watched the replay -- it's very noticeable on their final note.
Clip from the show:
• Judges critique after the show
Street Corner Symphony
Nashville, TN
6 members: men, Caucasian, young to middle aged
Incredible is the best word to describe Street Corner Symphony's performance of "Soul Sister" by Train. I was especially impressed by their dynamics, excellent timing, utilization of vocal strengths by switching off lead singers during the coda, sound effects (the rewind made my jaw drop), and nearly perfect pitch. And, they hit the high notes! I wanted to know more about Street Corner Symphony, so I read their website and was thoroughly entertained. Here are a couple of more interesting pages: About us, where you can read the bios of each of the six members and discover all of their eccentric phobias, and their first blog, complete with test comments and directions from their web designer (I can really relate to this).
• Street Corner Symphony performing "Soul Sister"
• Judges critique after the show
Eleventh Hour
Kettering, Ohio
7 members: 3 men, 4 women, diverse. High school students.
Eleventh Hour covered "Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars. The first verse of the song was a wee bit rocky as the backup singers cluttered the background, but the group fell back into perfect sync during the chorus, with the two lead singers and backup blending together in a magnificent harmonious swelling. Unfortunately, the backup lost track of their pitch somewhere near the end of the song. That being said, I was still extremely impressed, but someone had to go home and they were the least amazing of the four acts who competed.
Clip from the show:
Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town
Oakland, CA
6 members: men, African American, older
It was a magical moment when Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town performed "Mercy" by Duffy as their full range of voices: bass, baritone, tenor, countertenor, and falsetto created a vocal wall of sound behind lead singer, Jerry Lawson, who sang with heart and conviction and really brought it! Their dynamic arrangement was exciting. It was tight. It was great!
The Backbeats
LA, CA
10 members: 5 women, 5 men, former and current college students, diverse
In a daring move, the Backbeats used three lead singers in the opening quiet lines of their rendition of "Break Even" by the Script. All three singers were strong and melded together flawlessly when they came together in the fourth line of the song. The backup singers swelled in places creating some "wow" moments, but for the most part were not too loud for the lead singers to be heard. The result was an emotionally moving rendition and Judge Shawn Stockman noted, "When you sing, I believe it." I was happy the judges finally noticed the female beat boxer.
Committed
Huntsville, AL
6 members: male, African American, college students
Once again, Committed amazed and stupefied the audience and the judges as they performed their rendition of "Apologize" by One Republic. It was soooo smooth. Their perfectly blended backup vocals mixed and swelled, reversing highs and lows in round fashion. It was so beautifully executed, there were people tearing up in the audience. After their performance, the audience gave them a sincere standing ovation. Judge Ben Folds said "the first and second violins were beautiful, the celly were perfect..."
Eleventh Hour
Kettering, Ohio
7 members: 3 men, 4 women, diverse. High school students.
Eleventh Hour covered "Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars. The first verse of the song was a wee bit rocky as the backup singers cluttered the background, but the group fell back into perfect sync during the chorus, with the two lead singers and backup blending together in a magnificent harmonious swelling. Unfortunately, the backup lost track of their pitch somewhere near the end of the song. That being said, I was still extremely impressed, but someone had to go home and they were the least amazing of the four acts who competed.
Clip from the show:
Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town
Oakland, CA
6 members: men, African American, older
It was a magical moment when Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town performed "Mercy" by Duffy as their full range of voices: bass, baritone, tenor, countertenor, and falsetto created a vocal wall of sound behind lead singer, Jerry Lawson, who sang with heart and conviction and really brought it! Their dynamic arrangement was exciting. It was tight. It was great!
Clip from the show (please note that this first link has been marked as an infringement of copyright laws and may not work anymore by the time you view it):
• Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town perform Mercy
• Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town perform Mercy
GROUP 2:
The Backbeats
LA, CA
10 members: 5 women, 5 men, former and current college students, diverse
In a daring move, the Backbeats used three lead singers in the opening quiet lines of their rendition of "Break Even" by the Script. All three singers were strong and melded together flawlessly when they came together in the fourth line of the song. The backup singers swelled in places creating some "wow" moments, but for the most part were not too loud for the lead singers to be heard. The result was an emotionally moving rendition and Judge Shawn Stockman noted, "When you sing, I believe it." I was happy the judges finally noticed the female beat boxer.
Committed
Huntsville, AL
6 members: male, African American, college students
Once again, Committed amazed and stupefied the audience and the judges as they performed their rendition of "Apologize" by One Republic. It was soooo smooth. Their perfectly blended backup vocals mixed and swelled, reversing highs and lows in round fashion. It was so beautifully executed, there were people tearing up in the audience. After their performance, the audience gave them a sincere standing ovation. Judge Ben Folds said "the first and second violins were beautiful, the celly were perfect..."
Clip from the show:
• Committed perform "Apologize"
• Committed perform "Apologize"
Groove for Thought
Seattle, WA
6 members: 4 men, 2 women. Caucasian, Various ages.
Groove for Thought created their own original jazz rendition of Mike Posner's techno pop song, "Cooler than Me." Their beautiful mix of high and low jazz-style minor key harmonies, rising and lowering in both tone and volume, created a rainbow of sound behind the rich, softly raspy-textured lead vocals. It was phenomenal and it carried me away.
Seattle, WA
6 members: 4 men, 2 women. Caucasian, Various ages.
Groove for Thought created their own original jazz rendition of Mike Posner's techno pop song, "Cooler than Me." Their beautiful mix of high and low jazz-style minor key harmonies, rising and lowering in both tone and volume, created a rainbow of sound behind the rich, softly raspy-textured lead vocals. It was phenomenal and it carried me away.
Clip from the show:
The Whiffenpoofs
New Haven, CT
14 members, male, college students, diverse
The Whiffenpoofs performed a beautiful rendition of "Just Haven't Met You Yet," by Michael Bublé, trading leads to give each gorgeous male singer the chance to melt some poor girls heart out there in TV land. The beginning leads were softer and sweeter, and the backup vocalists need to remember to turn it down and not sing so loudly so as not to drown them out. In the end, someone had to go home and all the acts were worthy of staying. However, the Whiffenpoofs were eliminated. They sang a very interesting version of "Home Sweet Home" by Motley Crue, and it was so wonderful, I almost wished they'd sang that instead.
Clip from the show:
• Whiffenpoofs perform "Just Haven't Met You Yet"
New Haven, CT
14 members, male, college students, diverse
The Whiffenpoofs performed a beautiful rendition of "Just Haven't Met You Yet," by Michael Bublé, trading leads to give each gorgeous male singer the chance to melt some poor girls heart out there in TV land. The beginning leads were softer and sweeter, and the backup vocalists need to remember to turn it down and not sing so loudly so as not to drown them out. In the end, someone had to go home and all the acts were worthy of staying. However, the Whiffenpoofs were eliminated. They sang a very interesting version of "Home Sweet Home" by Motley Crue, and it was so wonderful, I almost wished they'd sang that instead.
Clip from the show:
• Whiffenpoofs perform "Just Haven't Met You Yet"
No comments:
Post a Comment
What's your opinion?