Finding the light in setbacks, Awaken A Cappella isn’t holding any grudges.

The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella serves as the co-ed vocal group’s largest performance every year, but when the Los Angeles County wildfires spread in January, Awaken lost crucial rehearsal time and withdrew from the competition. Music director Robyn Morales said the decision was disappointing for many members but added that she knew the group could redirect its full energy to its Spring Sing aspirations from that point on. Even when Awaken wasn’t offered an audition, the fourth-year theater student said the group took a shot in the dark to make it on this year’s stage.

“We politely asked if we could audition since we had prepared something. We felt really passionate about it, so getting picked after that feels like some kind of ‘Cinderella’ story,” Morales said. “We really got lucky and got the opportunity that I think we needed as a group after not getting to compete.”

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Friday night, Awaken will perform a rendition of Olivia Rodrigo’s “the grudge” that Morales originally arranged for the ICCA. Morales said she was immediately inspired to bring the piece to the group after witnessing a moving performance by the Grammy winner on her “GUTS” world tour last summer. Just as quickly as it resonated with her, the rest of Awaken’s members already sounded “spectacular” when they ran through the arrangement in Morales’ apartment for the very first time, she added.

“It was a really cathartic experience to see this thing that I wrote on a piece of paper become what I wanted it to be because they really understood it right off the bat,” Morales said. “It’s just so cool that, from the beginning, this was a song that the group … had enough passion for that they were able to sound awesome the second they sang it.”

Jarod Houston, a third-year computer science student and Awaken’s business manager, said the group primarily hopes to emphasize their storytelling through this performance, making “the grudge” a perfect pick because of its emotional content. To further drive its storyline of heartbreak, Morales said she added multiple “Easter eggs” from other songs with connecting themes to the arrangement, paying homage to personal favorite artists with lines from Taylor Swift, Lizzy McAlpine and Sufjan Stevens.

Beyond the sound, choreography helps convey some of the most powerful messages in the group’s performance, said president Naomi Young. Members represent various characters, and their movements range from lifts to hugs in order to depict an arc from anger to acceptance, the fourth-year English student added. Houston described the choreographing process as iterative and collaborative, noting that making eye contact with other members plays a large role in the narrative aspect of their routine.

“I think that by connecting with everyone else on stage, that will help to deliver that emotion because we’ll feel it,” Houston said. “We’ll feel connected to everyone, and we’ll be able to show that passion.”

While Awaken typically rehearses twice a week, Houston said the group added a third day to their schedule in the month ahead of Spring Sing. Preparation for the competition has come with some unexpected challenges, he said, such as adapting their formations to the large dimensions of the LA Tennis Center’s stage. Despite this, Young said rehearsals have felt increasingly meaningful as the group spends more time with “the grudge,” sometimes singing the piece with their eyes closed or while walking around to simply enjoy it for themselves.

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Friday’s performance will mark the first time Awaken competes in Spring Sing since 2018, which Houston said has amplified the ensemble’s excitement. Additionally, while the show often features multiple a cappella groups in its yearly lineups, Awaken is the only a cappella team in the 2025 competition. Houston said this gives Awaken their chance to shine, and Young added that it allows for a musical freedom they aren’t usually offered in traditional a cappella events.

“We’re full of a lot of people who haven’t done a cappella before and don’t necessarily want to stick to the way that is popular or gets you far in the competition process,” Young said. “We’ve been able to really put all of that aside and just think, ‘What do we want to do for us?’”

As Spring Sing draws closer, Houston said Awaken isn’t approaching their performance with the mindset of winning, despite branding themselves as a competitive group. Echoing his statements, Young said she cares most about the fact that the concert is for their community. After losing out on the ICCA this year, Morales said Spring Sing is better than any replacement imaginable. As long as one audience member is moved by their story, she added, the group will leave the competition feeling accomplished.

“I just want the audience to feel like someone sees them,” Morales said. “I think we’re just trying to hope someone feels like they are understood through what we do. We also want to entertain everyone, obviously, and put on a good show, but I do hope that we hit some people in the heartstrings.”