By Tony Holeman, Southern contributor
This week features a thrice-state, three-competition slate, as different people will see different showdowns in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi. All three of the competitions find themselves with very different top storylines as well.
PETAL SHOW CHOIR INVITATIONAL
This competition looks to be a David versus Goliath matchup between the one and only Clinton Attaché and a streaking Grenada. Clinton obviously looms as the heavy favorite, but Grenada will enter this competition with that in mind, understanding they’ll need to be at the top of their game. Clinton came out of the gate extremely locked in last weekend, and Grenada will have a tall task replicating the quality of production that it will take to compete. The 3A tier looks to be a fairly solid bunch between the likes of Oak Grove, Biloxi, and West Jones (the latter being the favorites for the category). 2A is mostly a repeat of last weekend from the West Jones Invitational, but without Northeast Jones attending, South Jones is the next-up favorite. The 1A division looks to be another West Marion win but Pass Christian, Wayne County, and a division-switching Clinton Christian Academy seem to round out the next highest threats. The Single-Gender category also offers an interesting matchup between a surprise group thus far in Purvis and a still relatively new Biloxi womens group.
Predictions (five finalists):
GC) Clinton “Attaché” (BV/BC/Overall Effect)
1RU) Grenada “Visions”
2RU) West Jones “Imagination”
3RU) Biloxi “Sound Surge”
4RU) Purvis “Pizzaz”
1st in 4A) Clinton “Attaché”
1st in 3A) West Jones “Imagination”
1st in 2A) South Jones “Company”
1st in 1A) West Marion “New Era”
1st in Womens) Purvis “Pizzaz”
AUBURN SHOW CHOIR SHOWDOWN
Talk about some full divisions. With 18 groups competing across four divisions, this competition looks to be a doozy headlined by a Homewood versus Oak Mountain matchup. Homewood enters as the favorite, but Oak Mountain is coming off their first competition of the year, a hard-earned Grand Championship over Petal and Wheaton Warrenville South. The Middle Mixed division looks to be a toss-up between the division-switching Briarwood and Homewood’s middle mixed group. The Small Mixed field offers an interesting bout between the likes of Tallassee, Lakeside, Chelsea, and Sylacauga. The Womens Division, just like X-Large/Large mixed, is headlined by a Homewood versus Oak Mountain bout.
Predictions (five finalists):
GC) Homewood “The Network” (BV/BC/Overall Effect)
1RU) Oak Mountain “Singers”
2RU) Enterprise “Encores”
3RU) Oak Mountain “The Muses”
4RU) Spain Park “Rhapsody In Blue”
1st in X-Large/Large) Homewood “The Network”
1st in Middle) Homewood “Continuum”
1st in Small) Chelsea “Out Of The Blue”
1st in WOmens) Oak Mountain “The Muses”
ROME THREE RIVERS SHOW CHOIR INVITATIONAL
Arguably the most “interesting” competition of the weekend actually lies in Rome, Georgia, as Rome High School will be hosting its first-ever competition. It's good to see a second competition back in Georgia, as Lakeside's Vocal Invitational folded after 2023. It’s here where Tift County’s mixed group looks to garner their first Grand Championship title in two years. This will be no easy feat; however, as they’ll be challenged by groups such as Jasper, Donelson Christian Academy, Bradley Central, Appling County, and even their own single-gender groups. No matter what happens, this competition will be an extremely fun watch. Full predictions are as below:
Predictions (no finals):
Overall GC) Tift County “8th Street Singing Company” (BV/BC/Overall Effect)
1st in X-Large/Large) Donelson Christian Academy “Legacy”
1st in Middle) Tift County “8th Street Singing Company”
1st in Small) Cleveland “Renaissance”
1st in Treble) Tift County “Ladies Choice”
OUT OF TOWN
This weekend’s out-of-town section includes the unicorn of the south, the lovely ladies of Tupelo Synergy, as they travel up north to Indianapolis to compete in the Franklin Central Hoosier Show Choir Classic. They will be facing some stout competition though, as the womens groups from Center Grove, Carmel, and Fishers are truly no joke. Three groups will make the single-gender finals, and it would be a crowning achievement for Tupelo to make it. All eyes down south will be watching and cheering Tupelo during their travels.
Comments