Who Will Be Show Choir's 500th Different Grand Champion Program?

By William Soquet, Editor-in-Chief

Throughout show choir’s half-century of competition, innumerable groups have competed and many groups have found success. At the end of every competition, one group is named the Grand Champion of finals, the sweepstakes/overall winner, or the winner of the highest division, reaching the pinnacle of competition for that day.

In recorded online history, 491 programs have logged at least one verified overall event win. Several groups joined the club in 2025, including Cathedral, Douglas S. Freeman, Donelson Christian, Fossil Ridge (the Texas one), Hoover, Horizon, Jefferson (the West Virginia one), Lake Forest Middle School, Lowell, North Royalton, and Timber Creek.

Disclaimer: Win totals are sourced from showchoir.com. Not every show choir competition is documented online, and as such, the number of different winners and win totals should be considered unofficial. To view a full spreadsheet of data, click here.

The community is now coming up on a big milestone – 500 different recorded overall event winners. It begs the question – who will that be? While new wins are often unexpected upsets, here are nine choirs (in alphabetical order) that have a path to the top step in the near future and potentially be the 500^th different Grand Champion program.

Andover “From Start to Finish” (Massachusetts) – Still a younger group in the grand scheme of things, Andover is entering its 14^th competitive season. Former Twin Lakes and Lowell director Evan Caverly is now at the helm of From Start to Finish, replacing Lauren Peithmann. In a sole season with Lowell in 2025, Caverly led Sound Impressions to its maiden large mixed win as a choir. Is a repeat in store at Andover? FSTF will see either Daniel Hand, Waltham, or Marysville at each of its competitions in 2026, but growth in the group plus the right lineup in the future is a magic recipe and could give New England its newest Grand Champion.

Bixby “Spartan Singsations” (Oklahoma) – Even the most seasoned of show choir observers may not be familiar with the name Bixby, and for good reason – Spartan Singsations has not taken the competition stage yet. Their inclusion on this list is not totally out of the blue, however. Bixby has a potent leadership team, as former Broken Arrow Sequoyah Middle School director Jace Caldwell is heading up the music and veteran choreographer James Mankle is handling the visuals. Additionally, in Bixby Middle School’s first season as a competitive group in 2025, they went toe-to-toe with Broken Arrow middle school programs. Should Spartan Singsations head to a midweek Oklahoma festival, such as Enid, Duncan, or Edmond Santa Fe, they have the potential to pull a shock win.

Dallas Center-Grimes “Momentum” (Iowa) – DCG was once so secure in its identity as a 3A choir that its competition only invited non-4A groups. After suburban development made it to the once-rural district, Momentum now finds itself as a 4A group with something to prove in an incredibly competitive Des Moines metro. Momentum has been close to winning before, taking prelim captions at Atlantic in 2024 before finishing second in finals. They sit in the driver’s seat of the confirmed entrants for the Bellevue East contest on Feb. 28, marking a potential opportunity to break through and join the club.

Fort Worth Southwest “Southwest Effect” (Texas) – Southwest Effect was oh-so-close to joining the winners’ club at the end of 2025, losing a split-caption decision to Timber Creek in what was the latter’s maiden win. Since then, both of the group’s directors, Aubrey Kistler and Leanna Noblett, have left for Keller Central. Taking their places are Justin Redmond and Kimberly McConnell. After the director change, Fort Worth Southwest is a complete wild card on this list – will the choir continue to grow under new leadership and challenge established powers for a win? Only time will tell.

Lawrence North “Legacy” (Indiana) – Lawrence North never enjoyed the show choir success of crosstown Lawrence Central, a 25-win program with wins in four different decades. Legacy has shown solid growth in the 2020s, taking a session win in a pandemic-impacted 2021 Lawrence Central Classic and placing everywhere from second to fifth in 2025. Legacy probably won’t be the favorite at any of the competitions they attend this season, but the group’s continued growth will likely play to its favor. LN scored a groundbreaking upset over Fishers last season for a finals berth at Lawrence Central, and there’s likely more where that came from. Replicated on a bigger scale, Lawrence North could find themselves grand champions in the not-too-distant future.

Marquette “Center Stage” (Missouri) – One of the few active groups remaining in the St. Louis metro, Center Stage has been overshadowed in national circles recently by fellow STL group Troy Buchanan Express. Marquette is a legitimate group in its own right, making finals at premier competitions like Troy and Glenwood and placing as high as second last season at Mt. Vernon. They will return to Mt. Vernon this season, but will need to defeat Webb City to take the title. However, the right Missouri competition with a wildcard field just might swing the way of Center Stage in the future.

New London “Vision” (Wisconsin) – Vision was on the verge of cracking its decade-long finals drought in 2020, but the group elevated to a different level entirely after Kevin Spindler took over during the pandemic. Now entering the fifth competition season under Spin, Vision is coming off of the best season in program history in 2025, notching five podium finishes in six appearances. The open road awaits in 2026, especially at a tossup De Pere competition that will feature four groups that were relatively equal in 2025 – New London, Neenah, Milton, and Monona Grove. Should Vision outlast the other three, they would take the first win in the program’s decades-long history.

Standing Bear “The Renegades” (Nebraska) – Lincoln’s newest high school waited until its second year of existence, 2025, to start competing. The Renegades impressed with their lemonade-themed show, making finals everywhere they went and picking up the Rookie of the Year Homie Award. As the school continues to pick up enrollment, drawing primarily from old Lincoln East neighborhoods, The Renegades are bound to get bigger and better. They are stepping up to the big-league competitions for most of their 2026 season, but as evidenced by fellow Nebraska newcomer Gretna East, it’s never too soon to pick up your first win.

Blair, Plattsmouth, or whoever wins the Skutt Showdown (Nebraska) - Of the 11 programs registered for the inaugural Skutt Catholic Show Choir Showdown on Jan. 24, only one - Bishop Neumann - has registered a win. The Scarlet Knights have two, both coming in the early 2020s. Of the groups on the entry list, Blair Ovation had the most consistent 2025 and finished the season fifth in HomeRoom's Nebraska small school rankings. Plattsmouth Out of the Blue has also performed well and may be in contention. A large school program such as Omaha North, Omaha Northwest, or Omaha Buena Vista could all take a first win as well.

Winner's Circle will document each week's competition winners, starting with the Jan. 10 competitions and running weekly until the end of the 2026 season.

Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect the Skutt Showdown lineup.