@@facebook@@
NBC’s “Sing-Off” judges mostly praised Fairmont High School’s a capella group “Eleventh Hour,” but ultimately voted the youngest competitors off the show in their second go-round.
In her parting words lead singer Kendall Young noted, “We are so grateful. We have no regrets and we’re going to keep singing.”
After Eleventh Hour’s performance of Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are,” Nicole Scherzinger told Young, “You did a lovely job with the lead vocals. You can see how much it means to you and your passion for it.”
Singer-songwriter Ben Folds mentioned the group’s intricate and “very clever arrangements” but said he was disappointed the last chord wasn’t in tune.
Backstage, Young told the cameras, “I feel so drained because I feel like we left it all onstage.”
The early segments of the national competition were taped over the summer, but the final competition will be broadcast live with the audience being invited to vote for the group that will win $100,000 and a recording contract.
Fairmont celebrated Eleventh Hour’s national debut Monday night with a premiere viewing party in the high school auditorium. Brody McDonald, Fairmont’s director of choirs, credits choir booster president Neal Crabill with turning the evening into a red-carpet event for the young singers. He said Crabill came up with the idea of surprising the kids with a limo and forming a human tunnel to greet the performers as they arrived at the high school.
“We wanted to show how much we appreciated they worked hard to get where they are, and make it a big premiere night so they could be stars if only for a day,” Crabill explained.
Crabill’s nephew, Dale Howell volunteered to drive his limousine from Muncie, Ind., at no cost, and Howell literally rolled out the red carpet when the kids arrived at Fairmont.
It was hard to say who was more excited — the Eleventh Hour performers or the people cheering them on with the kind of reception usually only accorded to championship teams.
“It was inspired,” McDonald said. “The kids were overwhelmed by that kind of support, and humbled.”
Six of the seven “Sing-Off” competitors attended the Fairmont premiere. Only Young, a freshman at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. couldn’t be there, but she taped a message for the Kettering audience.
During Monday’s competition Schertzinger called Young a “little star” and Eleventh Hour was selected to advance.
“The judges were great,” McDonald said. “It was very positive for our kids. It was about the music, not about the drama of reality TV.”
For more information about Eleventh Hour, visit www.eleventhhouracappella.org
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2209 or mmccarty@DaytonDailyNews.com.
About the Author