Greatest Hits: You should watch The Sing-Off

As my excitement for the upcoming season of The Sing-Off builds, I thought I should take a moment and count down my favorite performances from the last season of the show. For those of you who have been living under a rock somewhere far, far away from NBC, The Sing-Off is an a cappella singing reality competition. I'm inclined to call it the best singing competition on TV, even though it gets far less press or attention than its contemporaries.

There are two keys to the show's success.

1. The a cappella spin makes it impossible for performers to hide behind instrumentation, auto-tuning, or other production tricks. These vocalists have authentic musical talent. It shows.
2. The judging panel does not rely on celebrity or shock value, but rather gives authentic advice and criticism. Specifically, Ben Folds is the most intelligent judge I've ever seen on a reality competition show. (Of course, I'm near-devastated that the incomparable Sara Bareilles has been replaced by Jewel at the judges' table this season. But I'm withholding judgement on that for now. Kind of.)

So let's take a look back at some of the great performances from the last season of The Sing-Off, and hope that we get some more great ones in the coming season:


#5 - The Dartmouth Aires - "Pinball Wizard"

#4 -  Delilah - "Grenade"

#3 - Afro Blue - "American Boy"

#2 - The Dartmouth Aires - "Queen Medley"

#1 - Pentatonix - "Video Killed the Radio Star"

Pentatonix won the competition last season, for good reason. They've become quite a sensation since their victory. If you're on social media at all, you've probably seen their most recent video.

Did I convince you to watch? (Despite the cheesy lines they write for host Nick Lachey?) The Sing-Off returns to NBC on December 9th.