It's week two of "radio hits/60s classics." I'm glad they scaled the show back for season 4. I loved the abundance of Sing-Off, but it was weird seeing each group only every other week for the first several weeks.
Anyway, our group sing this time is "Rhythm of Love" by the Plain White Ts. I love the song. Love, love, love it. This performance ... it's a bit cheesy. The set is all blue sky and flowers, and it almost turns this pop song into a show tune. I do like how the background singers are imitating the rhythm of a ukulele. How freaking cute is Guy (from North Shore)? I didn't buy this track.
The Deltones are up first with Lady Gaga's "Edge of Glory," which is definitely my favorite Gaga song. The lead singer (Cortney) had laryngitis this week, and although she pulls off the performance, it would probably have been a lot stronger if she had been feeling well. I think, for me, what ruins it is the background singers during the chorus. Cortney's "I'm on the edge of glory" is strong enough, but when they echo her, it sounds cheesy. I didn't buy this track. I wish Pentatonix would record this song; they did a video of it that is much better than the Deltones (the video below is not great quality, but their delivery of the song is).
Speaking of Pentatonix, they're up next with Ke$ha's "Your Love is My Drug." I don't want to get hung up on the clothes, but Kirstie's outfit looks like something a hooker would wear. A cheap one. Anyway, the performance is fine, though it's one of the few PTX tracks I did not buy. I like that they tried to do something different with it -- it's a live a cappella remix, and how many of those have we heard? This performance did not get much love from the judges, though. Fortunately, (spoiler) they really bring it with their fifth performance.
The Collective is next with Far East Movement's "Rocketeer," a song that I was not familiar with. This performance didn't do much for me. The whole thing comes off kind of lounge-y, and not in a good way. Apparently the lead singer, Rachel, had laryngitis. Why not have another woman sing lead then? I didn't buy this track.
Oh hell yes! Next up is North Shore, the doo-wop dads, with Bruno Mars' "The Lazy Song." It's kind of a dumb song, but these guys make it ADORABLE. They really nail the song, and it's one of the most fun performances this show has ever seen. Guy, will you be my spare dad? (Also, Tommy, the bass man ... amazing.)
The Dartmouth Aires are next with "Animal" by Neon Trees. It's an energetic performance, and Brandon does a good job with the lead. It's not innovative or exciting, but it's not bad at all. I didn't buy this track.
It just didn't make a big impression on me, and that's unusual for an Aires song.
Finally, we have Sonos with "Viva la Vida" by Coldplay. I'm not ashamed to say that I love that song. I was all set to rip this performance to shreds, but listening to it again, it's not half bad. The guy singing lead is no Chris Martin, but he's pretty good. If I were going to buy a Sonos track, this is probably the one I'd buy. Why did I think this sucked when I first watched it?
Time for the 60s songs!
Pentatonix is up first with "Piece of My Heart" by Janis Joplin. This is a pretty sexy performance from PTX. (Is it OK to say that, when Kirstie, Scott and Mitch were just out of high school when this was recorded?) Damn, Kevin ... that horn bit was awesome! And Avi's there holding down the bass as always. I don't think they were in danger from there Ke$ha song, but if they had been, this pulled them right back into contention. Shawn Stockman points out that this had a reggae feel, which I didn't catch, but yeah. He's right. I bought this track.
North Shore brings us "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers. It's a beautiful song, and they perform it just fine, but it's very expected. Then again, I'm not sure what 60s song these five could do that would be unexpected -- maybe something by the Doors, but who wants to see that? They didn't get a lot of love from the judges for this one, I think because it was a letdown after the joy of "The Lazy Song." I didn't buy this track.
The Collective is next with "Hold On, I'm Comin'" by Sam and Dave. Great song. It's probably my favorite of the Collective's performances, but I didn't buy the track. They never fully jelled for me. Groups formed just for the show often tend to sound like collections of individuals rather than real groups, and that was the case for these folks.
Sonos is up with "I Want You Back" by the Jackson Five, and it's a pretty big misstep. They give it the "speed it up and make it darker" treatment that worked (for me) with "Wicked Game." It doesn't work this time. Shawn Stockman nails it in his critique -- if you watch the clip, stick around for his part. I didn't buy this part.
Finally, we have the Dartmouth Aires with "Pinball Wizard" by the Who. Having Michael O. sing lead on a Who song is a great choice. I can think of several Who songs that I would like to hear him sing. What an amazing voice he has. And not every guy can make wide-leg jeans and a fringed leather vest look sexy ... I bought the hell out of this track. Ben Folds points out that the performance reminds him of "Jesus Christ Superstar," and now I want to see Michael O. play Jesus. Or Judas. Either one.
Sonos is out, and for their swan song, they do a Boyz II Men song. Cute choice, since Shawn Stockman used to sing with Boyz II Men.
Next time: the final 10 groups come together for guilty pleasures, and one group walks away with the competition.
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