Street Corner Symphony for the Win -- The Sing Off, Season Two

Street Corner Symphony

From L to R: Jon McLemore, Adam Chance, Jeremy Lister, Mark McLemore, Richie Lister, John Martin

I swore that my voting days were over, but then I turned on NBC's The Sing Off and discovered Street Corner Symphony.  The sextet is comprised of two sets of brothers, lead singer Jeremy Lister and his brother, John Lennon lookalike Richie, Bald back up singer Jon McLemore and his much taller, more hirsute brother Mark, as well as two guys who were apparently added to the group at the last minute, Adam Chance and John Martin. 

According to newspaper reports, the brothers, who all went to high school together, auditioned for the Sing Off with two other men. After they were booked for the show, those two left and Mark scrambled to find replacements.  With Adam and John joining, the new group re-auditioned, made the cut again, and ended up on our TV screens on the debut episode singing Tears for Fears' Everybody Wants to Rule the World.



What they lack in choreography they more than make up for in their sweetly blended vocals.  They are the best kind of a cappella group -- they have a great sound, they sing with heart and they have fun while never forgetting it's the music that matters. 

Episode 2 they took on Train's Hey Soul Sister and again nailed the performance, making six voices sound like so much more.  They're the most radio-friendly of the groups participating and sound like a fully formed band.



On Episode 3 they blew us all away, topping their previous performances, with a stunning cover of Radiohead's Creep. Their lead singer, Jeremy, has a terrific voice can sing in a variety of genres.  I thought he was a country singer, but he nailed this alt rock classic. 



After that, they were charged with taking on a guilty pleasure.  Their choice was Come on Eileen by Dexy's Midnight Runners.  A silly little ditty, of course, but their rapid switches in tempo and style, and, once again, that perfect harmony sold the song. 



I have last night's performances in the previous blog post, so you can check out their take on the Beatles and CCR there. 

After reading up about the group, I discovered that five of the six are the sons of preachers and that they have, like Committed, a strong gospel background.  According to their blog, "Two of the members are grandsons of the legendary southern gospel tenor Bill Shaw of 'The Blackwood Brothers.'”   That meant nothing to me, but perhaps you are a gospel fan and this has given you an aha moment. 

To vote for Street Corney Symphony, dial 1-877-6-Sing-02 or Text "2" to 97979.  You can vote up to ten times per method and voting closes Sunday morning, so get your votes in now.

If you like what you heard, you can buy the MP3s right here: