Note-oriety
# Note-oriety

Note-oriety is an upper voices a cappella singing group at James Madison University in the United States, founded in 1998 by Kelly Myer and Bonnie Estes. The group sings in and around Harrisonburg, Virginia, tours the east coast and other parts of the United States. Note-oriety is best known for the viral video of their cover version of Beyoncé's song "Pretty Hurts". The group has been featured in USA Today, The Huffington Post, and BuzzFeed, and the group has been praised by Nicki Minaj, TLC, and Kelly Clarkson. They have also been nominated for and received several awards from international organizations, notably, the Contemporary A Cappella Society and the Recorded A Cappella Review Board. Note-oriety has performed all over the country, including The White House, the Lincoln Center, and Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey's United State of Women Summit.

## History

Note-oriety was founded in 1998 by Kelly Myer and Bonnie Estes as a sister group to the premier a Cappella group at JMU, The Madison Project. It is the first all-female group at James Madison University. The student-run musical group performs in and around Harrisonburg, Virginia and up and down the East Coast of the United States. In addition to various gigs, Note-oriety holds a concert once per semester, typically at the end of each semester. Additionally, they go on tour approximately bi-yearly.

Note-oriety has competed in several competitions throughout the years. In 2012, they won "Best Choreography" at SingStrong Aca Idol. In 2013, they won 1st place at the SingStrong Aca Idol Competition as well as winning "Audience Favorite". Note-oriety has also competed in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella, most recently in 2019, where they placed third.

Throughout their 20 years, Note-oriety has released several studio albums and singles. In 2015, they released their self-titled album Note-oriety. The album was nominated for numerous awards and was selected as the Recorded A Cappella Review Board's 2015 Album of the Year. The group has been nominated for several CARA awards through the years, most recently winning "Best Song" in the Collegiate Female category for "Bang Bang" on Note-oriety. The music video for "Pretty Hurts" from this album garnered over half a million views. The video went viral after it was released, and was praised by Nicki Minaj. Note-oriety's eighth album, titled XX in honor of their twentieth anniversary, was released April 29, 2018. Their most recent album, Note to Self, was released in July 2020.

Note-oriety as a group works for charities as well as groups promoting Women's empowerment, and has been involved with numerous philanthropic events since its founding. In 2016, Note-oriety performed at the United State of Women Summit in Washington, D.C. and in 2017 the group performed at The National Crittenton Foundation's national conference "In Solidarity We Rise: Healing, Opportunity, and Justice for Girls". In 2018, College Magazine named Note-oriety one of The 10 Female Groups Running the A Cappella World.

## Discography

* Overquota (2000)
* Lights Out (2002)
* Fusion (2005)
* Bettin' High (2007)
* Get Gone (2010)
* "Only Girl in the World" (2011)
* I'll Never Say (2012)
* "DNA" (2013)
* Note-oriety (2015)
* "Boogie Woogie/Salute" (2016)
* XX (2018)
* "Fall in Line" (2019)
* "God Is a Woman" (2020)
* Note to Self (2020)

## Awards and nominations

### Musical awards

Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARAs) :

| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
| - | - | - | - |
| 2021 | Emma Wagner for "I Don't Think About You" by Kelly Clarkson | Best Upper Voices Collegiate Solo | Nominated |
| 2021 | Emma Wagner for "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac | Best Upper Voices Collegiate Arrangement | Nominated |
| 2021 | Note to Self (2020) | Best Upper Voices Collegiate Album | Nominated |
| 2021 | Sara Edwards for "Runaway" by Aurora | Best Professional Arrangement for a Scholastic Group | Nominated |
| 2019 | Maggie Rabe for "Feel It Still" by Portugal. The Man | Best Female Collegiate Arrangement | Nominated |
| 2016 | Note-oriety (2015) | Best Female Collegiate Album | Nominated |
| 2016 | "Bang Bang" by Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj | Best Female Collegiate Song | Won |
| 2016 | Zoe Elizabeth McCray for "Bang Bang" by Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj | Best Female Collegiate Arrangement | Nominated |
| 2014 | "DNA" by Little Mix | Best Female Collegiate Song | Nominated |
| 2013 | "Earth" by Imogen Heap | Best Female Collegiate Song | Nominated |
| 2013 | Addison Balser for "Turning Tables" by Adele | Best Female Collegiate Solo | Nominated |
| 2001 | Mandi Meros, Overquota (2000) | Best Female Collegiate Solo | Nominated |

Recorded A Cappella Review Board (RARB) :

| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
| - | - | - | - |
| 2015 | Note-oriety (2015) | Album of the Year | Won |
| 2015 | "Bang Bang" by Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj | Track of the Year | Won |

### Selection for "Best of" compilation albums

sing :

| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
| - | - | - | - |
| 2015 | "Bang Bang" by Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj | sing 12: This Big! | Won |
| 2013 | "DNA" by Little Mix | sing 10: Neon | Won |

Voices Only :

| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
| - | - | - | - |
| 2015 | "Lies" by Marina and the Diamonds | Voices Only 2015 | Won |

### Competitions

Competition Placements and Awards :

| Year | Competition | Award | Result |
| - | - | - | - |
| 2008 | ICCA Quarterfinals | Outstanding Soloist: Jonnelle Morris for "Bring Me Down" | Won |
| 2012 | SingStrong Aca-Idol | Best Choreography | Won |
| 2013 | SingStrong Aca-Idol | Aca-Idol Overall Winner | 1st Place |
| 2013 | SingStrong Aca-Idol | Audience Favorite | Won |
| 2013 | SingStrong Aca-Idol | Outstanding Soloist | 1st Place |
| 2013 | SingStrong Aca-Idol | Outstanding Vocal Percussion | 2nd Place |
| 2013 | SingStrong Aca-Idol | Outstanding Visual Presentation | 1st Place |
| 2019 | ICCA Quarterfinals | Third Place | Won |
| 2019 | Shenandoah Valley Sing-In | Overall Winner | Won |
| 2019 | Shenandoah Valley Sing-In | Audience Favorite | Won |
| 2020 | Mid-Atlantic Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival | Third Place | Won |

### Other Awards

A Cappella Video Awards (AVA) :

| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
| - | - | - | - |
| 2019 | "R&B Medley" Music Video | Outstanding Choreography / Staging | Nominated |
| 2019 | "R&B Medley" Music Video | Outstanding Costume / Makeup | Runner-up |
| 2019 | "R&B Medley" Music Video | Outstanding Video Editing | Nominated |
| 2019 | "R&B Medley" Music Video | Best Female Collegiate Video | Won |
| 2019 | "R&B Medley" Music Video | Best R&B Video | Won |
