'Sing-Off' Groups Revealed!

The eight groups in NBC's The Sing-Off—competing for $100,000 and an Epic Records/Sony recording contract—will be:

The Tufts Beelzebubs from Boston, Massachusetts
Brigham Young's Noteworthy from Provo, Utah
Face from Boulder, Colorado
Maxx Factor from Baltimore, Maryland
Nota from San Juan Puerto Rico
The SoCals from Los Angeles, California
Solo from Omaha, Nebraska
Voices of Lee from Cleveland, Tennesse

It's on.

Nick Lachey To Host "The Sing-Off"

Nick Lachey, one-time member of 98 Degrees, will host NBC's upcoming series The Sing-Off. He tells People magazine: "There is nowhere to hide when you're doing an a cappella song. There's no band behind you and dubbing. It's just you. It's just them naked on stage and what they have done to prepare is what will show through in that moment."

The show premieres on December 14th, and the Tufts Beelzebubs (covered extensively in Pitch Perfect) will be one of the few collegiate groups in the competition. The question remains: Can they win with "Big Pimpin'?"

Arts at center stage | Harvard Gazette Online

Arts at center stage | Harvard Gazette Online

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.

Straight No Chaser's second album, "Christmas Cheers," is in stores today. The group is bullish on their success these days—a far cry from the hesitation they exhibited when I first interviewed them for the New York Times back in October of 2008. (That story here.) I'm thrilled to see them selling albums and selling out venues.

The full SNC tour schedule is here:

NOVEMBER

3 Pittsburgh, PA Club Café

5 Ridgefield, CT Ridgefield Playhouse

7 Milwaukee, WI Potawatomi Casino

8 Minneapolis, MN Fine Line Music Café

11 Toronto, ON, Canada Queen Elizabeth Theatre

12 Belleville, ON, Canada The Empire Theatre

13 Montreal, QC, Canada Cabaret Juste Pour Rire

14 Schenectady, NY Proctor’s Theatre

15 Buffalo, NY Center for the Arts - University at Buffalo

18 Atlanta, GA Center Stage

19 Birmingham, AL WorkPlay Theatre

20 Charleston, SC Charleston Music Hall

22 Bel Air, MD Hartford Community College

27 Seattle, WA Benaroya Hall (Nordstrom Recital Hall)

28 San Francisco, CA Palace of Fine Arts Theatre

29 Los Angeles, CA Wiltern Theatre


DECEMBER

1 Canton, OH Palace Theatre

3 Louisville, KY Brown Theatre

4 Piqua, OH Edison Community College

5 Indianapolis, IN The Murat Centre

6 Royal Oak, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre

7 Iowa City, IA University of Iowa, Hancher Auditorium

8 Iowa City, IA University of Iowa, Hancher Auditorium

9 Arkansas City, KS Cowley College

10 Bartlesville, OK Bartlesville Community Center

11 Junction City, KS C.L. Hoover Opera House

12 Lawrence, KS University of Kansas, Lied Center

13 Chicago, IL Park West

15 St. Louis, MO Harrah’s VooDoo Lounge

17 New York, NY Nokia Theatre Times Square

18 Glenside, PA Keswick Theatre

19 Boston, MA Berklee Performance Theatre

21 Alexandria, VA Birchmere

22 Alexandria, VA Birchmere

23 Raleigh, NC Progress Energy Performing Arts Center

'Invictus'

The HD trailer for Clint Eastwood's next film, Invictus, just went up. Morgan Freeman stars as Nelson Mandela, healing the wounds of apartheid (in part) through a rugby contest.

Fast forward to the end of the trailer for some excellent mbube music. Inspirational a cappella, baby!