From the east coast to middle America to the west coast, champions of all kinds were crowned on Friday and Saturday!
FAME National Show Choir Finals
The Results
1st: Tomah “Limited Edition” (BV/BB)
2nd: Sparta “Upstage Adrenaline” (BC)
3rd: Prattville “Spotlight”
4th: Nevada “Soundsational Singers”
While the merits of a national championship in an event where there are only four choirs is entirely debatable, Tomah still walks away with that gigantic cup that FAME always awards and a host of captions along with it, including a soloist award for Kami Murray as well. Their four-win season has solidly put them on the regional and national map. Sparta, like Tomah, is another group that debuted for the season on January 6 and is just wrapping up its season now. Upstage Adrenaline took home a solid runner-up finish and is only looking forward following its second year in the varsity mixed division. While Tomah was announced as the winner of the Best Choreography caption, Sparta was declared the winner in that category following a review. Prattville, a small mixed choir, showed that they can run with the bigger names, finishing right behind the Wisconsin duo and outpacing Nevada in the process. In the womens division, Sparta Rise of Adrenaline took home vocals, choreo and the win over Nevada Treble Effects.
Jenks Trochella
Final Results
GC: Broken Arrow “Tiger Rhythm” (BV/BC/BB)
1RU: Joplin “Sound Dimension”
2RU: Carthage “Soundwave”
3RU: Joplin “Touch of Class”
4RU: Broken Arrow “Tiger Mystique”
5RU: Broken Arrow “Tiger Momentum”
Another year of Jenks hosting a comp, another year of two programs dominating the finals field. Broken Arrow put three groups in finals, similar to what Pleasant Hill did last year at this competition. Tiger Rhythm continues to make Tulsa its playground, giving its toy box-themed show one last ride. After an up-and-down year, Joplin ended the year on an up. It was Sound Dimension’s third second-place finish of the season. Its girls group, Touch of Class, rounded out a season in which it made finals at all five competitions it attended. Carthage was the lone school to only qualify one group into finals, and it resulted in Soundwave’s third third-place finish of the year. Missouri bookended the prep division, with El Dorado Springs taking the win and Cabool in fourth. In between were Mustang and Ferris.
John Burroughs Music Showcase
The Results
Advanced Mixed 1: 1st) Los Alamitos “Sound FX” (Music/Show), 2nd) Burbank “In Sync”
Advanced Mixed 2: 1st) Chaparral “Platinum FX” (Music/Show), 2nd) Bonita Vista “The Music Machine”, 3rd) Helix “HD”
Intermediate Mixed: 1st) Oceanside “Soundwaves” (Show), 2nd) Los Alamitos “Connexion”, 3rd) Carlsbad “Sound Express” (Music)
Advanced Womens: 1st) Los Alamitos “Soundtrax” (Music/Show), 2nd) Burbank “Blue Impressions”
Intermediate Womens: 1st) Los Alamitos “Xquisite” (Music/Show), 2nd) Bonita Vista “Sound Unlimited”, 3rd) Oceanside “High Seas”
Sound FX picked up its first win of the year and both captions over Burbank. Both groups were coming off breaks of over a month, with each of the two groups last competing on March 9. They will see each other again this weekend. Chaparral blew the roof off the lower advanced division, picking up their first division win outside of Brea Olinda in memory. Platinum FX will also be at Oceanside this weekend. Speaking of that program, Soundwaves took home a huge win in intermediate mixed, upsetting Los Al Connexion. The group has been a force in intermediate mixed following the pandemic, and added a womens group to the program this year. Los Alamitos continued to take wins down the board, winning all three womens divisions and the mens division. Saugus pulled out a big win in novice mixed, placing over the previously-undefeated Esperanza. It’s the second division win this year for Blue Heat.
North Carolina State Show Choir Finals
The Results
1st: Voyager “Bull City Lights”
2nd: Hough “Howlin’ Huskies”
3rd: South Granville “Shades of Blue”
4th: Lake Norman “Showformance”
5th: South Granville “Chord on Blues”
6th: West Brunswick “Harmony in Motion”
Did anybody really expect anything different? Voyager Academy maintained its grip on the North Carolina state championship for another year with its triumph on Saturday. Despite being on its fourth director in four years, Bull City Lights just keeps chugging along and taking Ws. Hough in second, while still expected, is good to see. The group had a rough go of it in the out-of-state season this year, and a runner-up showing ensures that they are still in the right place to succeed. South Granville moved up onto the podium in only its second year of competition as that program continues to make waves. Lake Norman is one of the last North Carolina show choirs that doesn’t compete out-of-state, and while they have always been at or near the top of that class of choirs, it was only good for fourth place this year. Rounding out the field was South Granville’s womens group and West Brunswick, returning to states.
With a state champion, a national champion, and a pair of weekly champions crowned, it was quite the weekend of show choir. Most of these groups, save for a few in California, will now rest on their well-deserved laurels into the offseason.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect newly available information regarding scoring at the FAME National Finals.
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