Kenton Chen, founding member of the a cappella group The Backbeats, will open for Ben’s four shows next week in North Carolina and Virginia. Kenton, the Backbeats’ musical director, is working on an EP and has two tracks available for download on bandcamp.com. He also has an album, Something about Love, on iTunes as well. (more…)
The Sing-Off
“The Sing-Off” picked up for 3rd season
The successful NBC-TV program The Sing-Off, featuring Ben Folds on the panel of judges, has been renewed for a third season, according to a NBC-TV press release. We mentioned during last December’s run that New York Times media reporter Bill Carter predicted that the show would see a third run, based on its performance  which gave NBC a win in the ratings column for the nights it was on. Ben hasn’t announced if he’s returning, but I’d say it’s likely, given his contributions to the program and the exposure he’s received.
Success for “The Sing-Off”
The second season of NBC’s a cappella competition show, The Sing-Off, featuring an even stronger crop of contenders and Ben as one of the judges, is by most measures a success. Though not in first place, ratings are strong, leading New York Times’ media reporter Bill Carter to suggest that the show is a “virtual certainty” to return for a third season.  The show has posted ratings of 2.8 and 2.6 in the 18-49 demographic in overnight metering, representing viewership in the range of 8 million, a modest increase from last year’s showing. NBC says the December 8 episode registered the highest Wednesday rating the network has had this fall, in the face of strong competition from programming on rival networks CBS and ABC. Update: Ratings are strong for episode 3 which aired Monday, December 13, posting 3.2 the first hour and 3.4 for the second in adults 18-49 for an average of 3.3, representing 9.41 million viewers. Update: Despite tying its lowest rating of the season, Monday’s finale of The Sing-Off still won the night for NBC with a rating of 2.7 and a 7 share with 8.6 million viewers.
Vote for your favorite Sing-Off judge
The NBC-TV show The Sing-Off has a Facebook poll asking fans to vote for their favorite judge on the show. You can vote here. You need to be a Facebook member in order to participate. (I think I know who you’re voting for…)
“The Sing-Off” previews
NBC has posted a few preview videos from the second season of The Sing-Off, the mini-series showcasing a cappella groups which debuts December 6. Here is a clip from the opening number featuring all ten groups. There are also individual features on each group.
Ben Folds is, of course, one of the judges again this season, and he has been blogging about the second season as well. Read his “On Key” posts from the NBC website.
