With the 2024 southern show choir season having been wrapped up for a few 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. This set of placements reflects that of the small mixed division.
1st) Oxford “Sound” (7 first-place votes)
(Oxford High School Choirs)
The undisputed number one in the southern small division circuit, Oxford finishes its second consecutive undefeated season with four top placements in its respective division. They also just barely missed out on finals at the Northeast Jones Classic, falling only a handful of points short behind Madison Central (an extra-large group) for the last spot. Oxford ends the season on a streak of 11 straight top division placements, tying Pisgah’s streak from 2017-2019 for the longest in southern small division history.
2nd) West Marion “New Era”
(West Marion “New Era” Show Choir)
West Marion finished the season with five top division placements in six competitions, including a third overall placement at the Oak Grove Magnolia Invitational and a fifth overall placement at the South Jones Invitational. Their lone blemish was early on the in the season at the Mississippi Show Choir Contest, where at they fell out of the top three placements. With this season completed, West Marion has now won their respective division in 12 of their last 14 competitions.
3rd) Pisgah “Innergy”
(Tony Holeman)
Pisgah finishes the season with three top division placements in six competitions, with the other three results being a divisional runner-up placement. Their three wins this season tops the total amount from the three previous seasons combined, indicating that the longtime small division blue-blood Pisgah is back on track (no pun intended) and progressing in the right direction as they move on to next year.
4th) Wayne County “Orange Sensations”
Wayne County cut back on its monstrous competition schedule this year, only attending six contests. Orange Sensations looked very strong at points, finishing second in division at South Jones and at the Mississppi Show Choir Contest and fourth overall at Oak Grove. While a fifth in division at Biloxi wasn't the way they probably wanted to end the season, Wayne County remained a consistent threat in small mixed this year.
5th) Laurel “Showstoppers”
Laurel was everywhere this year. Showstoppers were a solid second in division at West Jones, beating Wayne County and Clinton Christian. They were also out of the placings entirely at Petal. Laurel swapped around throughout the season with several groups around them in the rankings, competing on six straight weekend.
6th) Clinton Christian Academy “Extreme”
Taking out the weekends of February 10 and February 17, Extreme was a very capable small mixed group. However, they were sixth in division at Northeast Jones and out of the placings at West Jones. The Cindi Nix-led group counts a pair of runner-up finishes in small mixed as highlights of the year.
7th) Prattville “Spotlight”
Prattville presents a very interesting case. Director Patrick McCormick moved the group down from middle mixed to small mixed this year, but didn't always compete there. In small mixed, Prattville registered a first, second and fourth. Outside of small mixed? Prattville did not make finals while competing at Keller Central in Texas but attended the FAME Finals in Branson and was third overall.
8th) Tarpon Springs “Syndicated Sound”
With a first-year director in Gabriella Santos at the helm, it was anyone's guess how Florida's best show choir would be this year. The answer? Pretty good. Syndicated Sound recorded runner-up finishes in both of its outings this year, beating Helena, Tallassee and Eufala at Enterprise and Rome. Fitzgerald and North Paulding at Tift County.
9th) Sylacauga “Signature”
Sylacauga had perhaps one of the quietest two-win seasons ever this year. Signature competed each of the four Saturdays in February, running in the thick of Alabama's competition season. Wins with multiple captions at Enterprise and Homewood were capstone moments of the season for Signature.
10th) Helena “High Frequency”
The group formerly known as Spotlight was a flash in the show choir scene this season, competing on January 27 and February 3. They were second at Tallassee to Oxford, beating Chelsea and Pell City. At Enterprise, they were third, beating Tallassee and Eufala.
11th) Chelsea “Out Of The Blue”
While it wasn't a three-win season like 2020, Out of the Blue still racked up some solid awards this year. The group was second at Albertville in early February, beating Boaz and Cleveland. Third-place finishes at Tallassee and Opelika were also highlights.
12th) Tallassee “Voltage”
Once again under the steady direction of Michael Bird, Tallasee's mixed group remained in existence for another year, its fourth consecutive. Voltage was fourth in division at both Enterprise and Opelika before improving to third at Auburn.
13th) Pell City “Showstoppers”
Showstoppers debuted as early as they could in 2024, performing at the Alabama Contempo Choral Festival on January 13 and competing at Tallassee on Janaury 27. To their record this year, Pell City notched third-place finishes at both Jasper and Homewood and a fourt-place finish at Tallassee.
14th) Fitzgerald “Encore Unlimited”
Georgia's lone representative on this list clocks in at #14. The group swept a super-small division at Tallassee, beating Eufala. They also competed at Opelika and Tift County, placing fifth and fourth in division.
15th) Purvis “Pizzaz”
Isn't it crazy that Purvis is the sixth Mississippi group on the list, but the other five run second through sixth? Pizzaz demonstrated a marked improvement this year, coming in just outside the top three in a deep division at the Mississippi Show Choir Contest and placing fifth in a smilarly tough division at Northeast Jones. Along the way, they beat groups like West Marion and Clinton Christian.
Receiving Votes: Columbia Academy "Premiers", Morton "One A'Chord", Pass Christian "Luminary", DeKalb "HighLeit", Cleveland "Renaissance", Eufala "Vibe", Warren Central "Total Sound", Boaz "Elite"
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