#The AcoUstiKats
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The Sing-Off, s.4 ep.5 — Movie Night
Even before movies had spoken dialogue, they had musical accompaniment. Music can convey or enhance the emotions of a scene, and make a film more impactful. (And when one of your show's production partners is under the same umbrella as several film studios, you can license some of their music pretty easily.)
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Group opener
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What's not to love about a catchy song full of big, dramatic moments from a movie about dancing? It's a fabulous way to kick off the "movie night" episode. The arrangers and choreographers clearly had fun with this number, and the singers turned it into a giant party.
Details:
title: (I've Had) The Time of My Life
original performers: Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes (featured in Dirty Dancing)
written by: John DeNicola, Donald Markowitz, & Franke Previte
arranged by: The Sing-Off arrangers
air date: 18 December 2013
My favorite bits:
the ballroom-inspired choreography
pairing up members of different groups whose voices blend well
the delightful incongruity of goth-punk Tony doing perfect pas de bourrées
Sarah Vela's gorgeous tone on ♫ "Never felt this waaay" ♫
the choreographers sparing some of the vocal percussionists by letting them enter in the last group so they don't have to dance as much (Keeping two different beats with your mouth and your body is hard.)
I figured out how to make a cropped gif for that cute moment between Geoff and Jules.
Trivia:
In order to achieve the cool silhouette effect at the beginning, Tim Foust had to stand (and sing) in a very uncomfortable position.
Once again, one of the Vocal Rush chaperones recorded a rehearsal for the kids from the audience. It's a little fuzzy, but Earl's bright orange shirt, Eli's red pants, Tony's studded black cap, and Honey's red hair make them all pretty easy to spot. Layne is in all gray at the far left. Geoff's one of the blurry dudes near the front on the right, but I'm not sure which one because it seems like the blocking changed a bit before filming.
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Theme reveal
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Order of performances
Home Free — "Oh, Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison (featured in Pretty Woman)
Vocal Rush — "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" by Phil Collins (from Against All Odds)
AcoUstiKats — "Old Time Rock and Roll" by Bob Seger (featured in Risky Business)
The Filharmonic — "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith (featured in Armageddon)
VoicePlay — "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds (featured in The Breakfast Club)
Ten — "Skyfall" by Adele (from Skyfall)
Ultimate sing-offs
AcoUstiKats vs. VoicePlay — "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor (from Rocky III)
Vocal Rush vs. Ten — "Fame" by Irene Cara (from Fame)
Home Free vs. The Filharmonic — "I'm Alright" by Kenny Loggins (from Caddyshack)
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VoicePlay performance
youtube
[Here is a longer version that includes the intro package and judges' comments.]
A theme like "movie night" is tailor-made for the theater kids of a cappella. Give them characters and a story, and they'll give you fantastic entertainment. The only stumbling block for this song was that the reality show format hindered them from following their own instincts. Jewel pushed them to be even more "emotional" than the previous episode, which steered them away from giving a performance more true to themselves.
Details:
title: Don't You (Forget About Me)
original performers: Simple Minds (featured in The Breakfast Club)
written by: Keith Forsey & Steve Schiff
arranged by: VoicePlay
air date: 18 December 2013
My favorite bits:
the costumes — a great balance between representing the characters from the movie and their own personalities
Layne subtly snapping them in rather than counting out loud
the gradual layering to fill out the sound
the downward harmony run on the first ♫ "Rain" ♫
everything dropping out when Eli kicks off the polyphony, then building back up one by one
the insistence in their voices during the final section
Trivia:
The judges' biggest critque was that VoicePlay didn't include enough of the song's iconic ♫ "La-la-la-la" ♫ hook. Geoff revealed on Twitter that their first draft of the arrangement did include more of that part, but the producers made them change it.
Shawn Stockman also touched on the fact that they'd been pushed from the beginning into arrangements that framed them more as Honey and her backup singers rather than a group of equals with diverse talents. (Not the only group with that issue.)
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Ultimate sing-off vs. AcoUstiKats
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[Here is a longer version that includes the intro package and judges' comments.]
Since all six groups were paired off for battles this episode, they at least got to avoid the fraught selection process. Being able to rehearse against the same groups all week also allowed everyone to really hone their arrangements and interactions, resulting in performances that were more collaborative and fun to watch.
Details:
title: Ultimate Sing-Off – Eye of the Tiger
original performers: Survivor (featured in Rocky III)
written by: Frankie Sullivan & Jim Peterik
arranged by: VoicePlay & The AcoUstiKats
air date: 18 December 2013
My favorite bits:
Honey and Ron playing rock-paper-scissors for who gets to go first
Earl knocking Eli and Geoff's "teeth" out, and Tony's shocked reaction 😲
the ridiculously disproportionate tug of war 💪
Earl's dancing pecs leading straight into a Latin dance beat
the AcoUstiKats making their 12-man "wall of sound" into a physical barrier
Eli fending off the encroaching threats with a Matrix-style dragon kick (and some help from Earl)
the melodramatic tableaux when the final "brawl" breaks out
ending it all on a glorious major chord
Trivia:
It didn't end up in the final episode (for reasons that will become obvious), but this performance got a standing ovation from the audience and the judges.
The groups apparently gave themselves the portmanteau of "CatsPlay", which is just adorable. 😺
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Judges' choice
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Eliminated: VoicePlay & AcoUstiKats
Despite the show framing the "ulitmate sing-off" segments as battles with a winner and a loser, the judges bafflingly chose to cut both halves of the showdown between VoicePlay and the AcoUstiKats. It seems that the groups working together to create a more cohesive performance resulted in the judges pitting the three supergroups against each other instead.
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This episode was filmed on Geoff's birthday… which means they got kicked off on his birthday. 😒 At least that meant they got to go home and rest for a few days before coming back for the finale?
#VoicePlay#Honey Larochelle#The AcoUstiKats#The Sing-Off#season 4#live performance#a cappella#music#video#long post
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#[[Reploid of a Thousand Voices]] - Issimo#[[Soldier for Hire]] - Viking#[[Reploid Pop Star]] - Acoustikat#[[The Goodest Boy on Base]] - Gospel
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Home for Christmas
By Nathan Williams, CFA Recruiting and Alumni Affairs
Whenever University of Kentucky students, staff, faculty, and supporters attend an arts event in Central Kentucky, it’s very common to see a familiar face. On December 14, the Lexington Philharmonic’s “A Cathedral Christmas” ended up being an impromptu University of Kentucky School of Music reunion for many. When patrons began entering the Cathedral of Christ the King, they saw several familiar faces within the orchestra as well as the Lexington Singers – Catherine Clarke Nardolillo (DMA, 2013), Margaret Karp (Lecturer of Violin and Viola), Jason Dovel (Associate Professor of Trumpet) and even Andrew Miller (BMME, 2015). After being away from Lexington for a few years, it was great to catch up with Andrew!
WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING SINCE GRADUATING FROM UK in 2015?
After graduating from the University of Kentucky, I pursued my Masters in Conducting at the University of Louisville which led me to my first position as Director of Choral Activities at Henderson County High School. Although I enjoyed holding that role for two years, I accepted a position as Director of Choral Activities at Covington Catholic High School in Park Hills, KY. In this position, I coordinate liturgical opportunities and choral opportunities for my ~50 male choir students. Most of my efforts are focused on creating relationships between college music programs and students at Covington Catholic.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT PERFORMING NEXT TO OTHER UK WILDCATS?
As a result of my participation in UK’s Men’s Chorus and the a capella group, acoUstiKats, I always enjoyed being under the baton of Dr. Johnson. He had such an influence on my education at UK as well as my professional career. Receiving this solo opportunity from Dr. Johnson and the Lexington Philharmonic was beyond amazing as it gave me the opportunity to return to Lexington and perform alongside some of the best vocalists and instrumentalists from around town! Moreso, getting to perform next to Michael Preacely brought back memories from my time at UK because while I was an undergraduate student, Michael was pursuing his Masters in Music. Just like everyone else who hears him sing, I never get tired of listening to Michael’s voice. It was really cool to look out into the orchestra to see so many familiar faculty members from when I was a student at UK – Margaret and Benjamin Karp, Maestro Nardolillo, David Elliott, and more.
WHAT ARE YOUR PROFESSIONAL GOALS FOR THE NEXT 5-10 YEARS?
I plan on staying at Covington Catholic for several more years. My position here allows me to focus on receiving a lot of great teaching experiences while also emphasizing the importance of the performing arts in and around Northern Kentucky. Within the next 10 years or so, I would like to begin a DMA in Conducting or PhD in Music Ed with a goal of teaching in higher education. My dream role is to manage student teachers while working with conducting students.
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{Thought about this headcanon recently about my Maverick, Quake Zebra. Quake Zebra is a HUGE fan of Acoustikat ‘s music and her MP3 Player is to the top with every last music that he made and she would listen to his song when she’s working out or doing her job before and after she went Maverick. She even has a big framed poster of her idol who she would joke about him being her, “Singing Husband” to her friends and maverick minions. I thought about a plot where she’s dealing with Issimo, unaware that she got her favorite singer too.}
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UK CHOIR STUDENTS SELECTED TO NATIONAL HONOR CHOIR
Fourteen members of UK Men’s Chorus were selected for the American Choral Directors Association’s National Men’s Honor Choir. This prestigious choir is composed of 200 high school and college age men from across the nation selected by audition. They will perform at the Kaufmann Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Kansas City on Saturday, March 2, 2019. Their featured conductor is UK’s very own Director of Choral Activities, Dr. Jefferson Johnson.
The UK Choir members selected for the Men’s Honor Choir are: Ben Boutell, Michael Castlen, Zack Dalton, Brady Ekman, David Foster, Larkin Gensheimer, Kaleb Hilton, Harrison Hornsby, Joe McMullen, Drew Pungratz, Nick Rowan, Kason Speir, Charlie Starzman, and Michael Sudduth.
Dr. Johnson commented on this distinct honor and the rigorous audition process saying, “These young men are honoring the state of Kentucky, the University of Kentucky, and the UK Choirs by their selection into this prestigious choir.”
Photo of the acoUstiKats, School of Music on Parade concert, September 2019.
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Link
UK Sports Network (@UKSportsNetwork)
Last week on campus was fun.
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*Thanks @CocaCola @acoustikats @PawsAndListen for making @universityofky #BigBlueMove… https://t.co/sYHHVXRjHG
faved by your 1 friend and 1 other
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the acoustikats grossed me out in the sing off season 4 though they just really seemed like entitled college boys who don't care about consent. why the fuck else would they sing blurred lines? no gracias.
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Video
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AcoUstiKats ft Emoni Wilkins (of TEN) - Timber
OPB: Pitbull ft Ke$ha
The boys from UK have officially produced their first album
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-acoustikats/id836729638
Here's the first official single featuring Emoni that was performed at the Gators Vs. Wildcats game at Rupp Arena last month with a little help from the University of Kentucky Dance Team
#The AcoUstiKats#acoUstiKats#UK Acoustikats#University of Kentucky AcoUstiKats#The Sing-Off#A Cappella
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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.
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Group opener
youtube
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.
Details:
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
My favorite bits:
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
Trivia:
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.
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Theme reveal
youtube
Does Layne want chicken strips at the party for his daughters or himself?
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Order of performances
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
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VoicePlay performance
youtube
[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.
Details:
title: Play That Funky Music
original performers: Wild Cherry
written by: Rob Parissi
arranged by: VoicePlay
air date: 11 December 2013
My favorite bits:
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
Trivia:
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.)
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Judges' choice
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Ultimate sing-off
AcoUstiKats vs. Calle Sol — "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" by Kelly Clarkson
Eliminated: Calle Sol
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Background blog facts that are no less important but that I don’t have enough thoughts to make full headcanon posts about yet:
The original task force Viking was commissioned for was called Strike Nine, and was about 65/40 Human/Reploid.
Two other members of Strike Nine - both Human - helped Viking disappear after he’d decided to leave the task force.
Farraday Labs has an ongoing lawsuit pending against Allen Adagio of Adagio Music for breach of contract after they pulled the Reploid Acoustikat out of early observation without permission.
Issac and his wife Amari originally only got married for the legal and tax benefits.
Issac Farraday lied on his resume to get a job working under Dr. Cain when Reploids first began to be mass produced.
Issimo and Acoustikat know of each other by X4 and are slowly starting to get to know one another post-X8. Neither of them know about Viking.
Despite both of them attending Black Lake in an overlapping time period, Issimo and Viking have never met.
Farraday Labs relocated to one of the smaller orbital colonies, called “Vaalbara”, during humanity’s expansion into space.
Octavia Xu also relocated to the Vaalbara colony, where she met with Issac and Amari Farraday, and worked with them to create Remedy based off of old plans she and Lester had been working on for their third child.
Remedy used to get in mild trouble with the local law on Vaalbara for using her Copy Ability to cheat at Hide and Seek by mimicking the forms of nearby Reploids (including those in law enforcement).
#[[Soldier for Hire]] - Viking#[[The Next Great Light]] - Farraday Labs#[[Reploid of a Thousand Voices]] - Issimo#[[Reploid Pop Star]] - Acoustikat#[[Theater Kids at Heart]] - Xu Family#[[Heir to the Theater]] - Remedy
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GUYS! MIKE OWENS FROM THE ACOUSIKATS IS ONE OF MY CHOIR TEACHERS AT MY SCHOOL!
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Tonight's performances I'd watch again:
The Acoustikats- Blurred Lines
Filharmonic- Treasure
Street Corner Resonance- What Makes You Beautiful.
I enjoyed the all the performances but these three are definitely ones that I would/listen to again.
#sing off#blurred lines#treasure#what makes you beautiful#the acoustikats#filharmonic#street corner resonance
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idgaf that the acoustikats sang Blurred Lines they tore it UP. AND WOW HOT BOY.
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cmon voice finish up i want mah sing off mah southern gentlemen
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*Squad reactions to being told ‘I love you’*
Issimo: “Thanks fam!”
Viking: “Oh no.”
Acoustikat: *cries* “I love you too!!!”
Remedy: “Sounds fake, but okay!”
Gospel: *a flustered mess*
Axiom: “Can I get a refund?”
#[[reploid of a thousand voices]] issimo#[[soldier for hire]] viking#[[the goodest boy on base]] gospel#[[Reploid pop star]] - Acoustikat#[[Reploid Out Of Time]] - Axiom#[[heir to the theater]] - Remedy
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“Good lord is that bad.” - any muse ?
Ordinary Sausage Sentence Starters, Pt. 5
"Hey, they can't all be award winners." Acoustikat was smiling before he even looked up at the speaker. He'd been trying to write in one of the outdoor seating areas by the street, and had to keep up that shiny persona for the public. "You try writing a pop hit sometime. It's not as easy as we make it look!"
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