Spring Singers “˜Steal the Show’

The theme “Steal the Show”Â set the stage for a
formidable musical battle on Friday night as to who owned the
Spring Sing spotlight in the Los Angeles Tennis Center.

And with the good weather this year, Spring Sing drew a crowd of
about 5,000 who came to be both entertained by and cheer on their
fellow students’ performances and laugh at the hilarious
banter of Company’s between-set sketch comedy.

The two-song performance by James Taylor, this year’s
recipient of the George and Ira Gershwin Lifetime Achievement
Award, at the end of the first act had the audience on its feet
chanting for more. Despite the legendary folk artist protesting
that he did not “want to hijack your show,” he will no
doubt be the one performer audience members will boast most about
having heard.

The solo/duet category was clearly the most competitive, with
each of the artists proving they possessed the power to
wow the audience with their vocal talent.

Mark and Tyrone’s virtually flawless
execution of “Need,” which featured Tyrone’s
voice accompanied by his guitar and Mark’s hand drums,
enabled them to walk away not only with the award for best
solo/duet, but also for best overall entry.

Ed Rhee, also from the solo/duet category, won honorable mention
for the second year in a row with his upbeat boy-meets-girl fairy
tale song “Cinderella.”

The a cappella/ensemble category ultimately became a duel
between Random Voices, with a lounge rendition of “Baby Got
Back,” and Awaken A Cappella’s remake of Styx’s
“Mr. Roboto.” But the 12 girls in Random Voices proved
that good harmonies and a bit of booty shaking were enough to
outshine Awaken’s much more elaborate and showy performance
of Styx’s popular piece, complete with costumes and glow
lights.

Paramount had the crowd rocking to its high-energy song,
“What You Got” in the band category, but they
weren’t able to nab the trophy. It was the ensemble least
reminiscent of a rock band that went home the winner. The members
of Perfect Note, consisting of a vocalist, cellist, and
keyboardist, made themselves heard despite performing a quiet,
mellow piece that was a sharp contrast to the louder
competitors.

In the much more involved production category, which is largely
a battle between several of the campus sororities and fraternities,
Chi Omega and Alpha Gamma Omega came out on top. Their performance
of “The Wonder Years,” complete with singing, dancing,
props, and even a rap, tracked the life of a UCLA student,
beginning with the freshman orientation campus tour and ending with
the relatively common resolution to stay at UCLA for a fifth
year.

Especially when compared to last year’s show, there were
relatively few major technical problems. The most noticeable was a
glitch switching between music clips during the performance put on
by the hip-hop dance troupe Samahang Modern ““ each transition
between movements forced the dancers to do a take
two. Although the group was not part of any of the competing
categories, the group managed to keep its act together and put on
an impressive showcase of dance moves.

In addition, ScatterTones faced a microphone issue that
contributed to the audience’s difficulty hearing the lead
singer during its rendition of “It’s My Life,”
and there was a no show from Ascension, the last scheduled band to
perform.

But beyond those few bumps in the road, an abundance of musical
ability and creativity was displayed on stage Friday night.

Company had the audience roaring with laughter throughout many
of its hilarious skits that good-naturedly poked fun of many campus
stereotypes. The troupe had acts that covered every UCLA issue,
from construction at Hedrick Hall to the infamous walk of shame, to
the growing number of closing businesses in Westwood. Its comic
remakes of pop songs proved that even Company was not without vocal
talent.

It was also obvious that more than just one of the talented
Spring Sing artists and musicians deserved a place in the
spotlight.