2025 Southern Show Choir 4A/3A Postseason Rankings

By Tony Holeman, Southern contributor

The 2025 show choir season has been over for a few weekends, and it is time for this year's final set of show choir rankings of the Southern circuit. In true show choir fashion, an extra voter was added to the finals voting panel in order to include a more thorough set of results. This set of placements reflects that of the large/extra-large division.

1st) Clinton "Attaché" (4 first-place votes)

(Attaché Show Choir)

Clinton tops the rankings once again. In other news, fire is hot! Let's be completely honest, this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Another three-in and three-out season from arguably the greatest program in show choir history. While some argued that their Song Library show design was not as good as other recent Clinton show designs, you can't deny that the results speak for themselves: three Grand Championship sweeps against the likes of Grenada, Tupelo, and Petal. That's nothing to turn a cheek at. With this group being comprised of many returning students, one can only imagine how the next couple of seasons are going to look if this undefeated season is just a "rebuild" year. Death, taxes, and Clinton Attaché.

2nd) Homewood "The Network" (2 first-place votes)

(Michael Schwitek)

Though still not quite there, Homewood comes the closest they have been in a very long time to the number one spot in the large mixed rankings. Like Clinton, Homewood boasts an undefeated season of Grand Championship sweeps against top-tier groups such as Oak Mountain, Auburn, and even out-of-region competitors like John F. Kennedy and Chaparral from California. In just their second year removed from the legendary director Scott Thorne, Homewood seems to be cruising along just fine. Some might even say it won't be long before Homewood makes that final jump to the number one spot, but only time will tell.

3rd) Oak Mountain "Singers"

(Billy Ivey)

This year's top competitor outside of the powerhouses previously mentioned would be the bunch from Oak Mountain known as Singers. With their Elton John-themed show, designed similarly to that of their very successful 2022 Queen show, they went on a tear through the Southern circuit. Winning two Grand Championships (one of them being a complete sweep) over the likes of Petal, Wheaton Warrenville South, Grenada, Brandon, Auburn, and Northwest Rankin, Singers certainly carries an extremely strong resume. Their only loss on the season comes at Auburn's competition, where they fell to second overall behind Homewood. With extravagant show designs and incredible productions, Oak Mountain is in a good position to keep the momentum going for a very long time.

4th) Grenada "Visions"

(Grenada Visions)

Picking up right where they left off last season, Grenada adds another impressive season to their records. With three Grand Championships on the season (one of them being a complete sweep) and wins over the likes of Tupelo, Brandon, Northwest Rankin, Wheaton Warrenville South, Loveland, and Troy Buchanan, Grenada has a lot to wear on their shoulder with pride. The only reason they're not any higher on this list is most likely due to their placement at the Madison Central Deep South Classic (third behind Oak Mountain and Brandon), but that situation also includes a mid-day charity event in between their performances, so it's hard to know what would have happened otherwise. Either way, Grenada did an amazing job this season with their Truman Show theme, and if they don't see you again, they'd like to wish you good afternoon, good evening, and good night!

5th) Petal "Soundsations"

(Linda W. Shows)

Though their record isn't completely telling of the whole story (one Grand Championship sweep, two second-place finishes, and a lone fourth from Nationals), Petal performed a very good show this season with their inventions theme. It makes a lot more sense when one considers the caliber of groups they placed behind: Clinton, Carmel, Los Al, Zionsville, and Oak Mountain. It's hard to win competitions while competing against that kind of opposition at almost every event. Despite that, Petal had a great season and took another step in the right direction since their infamous 2022 season.

6th) Brandon "Brio"

(Melissa K Buie)

Someone should go check on Brandon's tires, because "heavily used" doesn't even scratch the surface. Traveling over 4,400 miles in just one season, Brandon faced all kinds of competition while attending six different events. They ended the season with a lone Grand Championship (albeit a complete sweep), three 1RU placements, a lone 2RU placement, and a lone 3RU placement. The list of groups Brio competed against this year includes Westside, Omaha South, Linn-Mar, Carmel, Carroll, Millard North, Grenada, Troy Buchanan, and Loveland. Make sure you have enough breath support for that list!

7th) Auburn "Varsity Singers"

(Auburn Choral Company)

Auburn's season was one that left room for improvement going into next season, but certainly wasn't anything bad. The best term to describe Auburn this year was solid. They earned one lone Grand Championship on the season (albeit against middle mixed groups or smaller, and even then just barely escaped Hoover), and then one 1RU placement, one 3RU placement, and one 4RU placement (that last one coming from a tough Nationals competition). The only groups they lost to, though, are Homewood, Oak Mountain, Petal, Wheaton Warrenville South, Carmel, Los Alamitos, and Zionsville. It's fair to say a lot of their season's results stem from levels of competition, but again, Auburn has plenty to improve on.

8th) Northwest Rankin "The Ambassadors"

(Toney Keeler)

Like their sister ensemble The Allure, The Ambassadors might be the one of the most under-the-radar group on this list. With two Grand Championships on the season (one of them a full sweep), two 2RU placements, and two 4RU placements, Northwest Rankin has a very solid resume despite their smaller size. They also have wins over groups such as Mt. Zion, Brandon Bellas, Madison Central, and Jackson Academy to further back their validity. They are the highest-ranked 3A group on this list.

9th) West Jones "Imagination"

(Old Soul Photography)

West Jones had a very successful year, and arguably the biggest upset of the season. On top of winning two Grand Championships this year, this southern group, traditionally filled with vocal prowess, also pulled off a stunning win against Brandon at South Jones to send shockwaves all throughout the region. On top of that, they also garnered a 1RU and 3RU placement on the season, beating other groups like Madison Central, Biloxi, and South Jones while they were at it. They are the second-highest 3A group on this list, right behind Northwest Rankin.

10th) Biloxi "Sound Surge"

(Susan Horton Cokely)

Biloxi, just one caption away from another Grand Championship to add to their records, looks to still take that next big step forward. They wrap up the year with two 1RU placements (one where they took a Best Choreography and Best Show Design caption) and two 2RU placements. A likely win at Enterprise to end the season was cancelled due to threat of tornadoes, leaving Sound Surge wanting more next season.

11th) Jackson Academy "Encore"

(Jackson Academy)

A new director is guaranteed to bring two things: change and growing pains. There were certainly both of these elements this last season. Despite that, Jackson Academy still finished the season with two 1RU placements and a lone 3RU placement. Despite failing to make finals in a trip to Glenwood in Illinois, Jackson Academy seemingly has a solid foundation to build on under the new leadership of Jacob Butzin.

12th) Madison Central "Reveille"

(Jag Singers of Madison Central High School)

This show will certainly be talked about for years to come, although it may not be due to their record. With their pit-stop themed show (totally not related to a certain famous beaver-insignia-having mega gas station that can't be explicitly stated alongside the show for legal reasons), they placed in every possible position from third to no placement in the five events they competed at. With their middle school and freshman groups reaching high levels of success over the last couple of years, the future is bright for Reveille.

13th) Briarwood "Radica"

(@briarwood.finearts.academy)

Briarwood poses a weird case this year due to their roster management methods. While they competed in preliminary rounds using a middle-mixed-sized roster, they would add members to their finals performance if they made the cut and compete as a large mixed group, creating a noticeable distribution oddity when looking at their resume. Ignoring the controversy surrounding that situation, Briarwood still had a solid season when looking at the results: two 1RU placements out of four competitions. The previously mentioned oddity comes in when looking at their other two events: two no placements.

14th) Enterprise "Encores"

(Summer Ward Woodall)

Like a few other groups on this list, Enterprise dealt with a leadership change this last off-season, and the results aren't exactly surprising. A lone 1RU placement and three no placements wrap up the season. To be fair, the first year with a new director is always more difficult than the next, leaving room for optimism in this situation.

15th) Spain Park "Rhapsody in Blue"

(Sheryl Streets Ponder)

Although their results don't qualify as eye-popping, it's worth remembering this is Spain Park's first year stepping up to 3A/Large mixed, and to be fair, they did a pretty solid job considering this. They accumulated a divisional win, two 3RU placements, and a lone 4RU placement across five competitions. It was a good year for the division newcomers, who also made a trip to Illinois alongside Brandon and Grenada.

Receiving Votes: Jackson Prep "Reveillon", Opelika "Ovations", Oak Grove "Center Stage"