You’d think that since we are in the second decade of Advent Caroling Madness there would be no more new good ideas…but NO! My brain has stormed and I am so excited!
I had too many submissions for a 16 team bracket. AND I noticed that there were some similarities with different submissions. So [drum roll please]…
WE HAVE THEMED MATCHUPS FOR A PLAY IN ROUND!
Two similar genre versions pitted against one another to see which will enter the actual 16 team bracket! These 12 versions will whittle down to 6, and they will face 10 others waiting in reserve. So you have until Saturday, Dec. 7 at noon PST to vote for the matchups below. I’ll take those winners and the other 10, and seed the official bracket and we will be off and running to find our best version of Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.
First up? The Divas!
It’s Mariah Carey, submitted by Bethany Bylsma, vs. Charlotte Church, submitted by Sammie Eilert.
Next? Heart Warming Living Room Songfests!
Sufjan Stevens version, also submitted by Sammie Eilert, faces the heart warming conclusion of the town of Bedford Falls in It’s A Wonderful Life, submitted by yours truly.
Punk Theme!
Phil Rodin submitted Hawk Nelson, who will face Weezer, submitted by Meghan Rogers Czarnecki.
a capella!
Old school Glad, submitted by Martha Wood, vs. New school Home Free, submitted by Hudson Moore.
Nostalgia!
I thought of this category when Bethany Bylsma said “You can take out my Jewel submission, that’s just nostalgia” and I thought NO WAY! WE YELL AT EACH OTHER ALL THROUGH THIS JOURNEY EVERY YEAR SO LET’S FACE OFFFFFFFFFFFFFF! Jewel will face my childhood 33 ⅓ album memories from the Ray Conniff Singers.
Instrumental!
Finally, there were two outstanding instrumental versions submitted. Robin Mohr submitted the Philadelphia Brass (which David Sherwood often submitted over the years, so he gets an honorary heavenly contribution with this), and they will face off against Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, submitted by Nolan Koskela-Staples.
Ok, have at it! Listen and enjoy and don’t forget to vote by Saturday at noon!
Some choices were easy. Other pairs took some soul searching.
Young Mariah Carey – sublime.
Sufjan Stevens gets points for getting a group to sing several verses, but otherwise, there was no contest.
Generally, I am against medleys in this competition. On principle. Hawk Nelson would have been my favorite of all these versions, if they had stopped with just HtHAS.
I didn’t care for either of the a capella versions. I voted for Home Free, but that video gave me motion sickness.
While I like Nolan a lot, and his brand of jazz, this isn’t a song that lends itself to that treatment. Hark! goes hard and deserves a full brass treatment.