Tonight on Competition Countdown, tune in to hear interviews from ICCA and ICHSA competitors The Beltones, UCSD Daughters of Triton, Simmons Sirens, Crescenloe, and Pitch, Please!
Tune in at 8 pm EST/5 pm PST, or Sunday at 7 am & pm PST. You can also catch each interview at your convenience on the Competition Countdown podcast, wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Halloween Month is officially underway and we are kicking off our live streams for the 2019-2020 season with Haunted Harmonies in Salem, MA! Now in it’s 5th year, Haunted Harmonies is a spooktacular event featuring a day full of masterclasses, busking on the busy streets of the witchiest place on earth and a concert featuring six competitors and this year’s headliners, HIVE.
Can’t make it to Salem? Here’s what in store for you at home – either with free audio on the station or a video feed here on our site for Acaville members! The contest kicks off at 7 pm Eastern, followed by a performance by HIVE.
HIVE
Featuring some of the biggest names in a cappella, HIVE makes all vocal music and tries to make the world a better place. They’ll be joined by special guest Sarah Mercedes of Upper Structure who will sing with them on the debut of several original tunes.
This year’s competitors:
Elevate
Founded in 2018, this 7-member contemporary group challenges the boundaries and expectations of the a cappella audience. Their goal is to create dynamic, sophisticated music and vibrant moments.
NOTEorious
This co-ed group from North Reading high school finished 2nd in the ICHSA Northeast Semifinal last spring and are preparing for a featured performance at Walk Disney World this year.
Pitch, Please!
The newest a cappella group at Northeastern University, this women’s group came out swinging, with immediate successes in ICCA and studio recordings. They’ve also competed on local TV show, Sing That Thing!, where they won top collegiate group.
Rogue
Rogue is a barbershop quartet affiliated with Harmony, Incorporated. Based in Virginia, the quartet features a two-time Harmony Queen, a former Broadway star, and longtime contemporary a cappella singers with goals of bringing something new and exciting to barbershop. The group is currently preparing to compete in International Contest, where they are ranked 9th.
The 18 Wheelers
Fro The Wheeler School in Providence, RI, this high school group is renowned for their top quality performances and studio releases.
Unisons
Founded in 2008 to fill the gap in all-male a cappella groups at Northeastern, the Unisons first qualified for ICCA in 2011, moving onto Semifinals twice. In 2012, they released their first album: Off the Cabeza and then another, None the Wiser. They were featured in a short snippet on POP’s Sing it On! and competed at BOSS in 2019. The Unisons continue to perform at events around Boston and across the Northeast.
The stages of Town Hall and the PlayStation Theater brought a cappella to Broadway this weekend for the 2019 ICHSA and ICCA Finals.
After two evenings of performances that marked the culmination of a year of hard work from all of the finalists, two new groups joined the legacy of Varsity Vocals champions – InToneNation and the N’Harmonics.
Here are the full results:
OVERALL STANDINGS
1st Place: InToneNation (New Manchester High School) – 441 Points
2nd Place: Skyline Blues (Skyline High School) – 338 Points
3rd Place: The Thursdays (Chelmsford High School) – 331 Points
SPECIAL AWARDS
Outstanding Soloist: Tyler Lewis (InToneNation) for “Dancing On My Own”
Outstanding Vocal Percussion: Chris Ekpiken (Skyline Blues) for the entire set
Outstanding Arrangement: InToneNation for the entire set & Griffin Prillwitz (Free to Breathe) for “Sweet Dreams”
Outstanding Choreography: Evolve for the entire set
1st Place: N’Harmonics (New York University) – 444 Points
2nd Place: BisCaydence (University of Miami) – 358 Points
3rd Place: ScatterTones (UCLA) – 352 Points
SPECIAL AWARDS
Outstanding Soloist: Tyler Lewis (HardChord DynaMix) for “Trainwreck”
Outstanding Vocal Percussion: Lora Riehl (Pitch, Please) for the entire set
Outstanding Arrangement: Brett Castro (N’Harmonics) for the entire set
Outstanding Choreography: Brett Castro and Devon McDowell (N’Harmonics) for the entire set
On April 27, a brand new ICCA Champion will be named at the Playstation Theatre in New York City.
Each of this year’s groups brings a different set of talents and strengths – which group will rise to the top? Will the ScatterTones or The Originals finally outdo their previous 2nd place finishes? Will longtime strong competitors like The Trills, the N’Harmonics, and The G-Men learn from their past attempts? Or will a newcomer surpass them all?
Seats in the theater are sold out, but there is a livestream and we’ll be sure to bring you a full recap!
Here’s a sneak peek at this year’s finalists:
Aquapella – UK Champion
University of Bath, Bath, UK
BisCaydence – South Champion
University of Miami, Miami, FL
The G-Men – Great Lakes Champion
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
HardChord DynaMix – Southwest Champion
Texas A&M, College Station, TX
N’Harmonics – Northeast Champions
New York University, New York City, NY
The Originals – Central Champions
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Pitch, Please – Wildcard
Northeastern University, Boston, MA
ScatterTones – West Champions
University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Sedoctave – Midwest Champion
Ball State University, Muncie, IN
The Trills – Mid-Atlantic Champions
Towson University, Towson, MD
