Final Three Finale of the Sing-Off Season 4 to air tonight

Home Free from Minneapolis, one of three finalists to perform tonight. 

I am so sad.

The final episode of this season's Sing-Off will air tonight, Monday December 23, 2013 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on NBC. 

The show is unlike any other in that it is an all vocal, unaided, untuned, raw a cappella competition show featuring groups from across the continent dressed in colorful costumes performing vocal renditions of hit songs. The only requirement is the groups must have at least five members, and all sounds must be made with what God has given you: your voice, and the occasional rare clapping, snapping, and foot stomping. Drums and bass, horns, and any other instruments are emulated with voices.

Judging the show are Ben Folds, Shawn Stockman, and Jewel and hosting is Nick Lachey of 98 degrees, all of whom will be performing in the pre-taped two hour finale airing tonight. The three remaining groups, Vocal Rush from the Oakland School for the Arts, Ten from Dallas, and Home Free from Minneapolis, are all competing for a chance at a $100,000 Sony recording contract. 

The Filharmonic from Los Angeles was eliminated during last Thursday's show, episode 6. 

The 2011 Season 3 winner Pentatonix, who will also be performing tonight, has not disappointed, having charted at #10 on Billboard's 200 with their latest release, PTX Vol. 2. 

In addition, the one and only Pat Benetar, a classically opera-trained vocalist turned rock star, will be performing on tonight's show with her husband Neil Giraldo. 

This will be the seventh episode of the fourth season of a hit show which has aired over the course of a mere 2.3 weeks. It is not long enough. But, I must admit, I'm glad we finally did get a season 4 after a year of campaigning to #SaveTheSingOff on twitter, Facebook, and in an online petition which garnered 39,139 signatures.

Changes

I must say, this has been the best season ever since the show's inception five years ago in 2009. The a cappella groups are much better, so good that any one of the ten competitors would have been a finalist in Season 1.

The judging is finely honed, given more time for explanations and definitions, and reached an even higher note with the brainy addition of Jewel. Surprised? I know I was. I love her. I hope she's back to stay next season. 

I enjoyed the mentoring moments where the judges helped the groups during their rehearsals. 

I also found the sing-off rounds, where two groups go head to head, to be fun and adventuresome, as would-be-competitors became best friends (in some cases) and put on incredibly entertaining and fun shows. I don't think the judges made too many decisions based on these performances, since I'm pretty sure each had already decided who they thought should stay and who should go, but I do find it informative for those of us at home to truly see the contrast of why one group is a better fit to win the recording contract than another. 

Judge Shawn Stockman, when commenting on a particular Sing-Off round between the acoUstiKats and VoicePlay, said, "You know, It was a mixture of Looney Tunes and Monty Python. It was fun… This is something that's very unique to this show. You'll never see anything like this anywhere else on television on any channel, and that's what's cool about the whole thing."

I don't love all the changes. 

I would prefer that the show air once a week and that viewers at home get an opportunity to vote for their favorites, typical of other talent competition shows. 

I also noted that the lengths of songs were inconsistent, with some groups given more time to perform their a cappella renditions of hit songs than others. Two minutes seems to be a good number.

In addition, I'd like to see some original songs introduced into the mix, if not part of the competition, then as video links on the website for added interest, with options to buy the songs on itunes.

The ratings

A friend of mine who's a huge fan and follower of The Sing-Off show asked me to list the ratings for each night that the show has aired, in hopes of a Season 5 (fingers crossed). I'm not a fan of Nielsen, due to the minimal way in which viewership is tabulated, but it is what advertisers look at. Advertisers buy commercials, which then fund wonderful shows like the Sing-Off.

Ratings include the five non-cable major networks: NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, and CW. Mondays' ratings were higher both weeks. The first show followed The Voice finales, which boosted ratings. In my own neighborhood we were all watching our Orlando hometown girl, Sierra Deaton, compete in the finals on the X-factor on FOX with her boyfriend Alex Kinsey on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and win, I might add (Congratulations Alex & Sierra). Thursday at 8 also happens to be the time the Big Bang Theory airs, the number one show on primetime. Time slots make all the difference in the world. Mondays between 9 and 11 after The Voice seem to work well. 

Episode	date	time	position	18-49 rating	18-49 share	Million viewers
S4E1	M 12.09.13	9-11	1st	2.4	6	8.39
S4E2	W 12.11.13	8-10	3rd	1.8	5	6.03
S4E3	Th 12.12.13	8-9	2nd	1.3	4	4.58
S4E4	M 12.16.13	10-11	1st	2.0	6	7.28
S4E5	W 12.18.13	8-10	4th	1.2	4	4.44
S4E6	Th 12.19.13	8-9	4th	1.2	4	4.48
S4E7*	M 12.23.13	8-10	1st	1.3	4	5.19

* Update note: The ratings for this finale episode, S4E7, were added later after this blog was published.

Post Show Addendum

Added on April 26, 2014. 

Home Free was announced as the winner during this show.

This season, the winner was chosen solely by the panel of three judges. The viewing audience was not allowed to vote in the final round as in years past.

Home Free released their first album "Crazy Life" as a digital download on the Columbia Records label on January 14, 2014 and followed it up with a CD on February 18. The album reached an impressive #8 position on the country charts in the United States, and #40 overall.