With the 2024 southern show choir season having been wrapped up for a couple of weekends, it is time for this year's final set of show choir rankings for the southern circuit. In true show choir fashion, two extra voters were added to the finals voting panel in order to include a more thorough set of results.
1st) Clinton "Attaché" (7 first-place votes)
Theme: "Things In The Attic"
(WJTV-Jackson)
Another undefeated season and another claim to the top spot in the southern show choir rankings for Clinton. With sweeps over groups such as Brandon, Grenada, Oak Mountain, and Westside, Clinton once again shows why they’re among the best of the best in the nation. This ranking should not surprise anyone. It's also more than worth mentioning that Clinton claimed their 100th overall Grand Championship this season.
2nd) Homewood “The Network”
Theme: "Party"
(Caleb Flores Productions)
Coming into this season, Homewood faced a major question mark: what would such a traditional group look like under new direction? Well, we got that questioned answered and more. Homewood came out this season swinging full force (despite an upset at their first competition of the season), winning over groups like Brandon, Grenada, and even out-of-state groups such as Loveland. We also got to see a stark new style of show choir from this group, with much more modern and southern-esque choreography than ever before. This is not your parents’ Homewood.
3rd) Grenada “Visions”
Theme: "Ugly Duckling"
(Wenger Corporation)
This year’s surprise group, Grenada entered the season as an honorable mention to the top ten ranked southern groups. Despite that, they finished the season with a first runner-up placement at Show Choir Nationals and two Grand Championships. With an entertaining show and energetic performances, Grenada posed a threat everywhere they went and reasserted themselves as a top southern group. They beat many other choirs this year including (but not limited to) Brandon, Oak Mountain, and Findlay. Long live the ugly duckling!
4th) Brandon “Brio”
Theme: "Decades of Toys"
(Brandon Show Choir Association)
While on the surface this season may seem like a step back for Brandon, that could not be further from the truth. Despite getting a mere two Grand Championships in six competitions, Brandon battled against some of the best groups in the nation, including Clinton, Homewood, and Carmel (the latter from whom they took a choreography caption from). They also still managed to beat groups such as Oak Mountain, Marysville, Wheaton North, and split their matchups against Grenada. Brandon isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
5th) Oak Mountain “Singers”
Theme: "Back to the Future"
(Show Choir Nationals)
Oak Mountain had another successful season despite still having to knock on the door of becoming one of the southern titans. They topped groups like Petal, Findlay, and Noblesville, all the while claiming a second runner-up placement at Show Choir Nationals and gaining two Grand Championships on the season. Their “Back to the Future” show was a threat at every competition they went to and Oak Mountain still sits as a very real threat to taking that next step forward.
6th) Auburn “Varsity Singers”
Theme: "Noah's Ark"
(Auburn Choral Company)
Auburn started off their season with a bang, sweeping the esteemed Homewood at their first competition of the season and also sweeping their second competition. However, the second half of their season didn’t finish as stellar, finishing second to Grenada at the inaugural King City Classic and third at the Andover New England Show Choir Classic to Cosby and Waltham. However, they still did claim two Grand Championships and beat groups like Homewood, Daniel Hand, and Jackson Academy. Not a bad season at all for the folks down at Auburn.
7th) Petal “Soundsations”
Theme: "Olympus"
(Shanna Luckett)
Petal had an up-and-down season this year with their show. They started off swapping preliminary and finals results with Oak Mountain and finishing as runner-up, and then proceeded to win two Grand Championships. Only one of those wins ended up being a sweep though, thanks to Keller Central’s vocals caption at the Biloxi Gulf Coast Classic. Petal then finished their season with another second, this time to North Central at the Marysville Showcase. They managed finished the season with two total Grand Championships and beat groups such as the aforementioned Keller Central as well as Carroll and Beavercreek.
8th) Northwest Rankin “The Ambassadors”
Theme: "America"
(Action Shots by Brooklyn)
Northwest Rankin poses an interesting case. While, like Oak Mountain, they did not take that next step forward this year, they also aren’t in that extra-large division with all other groups farther up on this list. It poses the question: is being the top choir in a post-split large division, which only occurs in Mississippi, grounds for becoming a top dog? That’s a question for another time, as Northwest Rankin still did well in their respective category, winning their division and making finals a few times. They beat groups such as Enterprise, Jackson Academy, and Jackson Prep.
9th) West Jones “Imagination”
Theme: "Death"
(@westjonesimagination)
West Jones had a season similar to that of Auburn, coming out the gate hot with two Grand Championships out the gate (not to mention the fact that they did this without being an extralarge group). They beat groups this season such as Northwest Rankin, Biloxi, and Jackson Prep. However, they finished their season with a respectable second to Brandon and then a fifth to a stacked competition list at the Petal Show Choir Invitational that featured groups like Clinton, Brandon, and Grenada. Nonetheless, two Grand Championships crowns a well-done season for West Jones.
10th) Enterprise “Encores”
Theme: "Sweet Destiny"
(Creative Xpressions by Dieon)
Enterprise’s season consisted of two fourth-place results and a single runner-up placement, all the while beating groups like West Jones, Jackson Prep, and Vestavia Hills. With no Grand Championships or divisional first placements though, their ranking was consequently affected. Enterprise looks to improve and take their next step this upcoming season.
11th) Jackson Academy “Encore”
Theme: "Supernova"
(Jackson Academy)
Jackson Academy was another group that started out their season with a bang, sweeping Brandon at the Jackson Prep Masters in their first competition of the season. The rest of the season wasn’t as starstruck though (no pun intended), as this was followed though with a third and second to the likes of Grenada (twice) and Auburn. They just barely missed out on finals at Show Choir Nationals, being roughly three points away from the threshold. However, Jackson Academy very well could be the surprise group of the south next year while still under the direction of Garrett Lindsey.
12th) Biloxi “Sound Surge”
Theme: "Mardi Gras"
(Created to Create Photography)
While the overall season may not have been what Biloxi was hoping for, they did manage a very important and special achievement for any show choir program regardless of status: Biloxi claimed their first ever Grand Championship, sweeping the Oak Grove Magnolia Invitational. With that win as their crown jewel of the season, Biloxi also finished out with two runner-up placements, a fourth, and a no placement. Biloxi will be seeking to build on their first Grand Championship this next season.
13th) Madison Central “Reveille”
Theme: "Camelot"
(Jag Singers of Madison Central High School)
Madison Central didn’t have the season they had hoped this year, lacking a Grand Championship placement and only finishing as high as third. To be fair though, this season followed a very unexpected and rapid director change. This could very well have been the reason for such results, but that leads to optimism for Madison Central’s next season.
14th) Jackson Prep “Reveillon”
Theme: "Fountain of Youth"
(Jackson Prep Performing Arts)
Jackson Prep was another group with an up-and-down season. They joined Northwest Rankin and West Jones as groups in the large division trying to fight above their class. Prep finished their season with a lone divisional first (albeit from their trip out west to the Burbank Blast competition in California) and a single finals appearance where they finished fifth.
15th) Tift County “Eighth Street Singing Company”
Theme: "Artificial Intelligence"
(Tift County Show Choirs)
Tift County, despite their lower placement, finished this season with a solid set of results. This includes a second (where they took the Best Vocals caption) and two third placings. It was also the final year for director Scott Rains, who founded the program after a tenure at Appling County. While the future may be unknown for ESSC, they still serve as the premier show choir in Georgia and should be carrying the banner in years to come.
Choirs that received votes: Oak Grove "Center Stage"
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