Back to Irregularities: A Southern Show Choir Recap (Feb. 28)
- Mar 4
- 5 min read
If every weekend seems to be unexpected and chaotic, then can it truly be mayhem? Is it still chaotic if it’s expected? The jury is still out on that one. What can be definitively said is that this last weekend has been just another of many chaos-filled sets of results this season. Between the biggest event of the year and two other must-see results, so many things all went down in the South this last weekend!
Auburn Show Choir Showdown
PHOTO: HomeRoom and The Warm-Up Room emcee and broadcast at Auburn | @showchoirshowdown
Oddly enough, the biggest competition of the weekend might be the least talked about after everything shook down (despite there absolutely still be things to take away from it). The favorite in Homewood came away with a complete sweep after finals. While Oak Mountain was in 1RU as most predicted, the first point of interest comes with Grenada earning the 2RU placement. Given their rough start to the year on paper, it was good to see Grenada start to show shades of what they can be and start building momentum for the second half of their year with this placement. Spain Park and Briarwood earned 3RU and 4RU, respectively, which means (and this is the biggest takeaway) Petal did not make finals at this event despite many people having them in their predicted top three groups. It was the first time Soundsations missed finals at a regional event since the Homewood South Central Classic in 2013 (Clinton, Jackson Prep, Madison Central, South Jones and Oak Grove were the top five that day).
As for the other tiers (minus single-gender), everything turned out as about expected. In middle division, Homewood came away with the win. Albertville, Helena, and Pike Road followed Homewood’s placement in that order. Small division results were fairly similar, with Oxford coming away with a division sweep. Chelsea and Opelika followed Oxford’s placement in that order. The single-gender division offered a tighter contest. However, Oak Mountain’s girls group came away with the divisional win at the end of the day, followed by Homewood’s and Petal’s womens ensembles, respectively. Final results are posted below (Five finalists):
GC) Homewood “The Network”
1RU) Oak Mountain “Singers”
2RU) Grenada “Visions”
3RU) Spain Park “Rhapsody In Blue”
4RU) Briarwood "Radica"
1st in Large) Homewood “The Network”
1st in Middle) Homewood “Continuum”
1st in Small) Oxford “Sound”
1st in Single-Gender) Oak Mountain “The Muses”
Oak Grove Magnolia Invitational
PHOTO: West Jones with their second big win of the year at Oak Grove | Erika Wilson
While most eyes were on Auburn this weekend, the loudest statement came from the Oak Grove Magnolia Invitational. It was here that West Jones upset Brandon to win the Grand Championship title, as well as the Best Choreography and the Best Show Design captions. This marks West Jones' third and final Grand Championship on the season out of four competitions, with wins over programs such as Homewood, Brandon, Auburn, and Spain Park. Brandon finished this event with a 1RU placement and the Best Vocals caption. The rest of the top five groups was rounded out by Northwest Rankin, Biloxi, and Biloxi Sound Sirens in the 2RU, 3RU, and 4RU spots respectively.
In the lower tiers, South Jones finished their season with another win in the 2A division (now with four total). This marks their first divisional undefeated season since moving to the Middle Mixed/2A tier. West Marion once again won the 1A division, with Clinton Christian Academy extremely close behind and Pisgah in third. This marks West Marion’s seventh divisional win in a row, with one competition left to go in the season. In the single-gender division, Biloxi’s girls group made a statement and won the division against the likes of Northwest Rankin and Brandon’s groups in that order. Biloxi's men also won their division against Northwest Rankin. Final results are posted below (No finals):
GC) West Jones “Imagination” (BC/Show Design)
1RU) Brandon “Brio” (BV)
2RU) Northwest Rankin “The Ambassadors”
3RU) Biloxi “Sound Surge”
4RU) Biloxi “Sound Sirens”
1st in 4A) Brandon “Brio”
1st in 3A) West Jones “Imagination”
1st in 2A) South Jones “Company”
1st in 1A) West Marion “New Era”
1st in Womens) Biloxi “Sound Sirens”
1st in Mens) Biloxi “Sound Sailors”
Donelson Christian Academy Music City Show Choir Invitational
PHOTO: Enterprise sweeps at the Music City Show Choir Invitational | Enterprise High School
Out on the Southskirts, Enterprise won not only their first divisional win of the year, they also earned the title of Grand Champion. This marks their first overall Grand Champion title and divisional win since 2021. Bradley Central finished as 1RU behind Enterprise, being the lone group in the large division. In the small division, Rome topped Zamar to stay undefeated in their division this year so far. Final results are posted below (No finals):
GC) Enterprise “Encores”
1RU) Bradley Central “Vocal Motion”
2RU) Appling County “Applause”
Only Group in Large) Bradley Central “Vocal Motion”
1st in Middle) Enterprise “Encores”
1st in Small) Rome “Grand Finale”
Only Group in Womens) North Paulding “EnChorus”
Travelers (Kinda)!
While Tennessee is still considered part of the Southern circuit and certainly isn’t far from this next group, national events such as Heart Of America, FAME, and Show Choir Nationals aren't really regarded as Southern competitions due to their hosts (not host groups per se) being non-regional. However, Tupelo took a relatively short drive to Nashville this last weekend to compete at HOA Nashville. There, they not only won the Best Vocals caption, but Tupelo ended up beating mixed groups like Jenks, Hastings, and Edgewood (the Ohio one) to earn their second Grand Championship of the season! A huge congratulations to the ladies up there in Tupelo!
Looking Forward
With another round of Southern show choir left to memories, disposable cameras, and vlogs, it’s time to look forward to the third weekend of the season. Here’s a brief look below at some of the upcoming competitions (and featured groups) this next weekend.
Biloxi Gulf Coast Classic (Biloxi, MS)
- Tupelo “Synergy”
- Grenada “Visions”
- Sauk Prairie “Executive Session”
- Northwest Rankin “The Ambassadors”
- Northeast Jones “Gold Horizons”
- West Marion “New Era”
Jasper Foothills Show Choir Classic (Jasper, AL)
- Oak Mountain “Singers”
- Briarwood “Radica”
- Hamilton “The Legacy”
- Oak Mountain “The Muses”
- Albertville "CenterStage!"
Tift County Peach State Invitational (Tifton, GA)
- Oxford “Sound”
- Rome “Grand Finale”
- Chelsea “Out Of The Blue”
- Opelika “Ovations”
- Lowndes County “Viking Cantors”
Glenwood The EVENT (Glenwood, IL)
- Clinton “Attaché”
Cosby Titan Tournament of Choirs (Cosby, VA)
- Petal “Soundsations”
- Petal “Innovations”
Fairfield Crystal Classic (Fairfield, OH)
- Brandon "Brio"
Burbank Blast! (Burbank, CA)
- Prattville “Spotlight”
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