With competition season in the South starting this very weekend and groups more than ready to perform, let's kick of this year by previewing the top groups in the southern show choir circuit, as well as a few other storylines to follow this 2024 competition season.
1st) Clinton “Attachè”
(The Clinton Courier)
This is nothing new, and I honestly feel like there is nothing I can tell you about this mind-blowingly spectacular group that you have not heard before. They will be wearing the southern crown until further notice. Clinton currently has the longest active winning streak (to no one’s surprise) and will look to keep that trend going this next season. They will be competing at Homewood, Petal, and Heart of America Orlando this year.
2nd) Brandon “Brio”
(Brandon High School Choirs)
Brandon has been the rising star of the southern circuit for the past four seasons. They capped off their amazing season last year by taking two of the three major captions from Center Grove “Sound System” at Heart of America Nashville, where they ended up second overall. That included beating groups such as Westside “Amazing Technicolor Show Choir”, Mitchell “Friend de Coup”, and Ross “Legacy”, among others. If scoresheet rumors are to be believed, Brandon got closer to beating Clinton at the Petal Show Choir Invitational than anyone else has in a very long time. Lots of eyes will be on Brandon to see if they continue at such a high level this upcoming season.
3rd) Homewood “The Network”
(Caleb Flores Productions)
One of the blue-bloods of the southern show choir world, Homewood looks to continue their legacy of dominance against the other groups this next year. However, it will be interesting to see how they look this next year without longtime legendary director Scott Thorne. Thorne left a large legacy at Homewood and will be dearly missed by all the show choir community as he enters his retirement as a director, but this ushers in a new era under Byron Mosquera. We will see what changes this new leadership brings, if any, to Homewood’s traditional style of show choir (and their beautiful, beautiful vocals).
4th) Petal “Soundsations”
(Caleb Flores Productions)
Another one of the blue-bloods of the southern show choir world, Petal is coming into this year after an amazing bounce-back of a 2023 season. Last year featured their wonderfully fun and captivating “Nutcracker” show, featuring full-stage fights, a beautiful story woven into the set, and the famous “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” beat-drop dance-break. With not much changing in the program, expect Petal to be right in the thick of things again.
5th) Oak Mountain “Singers”
(Oak Mountain High School Choirs)
Oak Mountain enters this year as an interesting candidate after their up-and-down 2023 season. They didn’t place as well as they wanted at some of the competitions, but they also competed against some very talented groups from across the nation. Known for their energetic and impressive dancing style, they will look to take their next step this upcoming season and really insert themselves among the podium of top show choirs within the south.
6th) Tupelo “Synergy”
(Hailee Spradling)
I don’t know if we have ever seen a case like this before in the southern world of show choir. A standalone single-gender group competing at such a high level across every competition at which they attend? It is practically unheard of. Yet here they are, as the ladies of Tupelo look to not only continue dominating the single-gender division, but also will seek to grab an overall Grand Championship this upcoming season. This is not an easy feat for any single-gender group, but if anyone can do it, Tupelo can. Look for them to attempt this spectacle this next year. If they pull it off, it would be Tupelo's first since 2009, when the long-gone mixed group Wave Connection took top honors at Petal.
7th) Northwest Rankin “The Ambassadors”
(Northwest Rankin High School Choirs)
Having won their first Grand Championship since 2020 (also their second ever) this past season, Northwest has slowly been improving each and every year since they stepped up a division to large mixed after 2021. This is without mentioning their tough 2022 competition season, in which they competed against Clinton at over half of their events. This season, however, Northwest will look to take that next step and improve to one of the top groups in not just Mississippi, but in the south overall. This group is absolutely a dark horse this upcoming season in Mississippi.
8th) Auburn “Varsity Singers”
(Auburn High School Choral Company)
DJ MERLIN!!! (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.) If there’s one thing Auburn is going to do, it is going to be that they entertain you until the very end. Last year’s show was no different, presenting a modern-day version of “The Tale of Camelot”, featuring the Excalibur Edition Sneakers, some of the most fun choreography we have ever seen, and of course DJ MERLIN! Look for no change this upcoming year as Auburn looks to step up and, like Northwest, become a dark-horse in their own respective state of Alabama.
9th) Jackson Prep “Reveillon”
(Jackson Preparatory School Choral Music Department)
Jackson Prep “Reveillon” stole the hearts of the Mississippi show choir world with their upset victory at Brandon Elite last year, winning their first Grand Championship since 2019. With that in mind, it seems Jackson Prep will enter this upcoming season with heavy momentum and stable leadership at the helm. Both are welcome sights after an up-and-down past few years. Look for Prep to reinsert themselves as a genuine threat against the rest of the Mississippi show choir circuit.
10th) Jackson Academy “Encore”
(Caleb Flores Productions)
As a general consensus among the southern show choir world, Jackson Academy’s show last year never really did receive what many people think it deserved. With amazing vocals, iconic moments, and just an overall great show, Jackson Academy unfortunately never did claim that coveted Grand Championship. They look to achieve that and break their current three-year Grand Champion drought this upcoming season. Luckily for them, their fairly new director Garrett Lindsey seems to have brought a spark along with him, and Jackson Academy will look to ignite that to a flame this 2024 competition year.
Honorable Mentions:
Madison Central “Reveille”
Grenada “Visions”
Biloxi “Sound Surge”
West Jones “Imagination”
What Else To Watch:
Small Division Toss-Up:
Between groups like West Marion “New Era”, Oxford “Sound”, Laurel “Showstoppers”, Pisgah “Innergy”, and Tallassee “Voltage”, it seems like this next season will be a constant slugfest within small divisions across the south. It’ll be worth noting who stands as king of the small division hill after the season is finished.
New Directors:
As always, a change of leadership is something to keep an eye out for, whether it’s for change of style or placements. We’ll be watching to see how all the new directors do this next year. Madison Central, Northeast Jones, Pearl River Central and Oak Grove are some of the bigger programs with director changes before 2024.
The New Tier:
The 2024 season marks the inaugural implementation of the “Super Large Division” in Mississippi. Many bluebloods and titans will make the move up, while several of the lower large mixed groups will remain in the tier. At least one middle mixed group will make the move up to large mixed for this season as well.
Stick around here at HomeRoom Show Choir this season as we follow all these groups, competitions, and more as southern show choir competitions kick off this upcoming weekend!