Ye olde singoffe on NBC

OK, seriously? Those were the best 8 a cappella groups you could find? Seriously??

First of all, I'm wondering if the yellow sweater Mormons refuse to talk to the Beelzebubs because of the name.

Secondly, I'm wondering if Maxx Factor will get a cease and desist request from the makeup company now that they're on national TV.

Third, I'm wondering if Rockapella or the Swingle Singers were watching and either rolling their eyes or laughing their butts off. Sweet Honey in the Rock is too polite to do either of those things...

Fourth, I'm wondering if anyone else thought the sound in general was off? I'm not a sound guy, but it really seemed to me that a sound engineer used to a cappella music could have balanced every single performance much better. All those judge complaints about the melody not coming out were about how it was mic'ed, so what the hey?

Fifth, I'm wondering if that Pussycat chick is high all the time or just for this show.

So here's my rundown of the groups.

Face I liked them. Don't think they should have been kicked off already. Bummer.

Nota They are the reason I'm going to watch another episode. These guys are awesome.

Noteworthy Ugh. I was stunned when they were chosen to stay. Why oh why do they sing everything all harsh and brash and in your face, thus perpetuating the idea that a women's group can't have range or nuance. Thumbs down, ladies. Cute as buttons, but that was not a good sound. Painful.

SoCals Best costuming for sure! Not that they had much competition in the yellow sweaters, lumberjack chic, nerd convention or ghetto-wear. And oh yeah, the singing. It wasn't bad. They need to chill a little and they'll be brilliant.

Voices of Lee Whatever. Yawn.

Solo Gah! I fell in love with these guys. I hope so much that someone adopts them. The potential there is enormous. If each one of those singers could get an hour of individual training, they would be off and running. Oh, my heart is broken. I want them in my living room right now. But now they've been seen and some awesome musician is going to go scoop them up and set them on their awesome path, right? Wish they could have had one more night.

Maxx Factor Oh, man oh man, I so wanted the middle-aged women to kick butt, and oh boy oh boy, they didn't. First of all, could you possibly pick a more inappropriate song? Oh wait, yes you could - the one they're singing tomorrow. And even with Dancing Queen, all they would have had to do to make it acceptable was take it up a step and a half instead of leaving their bass down there honking around like a honking honker. OK, so yes, I admit it - I have a small bias against barbershop. Still, I can respect it if it's done well. I'd like to believe they're normally better than they were on tonight's show. I'm going to go ahead and believe that so I don't have to be sad.

Beelzebubs Points for a funny name that meets irony halfway. I thought they were good. They need to drop their shoulders, get a little less spazzy, and clean up their pitch issues.

I'm totally disappointed with who went home. I would have ditched both women's groups without hesitation.

I liked Ben Folds. The other two judges and the host just made me roll my eyes repeatedly.

I did think the opening number with everyone together was pretty awesome.