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At 8pm tonight is the finale of our beloved little a cappella show. The ratings? Mostly meh, with a little bright spot of the repeat show on Saturday night: though it only got a 0.6 rating with 2.89M viewers, it bested Two and a Half Men, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and helped NBC win the night even before the big SNL numbers. Not bad for the little a cappella engine that could.So let's discuss what we think will happen tonight. I thought it was pretty clear from the beginning that we'd be down to Ten, Home Free, and Vocal Rush in the Finale - and I think it's obvious who our winner will be. Home Free is the perfect marketing opportunity for a label. They've got country (which still sells albums, Beyonce notwithstanding), cute boys, good personality. They'll do well, especially if they can break into that Straight, No Chaser adult fan base. If Ten had been able to get together a little in advance of the show and coalesce slightly more before filming, I think they might have had a shot at the win. But Home Free has the right niche and a proven ability to tour. Expect to see Nick, Shawn, Ben, and Jewel singing with the groups, as well as a finale-boosting appearance by Season 3 winner Pentatonix.
Last week, they announced that there will be a Sing Off tour, coming soon to a medium-sized auditorium or casino possibly near you. The schedule looks really rough (no days off for three months other than travel days) which makes me worried for the health of the voices on the tour. No word yet on which groups will be touring, but hopefully even the college groups will get to do a few days on break or near them.
So tell me, while we wait for tonight, what was your favorite performance this season? I'm partial to Vocal Rush, so I'll choose "Bottom of the River" as the winner for me. It was their first performance, and a strong introduction to what the high schoolers could do.
