<p>The judges have no “guts” at all. That wasn’t the word I was going to use. One of my kids, who used to direct a college a cappella group, said that the domain name “growapair.com” has probably been taken. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>notrichenough-I think you nailed it.</p>
<p>Well that was unexpected.</p>
<p>But I’m glad it happened that eay if it was the only way for the other 3 to go through.</p>
<p>I want Committed to win. Don’t care enough about it to vote though.</p>
<p>What happened?!?!? I couldn’t watch.</p>
<p>If they had a spine, they would have sent Lawson packing - there is nothing special about them at all. The looks on their faces were priceless though. It was probably in their contract that they would make it to finals, and they thought someone had reneged.</p>
<p>^^^Although I think they are very good, I think of recycling when they come on stage.</p>
<p>So, I am left to guess. Are y’all saying that no one went home?</p>
<p>On the Rocks went home midway through the show.</p>
<p>A second group was supposed to go home at the end of the show but the judges decided to let all 4 go through for viewers to vote on.</p>
<p>Ahhh, thank you. I’m good with OTR going home.</p>
<p>OTR was definitely the weakest group left, imo. Wow, each remaining group had such a strong performance in their last songs of the evening, the songs that the judges picked…</p>
<p>I thought the Backbeats “Landslide” was incredible - gave me chills! They hadn’t been my favorite group, but that was probably my favorite performance of the season so far.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I agree that the idea of having Jerry Lawson on the show was questionable, and that it put the judges in a weird position. But someone said above that Talk of the Town was one-dimensional and brought nothing to the show? Come on! They were great. They deserve to be acknowledged as great. The kids in Backbeats (whom I loved last night) WISH they were half that great.</p></li>
<li><p>I was happy they decided to let America vote on everyone, and let all four groups perform next week. The last performance from each last night was incredible. Nicole was right when she said “Why does this have to be a competition?” The judges’ (or producers’) choices for each group were perfect. I thought Backbeats was going to be hurt by the low-energy Landslide, and it turned into their best performance. Down on the Corner may have won the competition for the white boys. They should be ashamed for not having thought of that one themselves.</p></li>
<li><p>It needs to be acknowledged: Courtney, the beatboxing young woman with Backbeats, could not be more adorable. Being young, and pretty, and coltish, and smiling a lot is SUCH an advantage! Someone needs to cast her in something.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I agree that TOTT has been great and what an terrific opportunity for all of these kids to meet and work with them. One thing I’ve noticed is that there seems to be wonderful comeraderie and affection between the groups. Sometimes that can be faked but it appears very genuine. I think they all had a great time when they filmed the episodes.</p>
<p>One of my Ds said while we were watching the show that she would bet on all four being sent through to the finals. I was the naysayer and she was proven to be right!</p>
<p>JHS, I absolutely agree with you about Courtney. I loved her last season and she is even more adorable this year. Her performance is so engaging, something that a couple of the girls in that group could emulate. Courtney doesn’t have any of that ‘schmacty’ appearance that is so often the case with some girls in show choir-type groups. She’s somewhat of a ringer, though, particularly with the way that the group is described. She’s not from USC or UCLA.</p>
<p>I thought that was a pretty major cop-out by the judges, although then I saw this blurb at the end:</p>
<p>“The Producers and NBC discuss possible elimination decisions with the Judges; however, the Judges alone make all decisions regarding eliminations.”</p>
<p>Right… maybe I’m too cynical.</p>
<p>Does Jerry Lawson have back problems? He is on that stool an awful lot.</p>
<p>Does anything think that the Backbeats will stay together if they don’t win? I don’t. I think all the other groups will though, because they were around long before this show, and that’s one reason I hope they don’t win.</p>
<p>I think Street Corner Symphony will win, although like swimcatsmom, I don’t care enough to vote either.</p>
<p>Street Corner Symphony was a pick-up group formed for this competition as well. They are a bunch of musicians around Nashville.</p>
<p>Of course it’s unlikely that Backbeats will stay together if they don’t win. Except for the ones who are still in college, they are all pursuing careers, not all of them in Los Angeles. A cappella doesn’t pay enough to change your day job for it. I imagine it’s likely that Kenton will try to keep a group with that name going, however, at least as a hobby.</p>
<p>A lot of kids in college a capella groups don’t intend to pursue careers in a capella itself. But some do pursue careers involving singing/performing (though some do not). In my D’s college a capella group, I can readily think of five members who have already been on Broadway and there are others, like my D, who are working professionally in performance careers involving singing. They just are not in capella groups post college. </p>
<p>(I know kids from other a capella groups from other colleges besides my daughters’, as well, who have been on Broadway, National tours, and have other performance careers)</p>
<p>I couldn’t pick one to vote for…I’m curious to see who wins. I really loved the final four.</p>
<p>
Really? I’m sort of bummed about this. I don’t remember them explicitly talking about it on the show like they did with the Backbeats.</p>
<p>So two of the final four groups were formed explicitly for this show… are there so few good a cappella groups that a show that “… will feature the country’s top ten a cappella groups performing popular songs like you’ve never heard them before” had to manufacture some of them?</p>
<p>There’s a nice Christmas cd with one song by each of this season’s groups, if you’re a Christmas music fan.</p>
<p>I don’t understand why the judges rarely point out the flaws in Committed’s presentations. There are often flat notes, inconsistent beats. And yet one judge is genuflecting and posturing before they’re halfway through the song. The bias is evident. The group has flashes of real brilliance and a long term commercial appeal. But they’re inconsistent and with the exception of Ben, no one calls them out for it.</p>
<p>So like any reality show - I suspect the producers and Sony have a say in the outcome. It was also clear from the audience reaction that they weren’t going to eliminate Jerry Lawson. So they punted and allowed all four to go through.</p>
<p>So be it. It’s now a popularity contest to help Sony determine which group will return their investment.</p>
<p>Still - I miss the Whiffenpoofs and Groove. I worry that their elimination reflects a general trend in the country that sophisticated music and more classical approach is not respected. I suspect both groups will have the last laugh. Ever notice how most losers on American Idol have better careers than the winners?</p>
<p>I wish the Whiffenpoofs were still on. I’ve been watching them on Youtube since they were on the show. One of the things that I like about them is that they showcase different leads, which shows the depth of the talent in the group.</p>