No matter how often I watch “Pitch Perfect,” three thoughts always cross my mind:
- I wish I could sing.
- How are they making that noise with their mouth?
- I relate to Fat Amy on a spiritual level.
Everyone knows almost anything and everything related to a cappella thanks to “Pitch Perfect.” I mean, who doesn’t enjoy that movie?
In any news, the 850 experienced its own a cappella showdown this past Saturday at Godby High School. Two of Florida State’s very own collegiate a cappella coteries, the Codas and Acaphiliacs, performed at the ICCA South Quarterfinal, which is the competition that leads up to the big event presented in “Pitch Perfect.” Let me be the first to tell you, we did not disappoint. With varying groups from UCF, UNC and the dreaded enemy UF, FSU took the competition by no surprise.
Each group had 12 minutes to perform and it could be a mashed-up version of songs, or it could be a few songs individually with a bit of a break in between. The top two that placed will have the opportunity to head to the ICCA South Semifinals. Each of the eight groups brought to the stage amazing choreography that made me appreciate and sit in awe with the amount of talent they had. Singing AND dancing at the same time? Woah. It’s a bit overwhelming. It honestly kind of looked like synchronized swimming on stage, too.
The Codas, one of the newest co-ed groups on campus, was the first of our two Florida State groups that was witnessed. They had quite the stage presence, interacting with each other and being able to push their energy onto the audience. The Codas did a mashup of some of the biggest love songs like “She Will Be Loved” by Maroon 5 and “Love Me Like You Do” by Ellie Goulding that got the whole crowd dancing in their seats.
Courtesy: Facebook
Later came the Acaphiliacs, another co-ed group representing FSU, who’ve won numerous titles around the state. By the time they started their routine, the whole crowd was chanting, and I mean chanting, for them. They possessed an amazing vocal percussionist whose talent stood out amongst the rest and cohesiveness in how their group worked, sang and danced across the stage together. Not to mention their version of the song “Gangsta” by Kehlani featured in “Suicide Squad” sounded exactly like the original version in the best way possible.
Courtesy: Facebook
After all eight groups performed, it was time for the judges to deliberate. In the midst of the wait, about five-to-six vocal percussionists went onstage to vibe off each other. It sounded almost as if we ended up at an EDM festival for four minutes. Then, the judges came back with the decisions we’d all been waiting for; Mixed Mode from UCF placed third, the Acaphiliacs placed second and Gemini Blvd. from UCF placed first.
While in an ideal world we would have loved to have both the Codas and the Acaphiliacs place, it’s okay that it didn’t happen. We are so unbelievably proud of the Codas and Acaphiliacs for their performances and how they represented FSU amongst the warchants filtering through the audience. We wish the Acaphiliacs the best of luck as they progress to the ICCA South Semifinals, and applaud all groups who got up onstage and gave it their all. There is so much talent in some beautiful humans right in our own Tallahassee backyard.