By Chris Mendoza, Western contributor
The biggest competition in southern California to date this season, Burbank Blast offered several key takeaways for the western show choir scene going forward this season.
Two Titans Debut
Two members of the Big Three made their competition debuts, although Los Alamitos Sound FX was the only choir in its division and Burbank In Sync was an exhibition performance. It appears both choirs will be extremely competitive, with Los Al’s anti-social media algorithm message and Burbank's “The Truman Show” theme. These two choirs will see each other in competition at the John Burroughs Music Showcase on April 5.
Tier 2 Returns To Normal
Advanced Mixed 2 resulted in a split win for Glendora Royal Stewarts with Musicianship, followed by Hart Sound Vibrations with Showmanship, and Cypress High Voltage pulling up the rear. After the insane result at Esperanza Spectacular, things seem to have turned back to what could be considered the established order. Cypress has a few question marks about their viability in their new division, as they failed to take a caption from intermediate titans Pacifica Encore in a head-to-head matchup and did not beat Hart or Glendora. These electrifying singers will have a huge opportunity in two weeks at Los Alamitos Xtravaganza to prove themselves against division mainstays Bonita Vista and Brea Olinda.
Death, Taxes, and Hart Showmanship
Hart continued to prove their elite dancing skills at Burbank Blast, as they took the showmanship caption in three of their four competing divisions. This includes Advanced Mixed 2, Novice Mixed, Advanced Treble 2, and the most significant one in the Advanced Bass division over Los Alamitos Xtreme. These showmanship awards are no small feats, with one coming in the toughest division of the night and two coming against Los Alamitos choirs, who are nationally famous for their dancing skills. It is worth noting, though, that Hart did not win first place in any of their divisions, although they could certainly turn that around as they travel out of state for the first time in a long time at Valley Vista Monsoon Madness.
Fireworks In Intermediate Treble and Novice Mixed
Two of the larger divisions at Blast did not disappoint. Los Alamitos Axcent took home the win in intermediate treble, although not unscathed, as Saugus Blue Heat took home an impressive showmanship caption. Eisenhower Ike Singers steamrolled the competition in Novice Mixed as expected, and Los Altos LA Dynamix left with a nice second place.
Uh Oh, Oceanside!
Intermediate mixed yielded some surprising results, as Los Alamitos Connexion took home a sweep victory, MLK Legacy made out with second place, and perhaps the favorite to win the division, Oceanside Soundwaves, brought up the rear. Oside will surely bounce back at some point this season, but the red flag has been raised with this result. As for MLK, could this be the year the break into relevance in intermediate mixed competition? Only time will tell.