Hazy Shade Of Winter

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Hazy Shade Of Winter:Tonight’s Sing Off will feature a “superstar medley” and a judges’ choice song. Then the judges will send two groups home, and viewers will vote on the finalists to pick the winner, to be named Monday.

Nota’s up first with a medley of Jackson 5 songs. They are so much fun; love them. Shawn Stockman says their transitions were great, had fabulous energy, etc. Shawn takes on the role of reminding us that a capella means no instruments (well, he says “no music,” but we know what you mean, really, stop telling us, show). Nicole Scherzinger says Nota es caliente and that they are making their families proud. Ben Folds says they were gutsy to bring the chorus down in “All Be There,” and it totally worked. His one note is for David to push his falsetto a little harder because “you’ve got more under the hood.”

The Beelzebubs are doing the songs of The Who, and wow. These are not easy songs, and they kill it. Not to mention, their choreography is totally on point. It’s a little weird that they’re dressed like Harry Potter singing these songs, but whatever. Nicole says she loved everything tonight. “It was even more powerful in your stillness.” OK, Paula. She was moved. Shawn says they’ve shown another side of the group, a deeper side to their voices. Ben says he loved how driven it was by the lead vocals, and he credits Matt for such range. In short: They loved it.

Maxx Factor is next with a Beach Boys medley. The Baltimore quartet is really together, and the songs work well with their voices. Ben loves their outfits and says they didn’t imitate the original songs, they just made it look great. Nicole gives it up to the last all-female group in the competition. She thinks they brought the good vibrations and that they have such strong, in sync harmonies. Shawn commends them for taking on the Beach Boys. He says it took them a while to get started, but eventually they got it and he loved it. He adds that Valerie’s “bass is sick.”

The Socals rock out with Journey songs. The last song is “Don’t Stop Believin’” and it’s totally the arrangementfrom Glee, at least at the beginning. Shawn says when certain harmonies just click, it gives you a feeling, and he got a feeling he’s never had from them. Ben thought it was great and especially loved the “guitar” solo and the duet during “Open Arms.” Nicole says this is a competition and that they are improving every single night.

Voices of Lee have decided to sing a Beatles medley. Their figurehead says that, “The Beatles singlehandedly changed the way people listen to music, and this show is singlehandedly changing the way people listen to music.” False. Still, lovely (except for the opaque yellow tights). Nicole loved it and thinks they sounded like a really powerful choir. Shawn says he judges the whole performance on the starting harmonies, and he was relieved in the first couple of seconds. Ben thought it was great that they treated the songs as “compositions instead of pop songs.” He says it was obvious that the songs meant a lot to them, and that came across.

Then it’s time for someone to be cut. The Beelzebubs and Voices of Lee find out they’re safe. Nota is through to the next round, too. The Socals are the last to find out they’re safe, which means Baltimore’s ladies of Maxx Factor are cut. “It’s just an honor to be on stage with groups of this caliber,” one of the singers says. “Thanks, guys.” They sing their swan song, “I’m Leavin’ on a Jet Plane.” Aww, poor Maxx Factor.

The judges’ choice round is next.

Nota is assigned “Sledgehammer” by Peter Gabriel. They don’t seem that familiar with the song, but Ben thinks they can mess with all the instrument sounds and make it happen. And they definitely do. Ben says he loved seeing them freaked out by the song choice, “it was like testing an A student.” He thinks they nailed it. Nicole thinks the song showcased their talent. Shawn says this is the first time they’ve sounded slightly uncomfortable and he could kind of tell they weren’t familiar with it.

The Beelzebubs have “Sweet Caroline” for their choice. They want to amp it past just a singalong, and they do, keeping the “SO GOOD! SO GOOD! SO GOOD!” to a minimum. Nicole says she was swept away by their charm (and the roses they gave her in the middle of the performance). Ben says it was like the lead voice was in suspended animation from the 70s and he was thawed out for the performance. Shawn says it sounded like Neil Diamond. He says a lot of people these days can’t just entertain without a lot of bells and whistles. He says Ben (I think?) made him feel “wow.” Also, he could hear this song on a CD, which is the goal of this show after all.

The Socals get assigned “Hazy Shade of Winter.” The girls sound a little off-kilter at first, but they get it back eventually. Ben says it was ambitious, but he thinks they lost the song a little in the arrangement. Shawn says they’re taking chances and letting their hair down. He thinks they lost their rhythm for a bit, but it was entertaining. Nicole liked the energy they started with and when the broke it down. She thinks they did give it everything they have.

Voices of Lee are given “Man on the Mirror” by Michael Jackson. Shawn says it was another interesting arrangements. He says this is one of his favorite songs, and he didn’t feel the power of the song. He says the arrangement was a good, but the “effect” wasn’t there. No chill bumps on his backbone. But technically sound. Nicole says she agrees with Shawn “a little bit.” She says regardless, it was uplifting. Ben says he isn’t married to the original and doesn’t know it that well. He says he was moved by it and thought it was really good. He says when you do a cover, “you don’t have to run from the original.”

Can Shawn and Ben be the new American Idol judges?

Results, results: The Beelzebubs are headed to the finale. So is Nota. Whew! I like them, but I was worried after the discussion of their apparent discomfort with the song. The last group to (FINALLY) learn they are safe is Voices of Lee, so the Socals are out. That seems kind of random. I did feel like there was a part at the beginning of the Socals’ performance that was off-kilter, but the judges didn’t say anything about it.

Their swan song is “Here I Go Again.”

Did you watch? What do you think about the cuts of Maxx Factor and the Socals?