I hate to admit that I am watching this, but from the first number (Bowie/Mercury: Under Pressure) I found it entertaining.
Anyone else in Dope-ville willing to fess up? Likes or dislikes?
We watched the first episode and thought that it was so terrible that we decided not to watch any more of them. Only one or two of the original eight groups has anything resembling talent. Just awful.
I meant to see this, and kept missing it. Then last night, I caught part of one male group’s number, and the departing female group’s farewell number. I was underwhelmed. A paucity of voices, rather mediocre voices, and too much beat-boxing – pretty lousy beat-boxing at that. Compared to stuff by Straight No Chaser, it was very amateurish.
On the upside, I don’t feel like I’ve missed much.
I watched it last night and I thought it was terrible, largely due to the format and the contentless judges comments.
First, it clearly wants to be like Dancing with the Stars, with the video package before each performance about the groups practicing their routines. Unfortunately, they’re just not that interesting to spend the time, and these are a capella performances that last about a minute and a half. If you let me hear bits of it beforehand, it kind of ruins the enjoyment of it when they perform it.
Then the judging. It took way too long and the judges said the same thing every time. “That was good. You took it and made it your own. You felt it, and when you feel it I feel it.”
There was just way too much non-singing content and it all took way too long. The underwhelming aspect of the performances themselves just could not make up for the time invested.
Well I am watching it, and enjoying it. I like the Beelzebubs who toured my college back in the day. I even bought their album and played it out. The other group I like is Nota.
The other groups are definitely runners-up to those two.
As for the judges, I can’t stand listening to pussy-cat-doll. She doesn’t ever seem to add anything except, “That made me feel ____”. Ben Folds and Shawn Stockham at least are critical of the performances. All three of them are trying very hard to be nice.
But like most reality-competition shows, theres so much filler I can probably watch a 2 hours show in 1.25 hour.
Omigod, YES. By the second group I began to hate her and her comments, which were basically “Hey, you sang! Ooh, pretty!” I didn’t know who she was, so when my wife told me she is a Pussycat Doll I was even more baffled, since she at least has experience singing and performing.
And I wish they would make her comment first one time, so she can’t just re-package what the guy before her just said.
I know why Paula Abdul retired. That Pussycat doll does a better Paula Abdul than Paula Abdul.
I like most of the groups, but could do without the videos. And did they screen for groups that had some tragic back story?
I’ve been watching (watching right now, in fact). I really enjoy a capella, but in general I feel like most of the groups I’ve heard on the show aren’t as good as some of the college a capella groups I’ve heard. The notable exception (pun intended) is Nota – those guys are solid. The Beelzebubs are very entertaining, but I don’t think they have the voices.
I thought I was the only one watching. I started a thread yesterday with no bites. I’m loving it. It would be really, really good if they got rid of the Pussycat. All she does is repeat what the guys say.
I’ve seen parts of the past two nights and the only group that I think has the slightest bit of talent is the quartet of older women. They sound a lot like a barbershop quartet doing more modern music.
All of the other groups do WAY too much of that stupid mouth noise that’s supposed to sound like drums, which isn’t necessary and takes so much away from the harmony and the singing voices that I can’t stand to listen to it.
That “dramtic pause” before the first elimination was 32 seconds long. Juuuuust a little bit of padding.
Without DVR this would be impossible to watch.
We fast-forwarded through all the BS, especially the Paula-wannabe inane comments.
First show sucked, but the other two got better as they went along.
Sort of fun to watch the groups putting on their shows - and even though the Maxx Factors were out of place in the competition, it was nice to see their spin on some of the songs, even if they were a bit - uh, bizarre at times.
Considering there was nothing else on the tube and all the other good shows were in re-runs, this was a pleasant enough diversion.
Again - DVR was the only way to see it though - got through the entire two hour shows in about 20 minutes each.
I like vocal harmonies, and I like that it’s not a huge committment, just 4 nights.
I’m absolutely with DMark, without DVR the “tension” would make me throw things. The first episode’s eliminations seemed out of whack to me. I thought the group from Omaha had more place in the competition than the barbershop ladies, even though they’re from my town.
The Belezebubs’ Who medley was, to me, worth watching. I blew through pretty much everything but the actual singing.
Slightly off topic, but I just found this out and was happy to learn it so I’ll share:
On our particular DVR remote (from Comcast) the Page Up and Page Down buttons make the DVR jump ahead or back 5 whole minutes. Watching Sing Off, a five minute jump forward just as Nick LaChey starts to say “Coming up on Sing Off” lands you right in the middle of his intro to the next segment. Sooooo many commercials.
I watched it for the first time last night, and I found the ridiculously long tension building moment before they announced who was in/out to be hilarious. They just HAD to slowly pan every single team’s faces before announcing. Certainly they weren’t being serious. It made the tension on Who Wants to be a Millionaire seem short.
This show would be greatly improved with judges who, you know, judge. Dave Matthews seems knowledgeable and Shawn BoyzIIMen has experience and sometimes, between the two, there are actual criticisms. Mostly it’s just ‘I’m feeling it’ ‘That’s was so heartfelt’ ‘Your harmonies are beautiful’. I’m don’t mean Simon Cowel level of meanness, but actual and real advice on how to improve.
Nicole is a waste of airwaves and needs to stop talking so much. Everything she does annoys me. From her parroting what the guys say, to her waiting after she speaks her first sentence to goad applause, to her never shutting the hell up even though she has absolutely nothing to say.
Nota, The Beebs and Maxx were my one, two and three. I do not like the happy, shiny Young Americans.
My wife and I have enjoyed a lot of it, and we had conversation and crossword puzzles to do during the “up close and personal” stuff. The stretched introductions and the drawn out selection of who loses were inexcusable.
The show is followed by Jay Leno, and on the second night, his guest was to be Nick Lachey! “God, no!” we said in unison, “Not him again!”
I have a little hearing loss, and it kept sounding to me like one of the groups was called The Soul Cows. :smack:
I haven’t seen most of these “talent reality” shows. Do they usually have the viewer voting on the next to last show of the cycle? Doesn’t that mean the last performances don’t count?
ETA: PCD Nicole was no more than eye candy, but I couldn’t have endured Simon Cowell instead.
The group from Lee is from the city I live in, so I’ve been subjected to it by my mother.
I found the acts to be generally pretty good, but I was disappointed at the effusive praise from the judges. There were time where the lead vocal would be off key and they didn’t even mention it.
The host goin gon about how these were the top vocal acts in the county made me laugh. What, Straight No Chaser is chopped liver? San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus doesn’t count because they’re all gay?
I thought it was Salchow. Because they were from the mid-west and wanted to honor their farming ways and also allude to their showtune staging by referring to fancy ice jumps. I’m not even making any of that up. It wasn’t until I saw their name spelled out on the screen that I realized I’m an idiot.
So they kept the lame “lady barber shop” group and lost the poor, inner-city team?
I didn’t see that coming.