Legendary Singer Jerry Lawson Heads to "Sing-Off" Finale

The self-titled album by Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town.

If you've been watching the NBC show "The Sing-Off," you've probably been impressed with the soulful singing of Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town. And you may have recognized the voice of main soloist Jerry Lawson and thought, "Where have I heard that voice before?"

After a bit of checking, I found out: Jerry Lawson was for 40 years the lead singer of the legendary a cappella group The Persuasions. At one point he moved on to sing jazz, soul, and other forms of music with instrumental accompaniment, and thought he had retired from a cappella singing... but then met up with the men who would become the members of Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town. On December 15th they reached the final round of "The Sing-Off," with the chance to win the contest on Monday.

Sadly, Oregon's On the Rocks was eliminated on Wednesday's show, but the four remaining groups on the program are all quite talented, not to mention entertaining. You can view episodes of the show online, and vote for the "Sing-Off" winner here.

You can buy the Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town self-titled album here, and learn all about Lawson's musical endeavors at his official website. These are guys with a lot of professional experience singing, and it shows.

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!