The Sing-Off: It's back!

And of course I'm blogging about it... :) I'm surprised at how quickly NBC got the episode onto the website for viewing; fortunately that meant I got to catch up right away! Week 1 showcased 8 out of the 16 total groups. The 8 groups were split up and one group was eliminated of each group of 4, leaving 6 groups into the next round.  Next week will showcase the remaining 8 groups.  Here were my thoughts on the groups that performed last night!

First group of four:

• Yellow Jackets (performing "Wavin' Flag"): Wow! Powerful performance and what a fantastic song. I'd never heard it before but this performance made me want to buy it-- both the acapella version by this group and the original!
• Fannin Family (performing "Who Says"): It amuses me that they picked a Selena Gomez song to perform on this show. There were some areas that just felt choppy for me but I thought they were a cute family!
• Afro-Blue (performing "Put Your Records On"): I thought their arrangement was really interesting but I'm not sure I was fully sold on the whole performance. I think of a higher, sweeter melody rather than the softer sound heard here.
• I love how the show inspires groups to form, like Delilah (performing "Grenade"). I had low expectations and thought there might be pitch issues but instead I thought this performance was incredible!!

In this group, I would have chosen to eliminate the Fannin Family; the judges agreed.

Second group of four:

• So excited that there's a rapper/rapapella this year in Urban Method (performing "Love the Way You Are"). Heehee, I like how the rapper, Mike?, calls the group his "crew." I loved how the acapella backed up the rapping so perfectly!!
• Cat's Pajamas (performing "Some Kind of Wonderful"): I loved their classic acapella sound. Their experience in performing together was easy to see; they made it look and sound so easy!
• Kinfolk 9 (performing "Secrets"): I love this song. Their arrangement was pretty but I think they could have done without the mixed lead vocals. It felt like they needed a stronger deep sound below (though the judges praised the bass); I thought that it sounded like there was too much only in the high register.
• Vocal Point (performing"Jump, Jive, and Wail"): That was awesome and ballsy, especially given that  it's a song so strongly driven by it's beat for swing dancing. I thought it was performed perfectly. Can't believe all their dancing while singing that!

Unfortunately my send home in this group was the self-proclaimed underdogs, Kinfolk 9. Fortunately for them, the judges disagreed and sent home Cat's Pajamas. Kinda makes it seem like second is not a good place to go in performance since both groups that performed second in their group of four were eliminated tonight.

I definitely always wonder how they choose to split up the contestants as they do. Four groups of four and one is eliminated in each group. What if one group had four perfectly fantastic performances and another had four mediocre ones?!? Not fair!

Final note, I really, really, really liked Sara Bareilles!!! She has the right mixture of being natural/silly and knowing her music.