Mississippi Contest, Albertville, Tallassee Comprise Jan. 31 Southern Show Choir Action

By Tony Holeman, Southern contributor

The Southern show choir circuit will get back on track this weekend with three competitions spread across the region, so buckle up and dive in to what each of these events will bring to the table.

Mississippi Show Choir Contest

Starting off with the lone competition in Mississippi this weekend, the Mississippi Show Choir Contest offers a rematch of arguably the biggest upset last season in the Southern show choir circuit: Brandon against West Jones. Imagination pulled off a split-caption decision over Brio at South Jones on Feb. 1, 2025. While Brandon would later go on to get their revenge against West Jones last season, it would be wise to say that the taste of that loss doesn’t still linger in Brandon’s mind, especially given that it too was early season. Brandon, the only 4A group at this event, will have a chance to put that behind them for good if they can reach the top step of the podium.

Northeast Jones and Oak Grove will be joining West Jones in the 3A division, looking to play spoiler against the two favorites while fending off the Brandon Bellas for overall placements. The 2A division is right behind them, with three groups making their season debut in Jackson Prep, Sumrall, and Pearl River Central. The 1A division follows, which has a rematch from last weekend of the extremely close bout between West Marion and Pass Christian, with Columbia Academy and Wayne County looking to play spoiler. Womens groups from Pearl River Central and Purvis will be joining Brandon in that division. Predicting these early season competitions are never truly easy nor completely thorough, but somebody should probably do them.

Mississippi Show Choir Contest Predictions (No finals)

Predictions represent the opinion of this contributor and not of HomeRoom Show Choir. 

GC) Brandon “Brio” (Sweep)

1RU) West Jones “Imagination”

2RU) Brandon “Bellas”

3RU) Northeast Jones “Gold Horizons”

4RU) Oak Grove “Center Stage”

Only group in 4A) Brandon “Brio”

1^st in 3A) West Jones “Imagination”

1^st in 2A) Sumrall “Legacy”

1^st in 1A) West Marion “New Era”

Albertville Diamond Classic

One of two competitions in the state of Alabama this weekend, the Albertville Diamond Classic opens up with Auburn as the heavy favorite to be the Grand Champion. They are accompanied only by Donelson Christian Academy in the large division, but will face much tougher competition in the single-gender division with their two squads against the likes of Homewood Nexus. The middle division is anything but mid, as Homewood is bringing their middle mixed group, Continuum, to compete against red-hot groups like Hoover and Vestavia Hills while fending off underdogs in Jasper and Cleveland, so be sure to keep an eye out on how this tier sorts itself out. The small division seems fairly straightforward, with Rome opening as favorites against the likes of Boaz, who returns to competition for the first time since 2024.

Albertville Diamond Classic Predictions (No finals)

Predictions represent the opinion of this contributor and not of HomeRoom Show Choir. 

GC) Auburn “Varsity Singers” (Sweep)

1RU) Homewood “Continuum”

2RU) Homewood “Nexus”

3RU) Hoover “Paradigm”

4RU) Vestavia Hills “Singers”

1^st in Large) Auburn “Varsity Singers”

1^st in Middle) Homewood “Continuum”

1st in Small) Rome “Grand Finale”

1^st in Single-Gender) Homewood “Nexus”

Tallassee River City Classic

Rounding out the weekend competitions, the Tallassee River City Classic may not seem like a eye-grabber on the surface. However, the further one looks into this competition, the more truly open it is. Opelika is the only attending large division group, and it has been a decade since their last Grand Championship title. If this trend continues, it leaves the door open for what looks like a Tift County versus Enterprise battle for the top spot, and these groups just placed 1RU and 2RU respectively at their competition against one another last weekend (where they each won their own separate caption as well).

Aside from how close those three groups will be competing for the Grand Champion title, there are not only other groups looking to upset them from the rest of middle division, Appling County and Pike Road, but also the heavy small division favorite Oxford debuting their show at this event. Having beaten Opelika last year and taking down numerous middle mixed groups in the last few seasons, they’ve shown the capability to punch above their weight as a small mixed ensemble. This competition is truly wide-open. Whoever the Grand Champion ends up being will give answers to some questions and perhaps raise some others moving forward. The previously mentioned small division will be rounded out by Lakeside, Pike Road, Chelsea, and a second group Opelika after their womens group Impressions did not return for 2026. The single-gender division also gives us a direct matchup between the womens groups of Tift County and Enterprise.

Albertville Diamond Classic Predictions (No finals)

Predictions represent the opinion of this contributor and not of HomeRoom Show Choir. 

GC) Tift County “8^th Street Singing Company” (BV/Show Design)

1RU) Enterprise “Encores”

2RU) Tift County “Ladies Choice”

3RU) Opelika “Ovations”

4RU) Appling County “Applause”

1^st in Large) Opelika “Ovations” (Non-competitive)

1^st in Middle) Tift County “8^th Street Singing Company”

1^st in Small) Oxford “Sound”

1^st in Womens) Tift County “Ladies Choice”

With all of these groups competing, it is bound to bring some exciting results, whether they be in line with expectations beforehand or something entirely different and surprising. Good luck to all the groups!