The Sing-Off, s.4 ep.2 — Party Anthems
Some competitors on The Sing-Off have described the filming process as their most grueling summer camp experience ever. The audience might imagine dozens of performers doing nothing but singing and dancing together all day as one long party, but that's the magic of the performing arts. It takes a lot of hard work to make having fun look so effortless.
Most party anthems aren't very complex in terms of music or lyrics, and that's kind of the point. They're intended to be simple, fun, and repetitive so the listener doesn't have to think too hard about structure or meaning. They're meant to inspire dancing, not dissertations. But when your audience is presumably sitting and watching rather than grooving along, it's smart to graft a few different songs together to make things more interesting.
title: group party anthem medley
original songs / performers: "Let's Get It Started" by the Black Eyed Peas; [0:48] "Die Young" by Kesha; [1:48] "Don't Stop the Music" by Rihanna
written by: "Let's Get It Started" by William "will.i.am" Adams, Allan "apl.de.ap" Pineda, Jaime "Taboo" Gomez, Terence Yoshiaki, Michael Fratantuno, & George Pajon, Jr.; "Die Young" by Kesha Sebert, Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, Benjamin Levin, Nathaniel Ruess, & Henry "Cirkut" Walter; "Don't Stop the Music" by Tor Erik Hermansen, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tawanna Dabney, & Michael Jackson
arranged by: The Sing-Off arrangers
air date: 11 December 2013
DeeDee's gorgeous solo riff to kick things off
Calle Sol getting to really show off their dance training
the wonderful juxtaposition of Street Corner Renaissance singing "Die Young"
Honey and VJ's duet front and center
and, of course, Honey getting the last word
Tony and Geoff were probably relieved not to be in the first section. They had already sung "Let's Get It Started" plenty of times in the Beetlejuice show at Universal Studios.
On the night this episode aired, VoicePlay were livetweeting from backstage at a gig. Those fellas have stamina.
The ending section of this medley was reworked and expanded to serve as the group closing number for the 2014 Sing-Off tour.
Does Layne want chicken strips at the party for his daughters or himself?
Vocal Rush — "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" by C&C Music Factory
Home Free — "Life Is a Highway" by Tom Cochrane
VoicePlay — "Play That Funky Music" by Wild Cherry
Street Corner Renaissance — "Do You Love Me" by The Contours
Element — "Raise Your Glass" by P!nk
AcoUstiKats — "Hey Ya" by OutKast
Calle Sol — "Livin' La Vida Loca" by Ricky Martin
Ten — "Hot In Herre" by Nelly
The Filharmonic — "This Is How We Do It" by Montell Jordan
[Here is another version with the intro package and judges' comments.]
This is VoicePlay doing what they do best on stage — not just singing, but entertaining. From the shiny suits to the intentionally goofy dance moves to the acting, they put on a full performance. Add in the surprise of Honey spitting bars on the second verse, and it's the perfect recipe to impress the audience and the judges.
title: Play That Funky Music
original performers: Wild Cherry
air date: 11 December 2013
setting the tone with their Night at the Roxbury vibes
Tony's indignance at Honey walking away and making him stumble
the rhythm section getting to sing a lead duet for the last line of the first chorus
that smooth breakdown section
the harmonies on the descending ♫ "Pla-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay" ♫
Layne's final drum fill and cymbal crash as they all fall down
the other groups in the stage-side boxes giving them wild applause
When they performed this song during the Nashville show on the 2014 Sing-Off tour, Geoff accidentally kicked Earl in the head as they dropped to the stage at the end. (Luckily, he was fine.)
AcoUstiKats vs. Calle Sol — "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" by Kelly Clarkson
