Song on my mind... "Everything to Me" by Rockapella. The only version I could find on YouTube was one that displayed a single picture while the song was playing. I thought this would be better than embedding a video displaying moving pictures while a single note played.

I've been on an a cappella kick this past week and I blame The Sing-Off, a week-long singing competition on NBC, which pitted eight of the country's "best" a cappella groups against one another.

I had planned on skipping the show, having been burned two years ago by another NBC talent contest called Clash of the Choirs, but I succumbed to my curiosity at the last minute and watched it.

To my surprise (and delight), most of the groups weren't awful. I would go so far as to classify two of them as "good", perhaps even "awesome". One I would call "unique", primarily because they were the only barbershop quartet in the competition and an all-female quartet at that. The rest I would label as "mediocre" or "generic", which is probably harsh because they could all sing in tune and harmonize, and had one or two standout voices, but it's true.

One of the two "awesome" groups was Nota, a six-man group from Puerto Rico. They were the most polished and professional performers in the field. They had smooth harmonies, a strong lead singer (who had an outstanding falsetto), and an excellent percussionist. They spiced up every song with their Latin style, giving them a distinct sound in the competition. Of their performances, my favorite was "Down" by Jay Sean.

The other "awesome" group was a twelve-man team from Tufts University known as the Beelzebubs. They were talented, charismatic guys who gave energetic (and often playful) performances. They were my immediate favorites.

I loved how their arrangements made full use of every voice, but never overpowered the lead singer. Of their performances, my favorites were "Sweet Caroline" (Penn Rosen sang lead) and "Come Sail Away" (Matt McCormick sang lead).

I was also a fan of their creative process. When working on a song, they used something called the Bub Box, a rectangular space they'd mark off with masking tape in their studio. Inside the box, they'd allow themselves to go as wild and crazy as they could with a song. Nothing was off limits. I love the idea of a physical place where creativity is free, unencumbered by rules or judgment.

I was also struck by something one of the Bubs said. "If you get too far with a song and the goofiness of the song, it's easy to take it back. It's a lot harder to push the song farther if you never take it over the top." It's a nugget of wisdom that's so obvious, it's easy to overlook. It's also applicable to other types of creative pursuits.

Anyway, tonight is the show's finale. Luckily, Nota and the Beelzebubs are finalists, along with Voices of Lee (a.k.a. Voices of Old Navy). I'm rooting for the Bubs, but should they fall short of the prize, I hope Nota wins.

By the way, Ben Folds rocked as one of the judges. Unfortunately, he was the only one on the three-person panel who did.

Rip the conch from the shell, do the Junkanoo party in Bahama (back to back),
And they were singing (back to back),
They said it was nothing, but a zombie jamboree,
Gonna give a Bronx cheer with an eggcream mustache.

You only mean everything to me.

Gonna give a hot towel to a humble visitor.

You only mean everything to me.