‘We sing covers of songs, but we do it without any
instruments. It's all from our mouths!’
For those of you who have seen the American all-singing hit film
‘Pitch Perfect’, which was released last year, you will have a clear insight as
to what I’ve been up to over the past week. For those who haven’t yet watched
this funny take on ‘Bring it On’ where the cheerleaders have been swapped for a
cappella singers, you’re missing out.
Just like in the film, last week USC held a student
organisation fair (very similar to every fresher’s fair that takes place at the
beginning of the academic year in the UK) where you could sign up to everything
from the Feminist Society to the Sky Diving Club. Obviously I signed up to the ‘Gamecock
Swimming Club’ but something way more interesting caught my eye; organised nerd
singing! That’s right everyone, a cappella groups here are huge. There are
three different groups on campus; the mixed group called ‘Cockappella’, the all-boys
group named ‘The Carolina Gentlemen’ and the all-girls group called ‘The
Cocktails’. The thought of being a part of a real American a cappella group
made me very excited, so I rushed to sign up for auditions, only to be greeted
by South Carolina’s very own Anna Camp informing me of the rigorous audition
process required to actually get in, including; sight reading, pitch matching,
blending exercises and numerous solos. Yikes! With the mention of sight reading
I felt like I had taken a step back to over three and half years ago when I took
my ABRSM Grade 8 Singing exam. But I was determined to at least give it a try.
Since my first solo in Primary school dressed up as a
Pyramid in a show about Egyptians I have loved singing and performing. I went
on to take all my singing grades throughout Secondary school, performing in the
school choir and tons of music concerts. There’s something about standing under
a stage light in front of a huge audience which gives me such a buzz! I’ve
performed in musicals ranging from ‘Guys and Dolls’ to ‘Little Shop of Horrors’
and most recently ‘RENT’. So this a cappella thing should be easy enough right?
Wrong! This is America. Everyone here is an upcoming singer or a musician.
My first audition was for the ‘Cockappella’s’ and I thought
it went relatively well. I didn’t choke on my song, I was friendly and hoped
that being British would make me stand out. However, no such luck. With over eighty
students auditioning for five places I didn’t even get to the second round. I
took this with a pinch of salt and came to the conclusion that as a mixed group
they were probably looking for more boys to balance out all the girls they
already had. I still had my audition for the female group ‘The Cocktails’, so
hope was not lost yet. I first saw ‘The Cocktails’ perform at the new student
convocation ceremony and knew that I wanted to be a part of this student-founded,
student-organised and student-led group of dedicated musicians. At the interest
meeting I was presented with fourteen pristine looking sorority girls who sang ‘Titanium’,
I couldn’t quite work out whether these girls were super intimidating and it
was basically a popularity contest to get in or whether I actually stood a
chance. My audition went surprisingly well, I sang ‘I wish I was a punk rocker’
by Sandi Thom (thanks to some advice from my musical twin Cara McPherson) and I
managed to get a call-back. Obviously my reaction was ‘A-ca-scuse me?
A-ca-believe it!’ Out of the eighty plus girls who auditioned I was one of
fifteen to be asked to come back! We were sent sheet music to read and I was
asked to learn the Soprano part to Lady Gaga’s ‘Poker Face’, along with all
sorts of other exercises used to test us. But sadly I didn’t quite make the
cut. I guess I’ll put it down to nerves, my solo didn’t go well and the sight
reading was horrific! So while I’m pleased they liked me enough to ask me back
for a second audition, I am a little disappointed. I suppose I’m just not enough
like Brittany Snow!
Here’s what I’m missing out on……
