The show choir season is officially in full swing, with 17 competitions this weekend! Comps of the Week is back with previews of the top four in the country, which hopefully won’t get snowed out!
Johnston Showzam
The Lineup (all groups from Iowa unless noted)
4A: Cedar Rapids Kennedy “Happiness, Inc.”, Norris “Gold” (NE), Norwalk “Sound Revolution”, Prairie “The Ambassadors”, Urbandale “Studio”, Waukee Northwest “Eos”
3A: North Polk “Nexus”
Womens: Norris “Titanaires” (NE), Urbandale “Affinity”
Prep: Cedar Rapids Kennedy “Protégé”, Norris “68th Street Singers” (NE), Norwalk “Sound Adrenaline”, Prairie “Focal Point”, Urbandale “Vitality”, Waukee Northwest “Aurora”
Advanced Middle: Des Moines Christian “Joy Collective”, North Polk “Revolution”, Northview “Ignition”, Norwalk “Sound Sensation”, Southeast Polk “Sudden Impulse”, Southview “Dynamite”, Urbandale “Pizzazz”, Waukee Prairieview “Revolution”, Westside “Westside Connection”
Prep Middle: Urbandale “Ambition”, Waukee “Momentum”
Johnston is just one of those vaunted Iowa competitions where everybody there is a regional power, brings multiple groups, and is dangerous. (North Polk, we see you hanging out there in 3A too.) A week after the nation was robbed of an Urbandale-Ankeny Centennial showdown, they now get to see a tantamount Urbandale-Waukee Northwest matchup. Who comes out on top? That’s anybody’s guess. Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Prairie could both play spoiler, but they also both have to worry about each other to keep hold on a top three spot. Behind them, Norwalk and Norris should be a good competition for fifth place as well. The prep division will be a hotly contested one as well, with stalwarts Aurora, Vitality and Focal Point all going for the division title.
Millard West Music Lives
The Lineup (all groups from Nebraska)
Mixed: Bellevue East “Take II”, Grand Island Northwest “14 Karat Gold”, Gretna “Revolution”, Lincoln Northeast “Voices ‘N Harmony”, Millard North “Infinity”, Papillion-La Vista South “Titanium”, Westside “Amazing Technicolor Show Choir”
Womens: Mercy “Treblemakers”, Millard North “Illumination”, Papillion-La Vista South “Titan Radiance”, Westside “Simply Irresistible”
Prep: Grand Island Northwest “Bella Voce”, Gretna “Evolution”, Lincoln Northeast “Dynamix”, Millard North “Intensity”, Papillion-La Vista South “Titan Express”, Westside “Warrior Connection”
Advanced Middle: Beadle “Show Dogs”, Elkhorn Grandview “Grand Marquee”, La Vista “Nobility”, Logan Fontenelle “Perfect Harmony”, Millard North “Stampede”, Russell “Leaders of the Pack”
Prep Middle: Beadle “Encore”, Millard North “Cavallo”, Russell “Subwoofers”
The big-ticket marquee matchup at the top is the first of hopefully multiple matchups between Westside and Papio South this year. The two schools went back-and-forth last year, with Titanium coming out ahead at Omaha South in February and ATSC taking home the win at Lewis Central in March. A little lower down the lineup, Gretna and Millard North will fight for the final podium spot. That’s a fight that might include Grand Island Northwest, who hasn’t placed lower than second after the pandemic but has mostly competed at small competitions. This is their first Music Lives appearance since 2020, where they did not make finals. 14 Karat Gold should be comfortably in the evening round this year. As for the six? That’s a massive toss-up in between a growing Lincoln Northeast program, Westside’s girls, Papio South’s prep group and anybody else who may want it.
Pleasant Hill Battle of the Best
The Lineup (all groups from Missouri unless noted)
6A: Blue Valley “BV Singers” (KS)
5A: Battle “Battalion”, Grain Valley “Exclamation!”, Neosho “Choraleers”, Oak Park “Oak Street Singers”, Platte County “Sound Express”, Smith-Cotton “New Score Singers”
4A: Chillicothe “Choraliers”, Harrisonville “Music Makers”, Warrensburg “Soundwave”
3A: Oak Grove “Impact”
2A: Carrollton “Ninth Street Singers”, Cole Camp “Encore”, Sherwood “Dynamix”
Womens: Harrisonville “Forefront”, Neosho “Sugar & Spice”, Oak Grove “Radiance”, Oak Park “Treble FX”, Platte County “Sound Elegance”, Warrensburg “Prism”
Mens: Neosho “Phenomenon”, Platte County “Sound Explosion”
Prep: Blue Valley “Classic Blend”
The Battle of the Best is truly living up to its name this year! While some of the southwestern Missouri top dogs are taking the stage at Mt. Vernon this weekend, most of the Kansas City-area power players are here. Neosho looks to take two wins in a row following their triumph at Blue Valley last week, while Battle, Blue Valley, Platte County and Oak Park are also looking to transfer from one of the top mixed divisions into finals. The sixth finalist spot is totally up in the air – Smith-Cotton would be the next group up in 5A, but Harrisonville and Warrensburg have made noise in the past from 4A. Shoutouts also go to Chillicothe, making their first competition appearance since 2018, and Platte County Sound Explosion, the first time the school has trotted out a mens group.
Wildcard: UNL Midwest Cup
This year, you get to vote on the final comp of the week! UNL won both our X poll and our Instagram poll earlier this week.
The Lineup (all groups from Nebraska unless noted)
AA: Lincoln East “Express”, Lincoln Southwest “Resonance”, Millard Southwest “South on Stage”, Wheaton Warrenville South “The Classics” (IL)
A: Central City “Vocal Eclipse”, Lincoln Northwest “First Class”, Platteview “Platinum”
B: Fullerton “8th and Broadway”
Womens: Lincoln East “Elegance”, Millard South “Stage One”, Skutt Catholic “Allegro”, Wheaton Warrenville South “Esprit” (IL)
Prep: Lincoln East “Elevation”, Lincoln East “Ambience”
UNL has a smaller field size and is missing Johnston from last year, but gaining Wheaton Warrenville South almost makes up for it. The Classics should be in a similar place this year to where Innovation was last year – at the top of the charts. The real battle will be for second place. Lincoln East has been the better of the two after the pandemic, but Southwest has always been close. Is this the year it flips? Both schools are coming off sweeps last week. Millard South will probably be on an island in fourth – good but not great compared to the rest of the programs. Wheaton Warrenville South Esprit, regarded as a top-ten womens group in the country, may challenge South on Stage for that. Elegance is the historical choice for a finals spot as well, as they’ve made Midwest Cup finals the past two years. Of the smaller mixed groups, nobody jumps off the page. Central City has been a solid small-school program for years, Lincoln Northwest and Platteview are building programs, and Fullerton is making its competition debut.
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