Once you entered college, you may have noticed that you can't possibly escape the presence of a cappella. You’ve heard OVER AND OVER AND OVER which groups are performing when and where and for what cause.
You know why? A cappella is taking the Land of Opportunity by storm. For those who are still doubtful, here are some highlights of the times the previously unknown world of a cappella entered the mainstream.
1. 300 colleges participated in ICCAs this year.
The acronym sounds familiar, huh? There are two possibilities why:
1. Either your college's a cappella group--the social media page of which you were likely forced to "Like" on Facebook by a friend who's in the group--updated their excitement over their participation in the nationwide collegiate a cappella competition, or:
2. You watched Pitch Perfect. More to come about Pitch Perfect later on the list.
The ICCA performance of my personal favorite 2015 finalist, Voices in Your Head (from UChicago). Tell me this isn't impressive. TELL ME!
2. The Sing-off showed that a cappella can be successful on National TV.
To put the cherry on top, Vanderbilt Melodores became the first collegiate a cappella group to win the competition this past year. My point? Collegiate a cappella is as relevant as ever. That's right, hook up with that annoying a cappella nerd TONIGHT. You never know when their time for fame will come.
3. "Pitch Perfect 2" became the highest-grossing musical comedy film in history.
Despite the numerous distasteful jokes about race, sexual orientation and body image, the movie is a big stride for a cappella. And being the highest-grossing musical comedy is no easy feat, considering it took the title away from the movie with this quote:
In our language that would be: You're a-ca-tacky and I a-ca-hate you. (Thank you producers of Pitch Perfect for making this a thing.)
4. Pentatonix slays.
This Texas-native, Youtube-famous quintet has achieved great heights this year, winning a Grammy and touring nationwide AND internationally. Their album "That's Christmas to Me" went platinum last year, and they just keep doing awesome covers:
This medley of Late MJ's hits went viral last week. See what I mean?
5. Alumni of collegiate a cappella are our favorite celebrities.
Are you surprised? These celebrities range from the lovely star of Parks and Recreations, Rashida Jones...
...he served in Oberlin College's Obertones for exactly one semester. Fitting, huh?
6. The Elon University Twisted Measure was on Spotify's Top 10 Most Viral Tracks list
The co-ed group's beautiful cover of Sia's "Chandelier" was a media darling, acknowledged by the likes of CNBC and Time.
7. A cappella can be enjoyed at your own college campus.
Many colleges nowadays are filled with all kinds of a cappella events, whether they be a weekend concert or a casual late-night serenade in between your library grinds. Each group comes in different shapes and sizes, with different cultural interests and/or gender makeup.
Here is my own group, the Johns Hopkins AllNighters, performing at our May concert.
So now you know we're coming for you. Why don't you take up our offer and give us some love? Perhaps in the near future, you can utter, "I liked a cappella before it was cool."
