Back to The Sing-Off

After quite a lay-off, I decided to blog about today's episode of The Sing-Off. Coming into this episode, I'd say that the power rankings look like this (taking into account the whole season to date):

1. Pentatonix

2. Dartmouth Aires

3. Afro-Blue

4. Vocal Point

5. Delilah

6. Urban Method

To be honest, I think the eliminations have gone pretty much as they should throughout the show. Now, any group except for Urban Method can win it and I don't think it would be an injustice. However, I still think that Pentatonix fits what the judges look for - they're a small, close-knit group with individualized roles for each person. Looking at the past winners (Nota and Committed), Pentatonix seems to fit the mold the most.

The Arcade Fire song to start the show was actually really cool, and I like how the numbers are getting down to the point where everyone can fit on stage without it looking like the kid's cattle race at the rodeo. Here are my thoughts on each group's two performances:

Pentatonix - Their rock song was "Born To Be Wild," and I loved some things about it. The big silence before they started the chorus was a great effect, and they just have the best bass/beatboxer in the whole show and their trio of singers fit well together. However, minus points for hilariously awful fashion. I was nervous about what song they would pick to do for country, since they're so techno/dubsteppy. A Sugarland song had the good high melody that Pentatonix needs for their trio of singers, and then whoa! Out of nowhere they bust out a reggae groove for one of the choruses, and then they come back to their perfect blend for the end. They're gonna win the whole thing.

Dartmouth Aires - After last week's really awesome Queen medley, they did "We're Not Gonna Take It" and it was really great! I liked the back-and-forth between the two leads and the school choir bit right at the end. They used to have trouble deciding who would be their lead, but it seems that the black dude, Michael, has taken that role by storm. If I had a complaint, it seemed, like all of D'Aires' songs, to be really treble-y. Their country song was "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" and it was very different from what they usually do. However, it wasn't bad - it definitely had a line dance feel to it, and the singing wasn't opera-quality, but what can you expect from some boys from Hanover, New Hampshire?

Afro-Blue - The resident jazz group took on "American Girl" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and their "rock" sound just wasn't very rock-y. I thought the national anthem in the middle was...kind of random, but it sounded good? It was interesting. THEN, they had to do a country song: basically, they were gonna be screwed going into this week. Lady Antebellum was probably one of the best song choices they could pick, and they brought their intelligent arrangement style to this, with their bass being really evident of that. However, I didn't think it was emotional enough to have the girls crying at the end of the song, so that kind of confused me watching them wipe tears away while they're being judged. Guess you just had to be there.

Delilah - An all-girl group has to sing a rock song? I guess if they're not going to do a Heart song, they might as well cover Steven Tyler. "Dream On" is one of my favorite Aerosmith songs, so maybe I'm just more critical of it. The lead girl had some real pitch problems on a couple high notes, but with her Steven Tyler impression, she showed she's definitely got some pipes. It didn't quite fit my expectations. For the country portion, they covered The Band Perry and got back to their strength of slow songs sung with lots of emotion. However, this also brought back more unnerving closeups of Miss Skinhead. Great lead by the other blonde girl - she did a whole heap of justice to the song. It was moving and very well-sung, at least to my ear. I'm so very, very surprised that they got kicked off, and while I think that they shouldn't have gone home this week, their time was coming soon.

Urban Method - The group with a rapper sings...Whitesnake? Whatever, they completely changed it up and made it "modern." If my snark isn't obvious enough, it seemed like a desperate move by a group that feels that their collective backs are against the wall. I didn't like it. Their country song was Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats," and it's obvious at this point that they're relying on the main girl lead's strength to carry them whenever they can't have their rapper take center stage. However, I just really don't think that their girls are strong enough - I didn't like it. I absolutely disagree with their progression to next week.

Vocal Point - The Mormons sing "You Really Got Me" while wearing white, frilly shirts. Sure, just how I predicted it. It started slow, which I actually really liked, and these guys change keys so freaking well. Their lead is like the 5th or 6th out of their 9 to lead a song, and he was just as good as everyone else. Dang boi. Then, what country song would a group of tenors sing? Oh yeah, Rascal Flatts! "Life Is A Highway" was a little too fast for me, but I loved seeing these straitlaced guys wearing black cowboy hats and huge longhorn belt buckles. Again, they change keys as seamlessly as anyone in the whole game - the song was pretty good.

So the power rankings after this week are as follows:

1. Pentatonix

2. Dartmouth Aires

3. Vocal Point

4. Afro-Blue

15. Urban Method (I'm bitter.)