UCLA Spring Sing
Spring Sing is an annual music competition held in May at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion. Touted as "UCLA's oldest and greatest musical tradition," the competition brings together UCLA students to perform as solo artists, duets, bands, and a cappella groups in front of an audience of over 8,000 UCLA students, alumni, faculty, staff and celebrity judges. History The competition began with only 11 groups and was performed on campus at UCLA's Royce Hall. In the beginning years, the competition was composed mainly of sorority singing groups, serenading their fraternity counterparts. The first of these groups to win the competition was a barbershop trio from the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. During the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, the competition grew quickly and outgrew Royce Hall. It was then, that Spring Sing gained its popularity and notoriety within the Los Angeles and Orange County area, as it moved to the Hollywood Bowl. During these years, up to 5,000 Bruins, family, friends, and locals witnessed the competition each year. Also added to the mix were celebrity judges and masters of ceremonies - including Ronald Reagan in 1952. The competition peaked in the late 60s and took an eight-year hiatus during the 70s until student and alumni interest revived the event (on campus this time) in 1978. The first group to win in 1978 was the combined efforts of Sigma Kappa sorority and Alpha Tau Omega fraternity performing a 50's inspired spoof of fraternity and sorority life. In 1986, the UCLA Student Alumni Association took over the event and moved the event to the Los Angeles Tennis Center in 1989, eventually returning the competition back to its previous glory. Today Today, the competition has expanded from its original version of fraternity singing groups, to over 15 artists grouped in 6 different categories (Solo, Duet, A Cappella, Band, Production, Exhibition). Each category (save Exhibition) is judged and a winner is selected for each (from which an overall winner is chosen to receive the "Northern California Alumni Grand Sweepstakes Award"). In addition to the talent aspect of Spring Sing today, the overall production has been turned into entertainment with the inception of the Company - a group of UCLA students who perform skits, songs and parodies in between each act as a way of introducing the next act. According to their website, they are "a group of the most hilarious and creative people on this campus who live for the spotlight and the opportunity to make an audience crack up." Past performers from Spring Sing include: Grammy nominated members of Maroon 5, who were defeated in 2000 by Barely Manilow, Tyrone Wells, and the Grammy Award winner Sara Bareilles. Bareilles won Spring Sing twice, in 2002 and 2003. In 2006, Mikey G and Dan from Danville won the award for best duet and Best Overall Entry - the duo went on to form the band, Lady Danville. In 2007, Jarell Perry and the Ambassadors won the Las Doñas Award for Best Band Entry. Katie Boeck won the Mortar