Controversy and show choir: two topics that are anything but unfamiliar with one another. Whether it's an ongoing feud or tantalizing competition results, there always seems to be room for debate within the show choir community over numerous subjects. Additionally, the circuit has seen more than its fair share of controversial shows in good time. Whether it be the overall theme going too far, a certain questionable prop, or even a single scene/moment within a show, these sets have garnered their place as some of show choir’s most controversial shows ever.
Before diving into perhaps controversial takes and analysis about controversial shows, a couple points of context. Firstly, these selections were voted on by a group of individuals from different show choir regions across the country to accumulate a broader variety of both responses and viewpoints. Secondly, these shows and groups are not being featured as a way of showing hate or anger towards anyone, but rather as offering a take on a specific show that has been agreed upon as controversial by a group of people. The author does not claim that all controversial shows are bad, and expresses original opinions combined with thoughts from others about these shows. This may also serve as a history lesson for newer show choir observers who may not be aware of the significance of some of the below shows.
Honorable Mention: 2020 Carroll “Minstrel Magic” - Arabian Nights Theme/Appropriation (YouTube)
(Jill Jeran on YouTube)
It didn't make top five, but Carroll’s 2020 show earned an honorable mention spot due to their “Arabian Nights” theme. This is simply an example of cultural appropriation, which is usually a hot topic within the performing arts community. Between the costumes, set, song choice, and execution with character voices and accents, it has caught some flak amongst the show choir world during and after its run.
5. 2013 Burbank “In Sync” - Civil War Theme/Hanging a Confederate Flag (YouTube)
(Flickr)
This one is straightforward. As someone who has grown up in the South his entire life and witnessed this debate live plenty of times, displaying a Confederate flag in any scenario brings plenty of heated controversy. The performing arts are no exception to this rule, which brings us to this production, in which Burbank raised the infamous flag during their show. The flag did not appear at the beginning of the season, making a debut appearance at Burbank's pop show before showing up at Los Alamitos. It’s worth mentioning that while there are some (especially one specific set of judges from a competition that year) that take issue with also displaying the Confederate army and the Civil War on stage, Burbank did it in much better taste than others later down the list, which is why this show does not rank as high in terms of controversy.
4. 2022 Los Alamitos “Sound FX” - Megachurch Criticism/Disability Portrayal (YouTube)
(Matt Warfield on YouTube)
This show has attracted criticism and controversy for a couple of reasons (although their impressive resume from the 2022 competition year will show it did not affect their scores). First, there comes controversy from the idea of criticizing megachurches, churches, and religion in general. While a theme and topic that often involve such deep personal connections is justly understood to be held close to one’s chest, it is also worth remembering the theme was directly inspired by the movie “Leap of Faith”. This is to say the religious aspect came indirectly from the source material rather than the brains of Los Al, and they therefore should not catch the majority of heat from that side of criticism (although they did still choose to move forward with the movie as their main inspiration). The second source of controversy though comes with the show’s main character, a student portraying someone with a major motor disability. It did not sit well with some people that they had a student portray a disabled individual. However, this take varies person by person as much as the first take, so the two distinct controversies together land it at number four on our list.
3. 2013 Fairfield “Choraliers” - The Swing Kids/Holocaust Theme (YouTube)
This show is a case of creator versus audience. While Fairfield's director at the time, Jeff Clark, had good intentions for the show’s message through a depiction of The Swing Kids from 1940s Germany, it did not get taken well by most of the public. The show depicted an actual concentration camp where people were treated beyond cruel and inhumanely, suffering fates arguably worse than death. An interview with Productions Magazine also did not exactly help his case. Productions noted "though he [Clark] acknowledges the Prison Camp Scene was a ‘powerful image,’ what he believes to be far more powerful ‘was the fact that kids realize the situation and, instead of giving up, they decide to ‘Sing it for the World!'’” Taking something as dark and humanely immoral as the Holocaust and using an aspect of it for a high school show choir show, even for good reason, was not taken well by the general public, and landed the show at third on this list.
2. 2020 Chaparral “Platinum FX” - School Shooter Scene/Theme (YouTube)
(emjaez on YouTube)
While this show may not technically be a school shooter-themed show, using a scene with such will quickly garner it that name. Fortunately, the beginning and ends of the show aren’t as eyebrow-raising and head-scratching as the middle. With that being said, though, using such a serious topic as a climactic moment for a show choir show (one with actual high schoolers at that, the supposed target of such violent acts) just doesn’t sit right with the general audience, and with valid reason. A topic with that kind of gravity leaves a dark shadow over the rest of the show and isn’t quick to be forgotten. Context was not this show's friend either, as Saugus, another player in the southern California show choir circuit, was grieving its own school shooting that happened only a few months before this show debuted. All this combines to place this show at second on our list.
1. 2017 Carmel “Ambassadors” - 9/11 Theme (YouTube)
(@AmbassadorsCHS on X)
If voting was opened to the general public, this show probably still would have landed at the top of the list. When the topic of controversial shows comes up, this is usually the first one that comes to mind. It also didn’t help a few years ago when a certain TikTok was made about this show and then proceeded to go viral, reaching out much further than the show choir community itself. Ignoring the already questionable “9/11” theme, the song repertoire and set combination do not help this show’s reputation by any means. Arguably the biggest facepalm moment? It’s between performing “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light ‘Em Up)” by Fall Out Boy as footage from the Osama Bin Laden raid plays on a large screen in the background, a scene in the show where smoke blows over and the students run around on stage representing the towers collapsing, or the end of the show where multiple groups of students wear costumes from cultures from around the world and teeter on the brink of cultural appropriation while doing so. Yeah. It’s a lot. And it's more than enough for the panel, which voted it the most controversial show.
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