Congrats to Nota, Winners of the "Sing-Off" Finale

Nota, the six-man singing group from Puerto Rico, has won NBC's a cappella competition, "The Sing-Off," in the show's finale, which was televised live Monday night. The sextet won over the Beelzebubs, the 15-man group that has been an institution at Tufts University for more than three decades. (See the "Sing-Off" live blog from the Baltimore Sun for a blow-by-blow recap of tonight's show.)

Voices of Lee, a group from Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, was eliminated earlier in the two-hour live broadcast. The show featured each of the final three groups performing a song with a special musical guest. Voices of Lee performed "Pocketful of Sunshine" with Natasha Bedingfield; the Beelzebubs sang Leslie Gore's '60s girl-power anthem "You Don't Own Me" with Pussycat Dolls singer (and "Sing-Off" judge) Nicole Scherzinger; and Nota performed the Smokey Robinson and the Miracles hit "The Tracks of My Tears" with Mr. Robinson.

The "Sing-Off" finale also featured performances from the show's other on-air personalities: Nick Lachey singing along with the final three groups; Ben Folds playing piano as the Beelzebubs and Nota sang "Why Can't We Be Friends," and Shawn Stockman singing a medley of Boyz II Men hits with the two other members of the group.

Congrats to Nota for the victory, and to the Beelzebubs, Voices of Lee, and the other competitors for being chosen for the show.

For those who want to hear what Nicole Scherzinger does when she's not when she's singing and prancing with the Pussycat Dolls, here's a video of her performing a song with Slash:

"Sing-Off" Finale: Winner to Be Decided Tonight on NBC

Voices of Lee performs Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" in last Wednesday's show.

The voting finished yesterday in the finals of NBC's a cappella singing competition "The Sing-Off," and the results will be announced tonight, Monday December 21st in a live show (after endless commercials, of course). The show airs at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

There are three finalists: Voices of Lee from Tennessee's Lee University; Nota from Puerto Rico; and Tufts University's The Beelzebubs (which I've written about before). See the official "Sing-Off" site above for an overview, videos of the performances, and more details.

To see specific performances: Nota singing Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer," Voices of Lee performing Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror," and The Beelzebubs doing Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline."

Tonight's finals will also feature a cappella performances from some heavy hitters: Natasha Bedingfield, Bobby McFerrin, Boyz II Men (the group that judge Shawn Stockman is a member of), and Smokey Robinson.

Voting took place from the end of last Wednesday's show until 9 a.m. yesterday morning, with viewers able to vote by phone or online, with up to 10 entries per e-mail address. So tonight's winner will probably be the group that conducted the best get-out-the-vote campaign. Good luck to all competitors!

The Beelzebubs (The Bubs) Advance on NBC's "The Sing-Off"

If you watched NBC's "The Sing-Off" on Monday night, you discovered what a lot of people in New England have long known: that the Beelzebubs are impressive performers.

The Beelzebubs, also called The Bubs, are the all-male, a cappella singing group from Tufts University, and have been an institution there for decades. On Monday night, the first night of competition of "The Sing-Off," the Bubs wowed the audience with a lively version of The Beatles's "Magical Mystery Tour."

You can find out more about the Bubs, including their current and past members, their touring schedules, and their recordings, at the Beelzebubs official Web site.

The Bubs have been around for more than 45 years, and in that time have recorded 30 albums. On the group's album page on their Web site you can buy their albums directly, including their most recent album, Play the Game, which came out this year. The group's 2007 recording, Pandaemonium, includes their version of "Magical Mystery Tour." You can hear audio previews of many of the songs at the site.

The Beelzebubs made it through the first round of "The Sing-Off" and will face their next competition on Tuesday's show.

Oh, and yes, the Bubs have a Twitter page if you want to keep up with all things Beelzebubian: @tuftsbubs.