Delta Gamma and Beta Theta Pi won the 24th Annual Sing Song with their Chicago themed show. DG’s Kaite Nickell won ‘Best Female Lead.’ (Spencer J Eggers/The Daily Campus)

Students, families and alumni flocked to McFarlin Auditorium on Friday as SMU’s most spirited tradition, Sing Song, took the SMU community on a cross-country musical tour of America.

Hosted annually by SMU’s Program Council, Sing Song is an event that highlights the singing, dancing and production skills of various organizations on campus.

This year, the show showcased nine ten-minute acts by campus organizations featuring states across the country.

Winning first place overall was Delta Gamma and Beta Theta Pi for their Chicago-themed show. Gamma Phi Beta and Black Men Emerging took second place for their small-town, Texas skit.

Alpha Chi Omega and Kappa Sigma came in third for their Detroit garage band production.

Judges appointed by Program Council decided first, second and third place awards.

A text-your-vote system was used to gauge audience response, which counted for a percentage of the final scoring.

The judges also decided the best male and female vocalist. Joseph Griggs of Sigma Phi Epsilon received the award for best male vocalist and Katie Nickell of Delta Gamma took home the prize for best female vocalist.

Participants in Sing Song voted at Thursday night’s dress rehearsal for additional awards. Best overall and best backdrop went to Delta Gamma and Beta Theta Pi. Theta Tau and Ambassadors to Prospective Engineering Students (APES) received the award for best costumes and best choreography went to Gamma Phi Beta and Black Men Emerging.

Best director, chosen by Program Council’s Sing Song Chair, Alex Muñoz, went to Bryna Garrison of Gamma Phi Beta.

Friday night’s show opened with a brief video montage featuring the dress rehearsals and practices of all the groups. Emceeing the event was campus icon Jennifer “JJ” Jones.

The first act of the evening was third-place winner Alpha Chi Omega and Kappa Sigma which brought Motown to McFarlin with swanky renditions of songs like Tina Turner’s “Rolling on the River.”

The show centered on the Ford Motor Company in Detroit as the employees prepared for a Friday night concert.

With performances like Natalie Coca’s version of Lady Gaga’s “Edge of Glory,” the show was lively and entertaining.

Next, Kappa Alpha Theta took the audience to the Big Apple with a Theta-edition of the Apprentice.

Country music and classic rock tunes filled the auditorium as the two rival Apprentice teams competed to make the best promotion for a music festival.

The show then turned from one iconic American city to another with Delta Gamma and Beta Theta Pi’s winning Chicago skit.

In the show, directed by senior Lena Derisavifard and Zachary King, an SMU graduate played by Danny Coonce moves back to Chicago to produce his first play.

Brittney, played by Kenna Rood and Jackie, played by best female vocalist Katie Nickell, hit the stage to compete for the leading roles in Stanley’s production.

Zane Cavender’s special appearance as SMU President R. Gerald Turner offered a priceless comedic relief to the production.

Theta Tau and APES took the audience on an adventure through Georgia and Italy in a Mario Kart themed production. Their performance of The Charlie Daniels Band’s “The Devil went down to Georgia” brought down the house.

Next, Delta Delta Delta and Kappa Alpha Order brought Louisiana to center stage as small town girl Mary Anne, played by Catherine Norton, headed to New Orleans to become a dancer.

Chi Omega and Pi Kappa Alpha had the audience California dreaming with their spring break skit featuring catchy pop tunes “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus and “California Girls” by Katy Perry.

Next up was Kappa Kappa Gamma and Beta Upsilon Chi with a Mississippi River Boat show. Then, Pi Beta Phi and Sigma Phi Epsilon surfed onto stage in their Hawaiian themed production. Finally, Gamma Phi Beta and Black Men Emerging concluded the show with their Texas themed skit.

While Sing Song is a competition, it brought the SMU community together.

Matt Powell, who performed with Gamma Phi Beta and Black Men Emerging, said Sing Song gave him the opportunity to work with people he wouldn’t have otherwise. “Sing Song was probably the best time I’ve had at SMU so far. It was so much fun getting to know the girls from Gamma Phi Beta,” he said.

“The other acts were amazing,” Powell said. “Overall, I think Sing Song was a huge success because everyone had some pretty awesome performances.”

Lauren Ford, a part of Chi Omega and Pi Kappa Alpha’s cast, agreed.

“My favorite part about Sing Song was definitely seeing SMU come together and getting to see the school spirit of the student body,” Ford said.

Overall, Sing Song Chair Alex Muñoz thinks Sing Song was a success.

“We had a great, enthusiastic audience, and all of the groups gave it their A game,” Muñoz said.

Audience members agree.

Aryana Johnston, a freshman Alpha Chi Omega said, “It’s my first time at Sing Song and I loved cheering on all my sisters. It was an amazing atmosphere!”

Jack Sperco, a member of Beta Theta Pi at rival Texas Christian University, came from Fort Worth to cheer on his girlfriend in Delta Gamma and his Beta brothers at SMU in their performance.

While he came to support one act, he loved all of the performances. “They were awesome-I’m so glad I came!” Sperco said. 

Video shot and edited by Meredith Carlton [email protected].