Did anybody watch "The Sing-Off" on NBC or YouTube during the holidays?
This December, the big US television station invited eight American a cappella groups to compete for a Sony recording contract. The groups were amazing, and their staging was definitely something to learn from.
The top three were of course very strong, but my favorite group was the all-female group 'Noteworthy' from Brigham Young University (they were established only in 2004!). Why they got kicked out after singing such a good rendition of 'Hold On', I'll never understand.
The only group we've seen in HK is the Tufts Beelzebubs, one of the show's finalists. I remember their incredible energy singing "Rebel Yell" during a concert at HKU (search for it on YouTube, it's from 2007).
Honorable mention to The SoCals for their performance of "Already Gone" by Kelly Clarkson. Amazingly done.
(Last year, NBC's holiday music competition was "Clash of the Choirs". Search for that on YouTube; I really liked their version of 'Unwritten'!)