When Fox was looking to promote their soon-to-be hit "Glee" this past Monday, they turned to Treble in Paradise, AU's premier, all-female a cappella group. "Glee," a musical comedy premiering next month, follows the story of a high school glee club in Lima, Ohio. When it came to promotion, nothing was more appropriate than an a cappella performance on Fox's Early Morning Show.
Treble in Paradise performed on the National Mall, singing their own a cappella renditions of the Chiffons' "One Fine Day," Cher's "Shoop Shoop Song" and Mariah Carey's "Always Be My Baby." Currently comprised of only five singers, the girls of Treble were joined by a few former members for the occasion, which was attended by several "Glee" cast members, including Cory Monteith, who plays one of the show's main characters. Treble member and College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Nikki Del Casale spoke highly of the "Glee" cast members. "They were all very friendly, and told us we were rad and that we killed every song we sang," she said. "They also videotaped us for their own enjoyment ... we were very honored and delighted at their friendliness."
Clad in summery dresses, Treble's harmonies provided an appropriate backdrop to Early Morning Show reporter Holly Morris's interview with Monteith and his fellow cast members Mark Salling and Jenna Ushkowitz.
This is hardly the first big-time gig for Treble, who were chosen as finalists in the Ben Folds "Sing Your Heart Out" competition last year for their rendition of Folds' popular song "Zak and Sara." The group worked with Folds to record an a cappella arrangement of the song and even opened for him when he visited Baltimore's Rams Head Live! last February. Treble also regularly performs at "Acapalooza," an annual a cappella festival held to benefit various and local charities.
"Treble performs two concerts a year, as well as performing at many charitable, sporting and showcase events," Del Casale said. "We practice three times a week in order to create and arrange a cappella music, learn a cappella music and perform a cappella music to the best of our abilities."
Treble is hoping to gain exposure from this event both on and off campus. Del Casale is optimistic. "We hope that people saw us -- students at American already came up to me and asked if we were actually on Fox 5 -- and we hope that other charities and venues will see us and want to hire us for their events."
Treble was also featured on Monteith's Twitter.
"Glee," which went out on a limb and generated national buzz with a one-night-only premiere in May, will be following up with the rest of the already-filmed season on Sept. 9. The show centers on a high school choir whose membership is fizzling out. Celebrities such as Eve and Josh Groban will be making guest appearances on the show.
In the meantime, the cast of "Glee" will be touring the country to meet their fans -- who have already adopted the term "gleeks" to describe themselves -- and perform, among other things, the show's first hit, an a cappella rendition of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'." In December, there will be a pair of CDs released featuring the show's 70 songs.
As for Treble, the girls are looking to expand their membership. Singers who might be interested should keep up with their Web site, www.autrebleinparadise.com, and fans should look out for their performances on and around campus.
You can reach this staff writer at kcasino@theeagleonline.com.
