OVERALL
GC - Brandon
1RU - Tupelo Freakin’ Synergy
2RU - Jackson Academy
Best Vocals - Brandon Brio
Best Visuals - Brandon Brio
Best Show Design - Brandon Brio
Best Costumes - Brandon Brio
Best Crew - Tupelo
Best Female Soloist - Darby Renfro (Grenada)
Best Male Soloist - Mabry Smith (Brandon)
Respectfully, I don't see any issues with the panel here. Buglewicz and Johnson-Weiler are from out-of-state, and Costello is commonly associated with Clinton. Unless I'm missing something with Ladner, it looks like a fine - perhaps better than that - panel.
Sometimes it can't be helped, especially with the large amounts of competitions each week all across the nation. It's hard to find diverse, qualified panels. This weekend, we competed at a competition and all 5 judges were from the same town as half of the groups (and also the host group). We have 7 high schools with competitions in our town, so there are bound to be connections to groups or directors. The circuits are just not that big, it can be expensive to fly new judges in from all over, and also weather can prevent that travel, and then you're stuck with no judges.
Lots to think about. Most competitions take care to hire smart judges who can ignore their personal biases and fairly judge what they see and hear that day.
Small Mixed:
First Place: Pisgah ‘Innergy’
Second Place: Clinton Christian ‘Extreme’
Third Place: Wayne County ‘Orange Sensations’
4th Place: Warren Central ‘Total Sound’
5th Place: Oxford ‘Sound’
6th Place: Morton ‘One A’Chord’
Middle Mixed:
First Place: Sumrall ‘Legacy’
Women’s Division:
First Place: Tupelo ‘Synergy’
Second Place: Brandon ‘Bellas’
Third Place: Northwest Rankin ‘The Allure’
Large Mixed:
First Place: Brandon ‘Brio’
Second Place: Grenada ‘Visions’
Third Place: Jackson Academy ‘Encore’
Overall:
GC: Brandon ‘Brio’ (Best Choreography, Best Show Design)
1RU: Tupelo 'Synergy' (Best Vocals)
2RU: Grenada ‘Visions’
Northwest Rankin "The Ambassadors" will unfortunately be pulling from this competition. We will instead be traveling to the Oak Grove Magnolia Invitational. Best of luck to all groups performing here!
Believe it or not, Tupelo’s girls group has beaten Homewood before… and I don’t mean Homewood’s girls group; I mean Network. Granted, that was the same contest where Clinton was 2nd in prelims to Albertville (and before some of these kids were even born). Tupelo has the best girls group in the South, and I don’t see that notion being challenged.
And while I'm at it, I'll update my initial predictions for this competition:
GC- Brandon "Brio" (Choreography, Show design)
1st ru- Tupelo "Synergy" (Vocals)
2nd ru- Jackson Academy "Encore"
3rd ru- Grenada "Visions"
4th ru- Northwest Rankin "The Ambassadors"
I could see the top 3 going any way honestly. Both Tupelo and Jackson Academy will be super motivated here, with Tupelo almost winning their last competition and Jackson Academy beating Brandon in prelims at Prep.
Stop man. Tupelo is ridiculously talented. They literally placed above every group at JASI this year in points for prelims(time penalties not withstanding), which is why they went last in finals. They are a serious threat to any group they go against, and should be treated as such. That is coming from an active BRIO cast member. We remember what happened at JASI last year.
I think Tupelo has a good chance at cracking the Top 5.
However, after JA failed to make finals at Homewood, I can't see them placing higher than NWR right now.
Different scoresheets and different judges produce different results. I actually tested the theory with the scoresheets from Auburn, Homewood, and Petal and produced three different results without changing numbers in similar categories. It’s entirely possible for NWR to either beat or lose to JA.
Also something to consider: JA didn't make finals at West Jones in 2019, and then ended up winning their very next competition, which just so happened to be here at Madison Central. So definitely watch out for them here.
Madison Central Deep South Classic 2023
