"The Sing-Off" Night 3: Superstar Medley and Judges' Request

Superstar Medley

Nota opened the show with a Jackson 5 medley transitioning from " I Want You Back" to "I'll Be There" to "ABC". The group transitioned effortlessly between the three hits proving they deserve a spot on the show.

The Beelzebubs were next with a medley of hits from The Who including "Behind Blue Eyes," "Who Are You" and "Teenage Wasteland." Starting with the more subdued "Behind Blue Eyes" showed a different side of the group before they transitioned to the more upbeat songs.

Maxx Factor took on the harmonies of The Beach Boys singing "God Only Knows," "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "Good Vibrations." This group of working mom from Maryland have voices that seem to blend together effortlessly.

The Socals rocked out to Journey with "Anyway You Want It," "Open Arms" and "Small Town Girl" upping their performance level with their continued improvement.

Voices of Lee was the last up in the Superstar Medley taking on the Beatles performing "Paperback Writer," "Oh Darling" and an inspiring rendition of"All You Need is Love."

Maxx Factor was eliminated before the Judges' Request.

Judges' Request
Next the remaining four groups had to perform a song chosen by the judges. The judges choices were:

• "Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabriel for Nota

• "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond for The Beelzebubs

• "Hazy Shade of Winter" by The Bangles for The Socals

• "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson for Voices of Lee

My faves of the night were the Jackson 5 Medley by Nota and "Sweet Caroline" by The Beelzebubs.

The three groups advancing to the live finale on Dec. 21 are the Beelzebubs, Nota and Voices of Lee.

Viewers can vote for the winner, who will receive a Sony Music recording contract, by going to www.nbc.com/sing-off/

New obsession = "The Sing-Off"

I love all times of music, so anytime I hear of a music based show I have to tune in. Tonight marked the premier of "The Sing-Off" on NBC. The competition show pits eight singing groups against each other singing a cappella. The first night of the four-night competition which features judges Ben Folds Five front-man Ben Folds, Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger and Shawn Stockman of Boys II Men saw two of the eight groups get eliminated.

Night two saw the judges eliminating Noteworthy, a nine-voice female ensemble from Provo, Utah. While all the groups are talented I really thought Noteworthy would make it farther along.

It is hard to pick just one favorite. But there are two groups that I think it is going to come down to: Nota, an all-male sextet from Puerto Rico who have done an amazing job at putting their own spin and adding a little Latin flair to their performances and Beelzebubs, an all-male group of 12 who are by far the most theatrical group.

With a cappella it all comes down to the voice, so it is refreshing to see performances that simply rely on talent.