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2009
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December
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- The AP does Straight No Chaser
- Post Script: 'The Sing-Off'
- Team Bubs.
- He's the Mann
- Preview: Monday Night's 'Sing-Off' Finale
- Ben Folds's A Cappella Manifesto
- Smokey Robinson Joins the 'Sing-Off'
- The First 'Sing-Off' Controversy?
- 'The Sing-Off' Is a Hit
- The Bubs: Before 'The Sing-Off'
- Before Ben Folds was on 'The Sing-Off...'
- Is Wyclef an A Cappella Fan?
- Poker Face. Again. And Again. And Again.
- A Cappella Stage Musical Set for 2010
- First NBC Promo
- The Jungle Book!
- What is A Cappella?
- Here Comes the Judge
- Who Spiked the Egg Nog?
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December
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About Me
- Pitch Perfect
- Pitch Perfect, out now from Gotham Books, is a behind-the-scenes look at the bizarre, inspiring, and hilarious world of competitive collegiate a cappella. Author Mickey Rapkin lives in Brooklyn. His work has appeared in The New York Times, GQ, Entertainment Weekly, Details, and Time Out New York. E-mail him at mickey@mickeyrapkin.com.
2 comments:
Please don't interpret this as a harsh criticism of Voices Of Lee. They're acquitting themselves very well in the competition.
First of all, does Lee University have a formal policy against homosexuality? I don't know, but it seems a good guess considering that it is a conservative Christian university. This, however, does not mean that all the students are unanimous in their opinions. (Lee DOES have a chapter of the College Democrats, after all.)
That being said, the Voices of Lee are a conducted curricular a cappella choir, not an extracurricular a cappella group; the group pretty much only sings Christian songs, with some patriotic songs thrown in. The group simply doesn't do recent pop.
I've gotten pretty cynical in my old age, and, quite frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if Sony was selecting their (and all the groups') entire repertoire. I'm sure the Voices Of Lee have PLENTY of "guilty pleasure" songs that the audience would know, but they're all about Jesus.
I don't think Voices Of Lee is above doing "Freedom '90" if it will help them win. I don't think Lee University is above enjoying the publicity that Voices Of Lee is giving them, even with the out-of-character repertoire.
I will go even further with my cynicism and suggest this: if Voices Of Lee were to sing their traditional Christian repertoire, they would win the telephone poll. There are a LOT of people out there who decry the evil, godless scene of popular music and would announce from their pulpits that the members of the congregations go straight home and vote for the only wholesome group on the docket.
So, the fact that they did not do this suggests that they were told in advance that if they did Christian music that they would not make it to the top three anyway. The closing credits already announce that "the producers" have a hand in the judging. I would be very surprised if Sony would offer a recording contract to a group they didn't choose.
My opinion only, of course.
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