The ACB Viva La Vida Contest
By Mike Chin on Mar 27, 2009 in Featured, News
On February 20, we invited a cappella performers and fans to share their favorite collegiate a cappella versions of Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida.” The nominations are in, and, boy, are there some great versions of this song.
We present to you below eight finalists, posted in the order they were nominated for the contest. We are now looking for your votes to determine a contest winner. The winning version of the song will be featured in the last Tuesday Tubin’ of this publication season on May 26, and will be featured prominently on the site all the way until our 2010 season launches.
To vote, please visit our contact page and send in the number (1-8) of your pick. One vote per person, please. All votes must be received by Friday, April 10.
1. Ithaca College VoiceStream
2. Rochester Institute of Technology Eight Beat Measure
3. The Johns Hopkins University All-Nighters
4. The University of Michigan Dicks and Janes
5. University of Minnesota 7 Days
6. State Univeresity of New York at New Paltz Absolut A Cappella
7. The Harvard-Radcliffe Veritones
8. The Gettysburg College Four Scores
Update: Voting will close at 11:59 p.m., Friday, April 10, 2009. We will announce the results Friday morning, April 17, 2009.
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1. 7 Days a cappella
2. Dicks and Janes
3. eight Beat Measure
4. All Nighters
Anh | Mar 27, 2009 | Reply
they all did a good job but U of I’s xtension chords do an even better job at this song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da4e5YQHmeg
other than that i believe that Gettysburg college did the best here. i really liked how they added their own variation on the song opposed to some of the others
steve | Mar 28, 2009 | Reply
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5xP4DLnWTc
Trevor | Mar 29, 2009 | Reply
My favorite is Eight Beat Measure. I love their opening pose (it looks like it’s an homage to the “Viva La Vida” cover art). Gettysburg’s take is interesting for sure, but it’s a little too out there for me. I’m not a big fan of the soloist for the 7 Days version, she has a very “Duffy” quality to her voice that I don’t think suits the song well.
My top 3:
1. Eight Beat Measure
2. Dicks and Janes
3. Absolut A Cappella
Rick | Apr 6, 2009 | Reply
1.)Eight Beat Measure
2.)Dicks and Janes
3.)All Nighters
Mark | Apr 6, 2009 | Reply
Eight Beat Measure definitely performed the song the best! The choreography was also amazing!!
Charity | Apr 6, 2009 | Reply
1. voicestream
2. dicks and janes
3. all nighters.
Tyler | Apr 6, 2009 | Reply
1.) Eight Beat Measure
2.) Dick and Janes
3.) All Nighters
Dave | Apr 6, 2009 | Reply
1. Eight Beat Measure
2. Dicks and Janes
3. All nighters
kate | Apr 6, 2009 | Reply
1.) Eight Beat Measure - Great build-up, cool arrangement, and best choreography.
2.) Dicks and Janes - Looked great and there were some really pretty chords, but here and there I felt like it was lacking in middle tones.
3.) 7 Days A Cappella - I also didn’t like the style and soloist but I have to commend them for putting a unique spin on a song that has been getting old.
Ro | Apr 6, 2009 | Reply
I love 8 Beat Measure, they by far are my favorite.
but here is my top 3
1. Eight Beat Measure
2.Absolute A Cappella
3. All Nighters
Rich | Apr 6, 2009 | Reply
My favorite is definitely Eight Beat Measure’s rendition of Viva. I also love their opening tableau. They an excellent blend between all the parts, with the bass being able to be heard at all times throughout the song, and the higher parts remaining very light till the larger parts of the song. The arrangement takes some creative liberties, but not enough to distract the listener. Overall, a great performance.
I also enjoyed the renditions by The Dick and Janes, and Absolut A Cappella. The Dick and Janes I felt did not have enough mid-tones in their arrangement, that or the balance between parts was just very off. Absolut A Cappella’s soloist just didn’t seem to express enough genuine emotion throughout the song. I also did not like the arrangement during the bridge section of the song.
My Top 3:
1. Eight Beat Measure
2. Dick and Janes
3. Absolut A Cappella
Brad | Apr 6, 2009 | Reply
VoiceStream’s (#1) is the absolute best. Their arrangement is precise and full sounding. They captured all the best attributes of the song such as little things that you would miss if you only listened to the song once. I feel a lot of the other arrangements are just filled with chords and the oh so obvious “oh’s” that are in the original song anyway. I just felt like voicestream had the most creativity out of all of them. I also like the way they look like they’re having so much fun singing together. While most of the other groups had ‘cute’ choreography, voicestream felt the music; it was so genuine.
I also looked up more of their video’s on youtube, and they have such an awesome variety of music… everyone should check it out. Wow.
Sandra | Apr 6, 2009 | Reply
Eight Beat Measure definitely has hands down the best version of Viva La Vida on this list. I agree that the beginning pose of the album art was a nice touch as well.
My Top 3:
1. eight beat measure
2. 7 days
3. dick and janes
Nick | Apr 6, 2009 | Reply
1. 7 Days
2. Harvard
3. Voicestream
Jeanne | Apr 6, 2009 | Reply
8 Beat Measure has a sound that pays homage to the original while at the same time making it their own. The hard vowel sounds makes it distinct along with their amazing dynamics and choreography makes an overall amazing performance worthy of being number one.
Gettysburg has an interesting arrangement that is neat to hear but is far too different from the original to be considered for first. I do however like some of their harmonies and play on parts.
Third to that would have to be Ithaca, although average it is very well done.
Mike | Apr 8, 2009 | Reply
Absolutely NOT to 8 Beat Measure. It was boring as hell to watch, and the arrangement was honestly not that good.
1. Dicks and Janes
2. doesn’t matter
Matt | Apr 8, 2009 | Reply
VoiceStream has the best arrangement by far. They chose a great soloist and have a wonderful energy in their performance.
Jessica | Apr 8, 2009 | Reply
VoiceStream definitly has the very best lead singer. That boy will go far!! congrats!!
Aunt Gail | Apr 9, 2009 | Reply
For those who thought the Dicks and Janes lacked mid-tones, here’s a better-quality video of their arrangement. You can hear all of the parts a lot better!
http://www.umich.edu/~dandj/vivalavida.html
Danny | Apr 10, 2009 | Reply