A Sour Note about The Sing Off

Okay, I have gone through the denial, anger, bargaining and depression of the COLOSSAL ERROR that the Sing-Off judges made in Monday’s show.  (Clearly, I have not yet gotten to acceptance.)

You’ve heard us talk about the Sing-Off here (go to the 34 minute mark).  

This is my first season watching it all the way through and so far, I have been supportive of the judges and their decisions.  

However, on Monday, I really think the judges were wrong.  The final elimination came down to Dartmouth Aires and AfroBlue.  AfroBlue got eliminated, which was the WRONG DECISION.


Don’t get me wrong.  I like Dartmouth Aires just fine.  Their Queen medley was one of the best musical numbers I have seen on television this season.

But Dartmouth Aires relies, quite heavily in my opinion, on visual theatrics.  Yes, Michael is an excellent frontman, but what they do best is filling the stage with a lot of energy.  However, if you were to close your eyes and listen to the music, you would hear a choir.  Which is fine.  But not an A Capella group.  


AfroBlue on the other hand is an A Capella group.  They bring out all of the instruments on the track and the vocal stylings of the artist to create a full and rich sound.  Yes, they sometimes got a little too highbrow for some of us, but they were, and are, a solid A Capella group.  

When the judges were deciding, both Sara and Ben pointed to consistency as their reasons for keeping Dartmouth Aires, which is usually a good factor for an artist.   However, remember that the prize of the Sing-Off is $200,000 and a recording contract.  


Not a show in Vegas.  


Not a touring deal.  


But a recording contract.  


It will not matter how much energy and jumping around Dartmouth Aires does, because when they record, we’re not going to see any of that.  We’re just going to hear the music and that is where they are not as strong as AfroBlue.


Now, of course, all of this is ultimately irrelevant because, in the end, neither the Dartmouth Aires nor AfroBlue can compete against the amazing juggernaut that is Pentatonix.  

Pentatonix will be the winner of the Sing-Off and I will definitely buy their album and tickets to their shows when they pass through.  But that still doesn’t change the fact that I think the judges made a decision on something that ultimately won’t matter.  And it was the wrong one.

- Sis