By Jared Fields, Editor in Chief
Below are my humble, yet confident, picks at how the top three acts will place Saturday night. The Sing Song scoring system places a point value on five characteristics: vocals, entertainment, originality, appearance and a small percentage comes from the audience vote. The four-star system is used only to represent how I would rank each category and has no similarity to the judges’ scoring system.
-Women-
1. Ko Jo Kai ‘Show Me the Honey’
The Kojies will end Siggie dominance with an upset win. I say ‘upset’ only because the Siggies have won six Sing Song titles in a row. The Kojies’ entire show kept me interested and earned my highest average rankings of any act. Their tribute to Journey with “Don’t stop, bee-leevin , “earned points for referencing such a great 80s band.
The vocals – buzzing the harmony – and song selection delight your ears, while the choreography – like a bee – never stops. Kojie members possess a confidence and optimism that is well earned and worrisome to other women’s acts.
2. Sigma Theta Chi ‘Spare Me’
Sorry Siggies, but the great vocals cannot overcome the overall Kojie act.
The bowling pin act follows a theme of similarly-shaped costumes. Penguins, French fries, bowling pins: see a connection? The two clubs trade the other four criteria, so the decision could be based how the audience votes. While the bowling balls going over the human pins are cool, it’s the only non-traditional Sing Song choreography used. In the audience’s final decision, the nod will go to the club with the slight edge in entertainment – in this case, the Kojies.
3. Alpha Kai Omega ‘Cookies with their Own Insight’
Only a club with great vocals could begin an act with Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.
Dressed as fortune cookies, the Kai-Os unfurl a fortune at the end of their act that says, “Good Fortune to You.” That good fortune should be wished for themselves.
Their clean and precise choreography may score well, but it lacks originality compared to the Kojie bees and Siggie pins. The lyrics are funny, and the costumes are OK. But Alpha Kai Omega needs a fortunate audience and judges to overcome the two clubs and the draw of performing first.
-Men-
1. Galaxy ‘I Think I Can, I Think I Can.Then Again I Thought We Could for the Last Seven Years’
With the longest title of the night, the men of Galaxy could overcome that seven year itch if they set up their props in time before taking the stage.
The train conductors have an amazing set, and the side characters always give you something to look at. The sound is the best of the men’s acts, and the originality is high – if for nothing else than the scenic, scrolling curtain above the group.
Galaxy’s act will put up its best fight to end GSP’s six-year run, and I’m hopping on board.
2. Gamma Sigma Phi ‘Hand is Quicker Than the Eye’
As displayed in their show, the men of GSP need to pull a rabbit out of a hat to win lucky No. 7. Other than an amazing magic-card trick in the middle of the act, the originality of the show looked subpar, and the vocals suffered because of a smaller group. Sing Song videos posted on YouTube reek of a clear GSP bias – because they were made by a GSP member. But while they may not need a magic trick to win, the videos – like the “19-0 Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots” book – could prove to be a jinx no magic wand can erase.
3. Frater Sodalis ‘Frat Street’s Back’
To begin, the first impression of the intended boy-band themed act is that they’re marching band members instead. The flashy shirts with a solid blue stripe from the top of the left shoulder down to the right waist scream halftime instead of boy-band. The men from Frater Sodalis saved their best boy-band moves for last – giving the act a solid ending, but a little more incorporation throughout the show would boost their appeal to judges and audiences.
-Mixed Voices-
1. Seniors ‘Too Legit, Too Legit to Quidditch’
I like Hogwarts, and I cannot lie. OK, I did lie just then. I may not like “Harry Potter,” but the senior class tribute to the popular book and movie series might be the best act in the show. Even a “Harry Potter” novice can thoroughly enjoy this act. The songs and references aren’t too far over an outsider’s head, and the songs are sung well and are very funny. Fans will love Brian McKnight’s song, “Back to One,” reference.
“Book One, I met my best friend Ron,” etc. Three wins in four years – that’s a pretty legit class.
2. Sophomores ‘Keep on a Rockin’ Me Mommy’
Any other year, this act could win. The song selection – Blinded by the Light, River of Dreams, Beautiful World, Steve Miller Band – distracted me from the group’s message. While they danced away in their onesies, I rocked out to Billy Joel in my head.
Their vocals are powered by the women in the act and lack a balance with the men. The act is entertaining and will have some fans. But the out-of-sync choreography and musical balance needs to come together to challenge the seniors.
3. Freshmen ‘Journey of a Rock Star’
This Guitar Hero-themed act looked like an odd rainbow at first, and it took me a while to figure out the premise for the costumes, and I’ve played the game. It’s a great idea, but one that will go lost to too many audience members, and perhaps, judges. The vocals and originality are good, but too many people are going to be confused about the meaning of the act. Also, the “solo” where all of the buttons look to be pressed is too similar and inferior to a few years ago when this year’s senior class performed as a keyboard. It’s a great freshman effort – much better than the juniors. But, it just missed the mark.
