The Top 12 became the Top 10 as Kinfolk 9 was eliminated two weeks ago and Sonos was eliminated last week. This week, the Top 10 will try to avoid the double elimination by performing their favorite Guilty Pleasure song. This has always been one of my favorite weeks on the show in the past, primarily because the groups on this show tend to do a better job picking out songs for themselves than contestants on other singing competition shows.

And because I tend to know all the songs on weeks like this one. Hey, I have my guilty pleasures too. :)

I posted the song spoilers earlier today, so if you are interested in what the groups will sing tonight, feel free to take a look.

Join me after the jump as I live blog the performances.

Sent home tonight: North Shore and Deltones

The Sing-Off has started, and after an extremely quick video of the last two weeks, the remaining 10 groups take the stage to sing Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long.” The song starts off extremely bad as it seems the groups are fighting each other in the song instead of working together. About halfway through, all the acts begin to gel together a little and the song improves dramatically. But then it becomes a complete mess as the whole thing simply falls apart. It’s so bad, I can’t even call it a hot mess. In fact, I know of a couple of train wrecks that would demand I not compare this multi-group song to them.

I really hope this isn’t a sign of what’s to come tonight.

The YellowJackets are up first with their guilty pleasure, “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls. I stated in the song spoiler thread earlier that I felt the song was a huge risk for an all-male group, though it was a song begging to be done in a cappella. My worst fears are realized as the song falls apart instantly. Each singer appears to be singing a line or two from the lyrics, but in every single case they are overpowered by all the backup singers. The Brit of the group, or at least the guy who can speak with a British accent, does some type of adjustment to the lyrics that was meant to be funny, though no one appeared to get it. Sara Bareilles seemed to like it, though she does take them to task for oversinging in parts. In parts? Really? You mean like the part that wast the ENTIRE FREAKING SONG? Shawn Stockman says that somehow he enjoyed it. My hopes of there being a sensible judge at the judges’ table as Ben Folds praises the group for the song.

Ugh.

The all-girl group Delilah, one of my favorites in this season, are next with Irene Cara’s “What A Feeling (‘Flashdance’).” I’m expecting great things with this song from this group, a group I felt was undeservedly in the Bottom 2 two weeks ago. All the girls are wearing pink or blue sweat tops and socks with black pants, much like the wardrobe in the movie. Despite the cute get-ups, the song sinks lower than the box office receipts of a movie in its second-week of release. I don’t know if my expectations were off or if the group simply didn’t deliver, but it was bad. In thinking about it, I think the problem was that it was an all-girl group. This song needed a couple of guys in order to get the proper range for the chorus. In addition, the beginning of the song was simply off as the background singers were not in tune or rhythm with each other.

0 for 3 so far tonight including the opening number. I’m beginning to think this week’s theme is actually Guilty Horrors. Ugh.

Now that Delilah is no longer one of my favorite groups, it’s time to see if another favorite, North Shore, can keep their designation. They are singing Huey Lewis & the News’ “Power of Love.” This is another song begging to be done in a cappella, but requires a deft hand. We find out in the pre-performance video that they had originally planned to sing Hanson’s “mmmbop,” but they just couldn’t get the song to gel. They changed the song to “Power of Love” with just two days to go. This doesn’t leave a good feeling in the pit of my stomach, especially with how bad the night is going so far. The arrangement they are doing for this song goes from slow to fast back to slow back to fast. It quickly becomes obvious that they raced to learn this song, and each speed change results in the group tripping over themselves. The lead singer also seems uncomfortable with this song, as he doesn’t give us his trademark powerful vocals. In fact, he’s drowned out quite often. It’s the group’s weakest performance so far this season, but the best performance of the night. I would have loved to seen what they could have done with the song had they picked it originally.

The Collective takes on Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” next. This is a great song and my second favorite song of the night. The pre-performance video reminds us that this group was made up of a variety of people who were lead singers elsewhere and had never sang a cappella before. The guys are dressed in all black while the girls are wearing different colored sequined dresses. The two females are the lead singers for this song, and they just don’t have the vocal ability to take this song off, neither individually or even together. I have no clue why the audience or the judges are giving them a standing ovation. Sara thinks the song was so emotional for the group. Emotion? Really? The only emotion in the song came in the last fourth of the song. The rest of the time, they all simply looked straight ahead.

Do you think it would be frowned upon if I flew to the studio and shook the contestants and screamed “WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING TO THIS THEME?”

Dartmouth Aires, who attained the rank of one of my favorite groups last week, is up next with “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield. In the pre-performance video, we find out that this group of 16 has solo auditions each week to determine who will sing the lead. They guys are all wearing purple letter jackets tonight, which look really cool on stage. With 16 singers, you would think there would be a bass or two in the group to give them some depth. Instead, we get nothing but upper arrangement. As a result, there wasn’t anything to help kept the group steady rhythmically. The lead singer did a great job, however, and the trio halfway through did an amazing job. Unfortunately, the dance routine they came up with turned the song into a nerdy song. Combine that with the mostly upper register range they sang, and it just made this song a mess. And no, can’t even give it the “hot mess” label.

With that, five groups have performed. And that means it is time for the judges to send one of them home. At this point, I don’t care who they send home. They all deserve to go.

The judges have decided and all five groups are standing on stage. The first two groups safe tonight are The Collective and the YellowJackets. The third group safe is Dartmouth Aires. That leaves Delilah and North Shore.

The first group going home tonight is………. North Shore.

Okay. I know I said I was happy with any group being sent home, but North Shore? Really? Come on judges. Screw your heads back on straight. They had one of the best performances of the first round.

Before North Shore has even walked out the back door, Afro-Blue takes the stage to sing Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” Normally I would automatically label this a bad song choice since it’s Whitney. But I’ve never heard a Whitney song done a cappella, and I’m thinking that it would be a great way to do a Whitney song justice. Of course, with the track record we’ve seen tonight, I probably shouldn’t hold my breath. Wait…….. what’s this? It doesn’t suck! In fact, it’s quite good. Very wisely, they give the lead to all five girls in the group. Combined, they are more than a match for Whitney’s voice. In addition, they also wisely use an arrangement that takes the focus off the lead singing somewhat, which allows the song as a whole to shine instead of a single voice. And with some killer dancing going on on stage, it’s an extremely entertaining performance. And a note to Ben, who basically ripped the group to shreds…….. go home. I no longer care what you have to say.

Hopefully Pentatonix can keep the music going as they tackle “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles. The video for this song was the first video ever shown on MTV when it went on the air at 12:01 AM on August 1, 1981. Uh-oh. We have another song change. In the pre-performance video, we find out they were going to sing “Believe” by Cher. They change the song two days before the show, and what little of the rehearsals for this don’t seem to go very well. But my worries are for nothing as the group kills the song, and I mean that in the good way. The harmonies this five-member group gives are nothing short of amazing. They all know how to play off each other with ease. The group knows when to restrain themselves and when to simply let loose and blow us away with their vocals. It’s a performance worthy of a standing ovation, which all three judges do. My faith in the night is nearly restored, and the only group that was a favorite of mine going into the night remain a favorite of mine.

Next up with Roxette’s “Listen To Your Heart” is the Deltones. I’ve been extremely unhappy with the lead singing of this group the last couple of times. This song won’t hold up to that weakness. Sadly, the weak lead singing continues. In addition, half the group appears really into the song while the other half seem to be checking what time that plane ride home is. They must have found out the information, however, because they finally get into the song. Once they do, the harmonies gel, the rhythm steadies itself, and it becomes a good song. But enough of a song to overcome the less than mediocrity that was the first part of the song. The judges all go into the “positive-negative-positive” criticism mode, focusing mostly on the negative. I’m ready for the Deltones to go home.

Urban Method takes on Bell Biv Devoe’s “Poison” next, a song that originally was little more than a cappella to begin with. Get the percussion correct on this song, and it will be hard to go wrong. Thankfully, the percussion is on beat and the group gels together perfectly. The harmonies are great, there is a lot of fun energy on the stage, and we get an excellent performance. Not the best of the night, but it is great nonetheless. Shawn is fawning all over the 80s dance moves the group did on stage and gives Tony mucho kudos for his bass. Going into tonight, I felt this group could really do this song justice. I’m glad I was right about that. Thank you, Urban Method.

The final group tonight also has my favorite song of the night. Vocal Point takes on the original Kenny Loggins version of “Footloose.” If you’ve listened to the Idol Radio Show, you know that I’ve not been happy with the remake of the movie and the lead song. This means there is little room for error with me with this song tonight. Vocal Point has been missing a member since the beginning, as Ben went back to Australia to be with his dad as he passed away. Ben is back now, so it will be interesting to see if the dynamic of the group changes. I’m going to ignore Nick Lachey saying the Kenny Loggin’s version of the song comes from the remake of the movie (bad, Nick). Vocal Point rocks the song the way it was meant to be rocked, with a lot of energy and strong vocals. It’s an amazing performance that does the song, and Kenny’s version, justice. It was a true rock-n-roll song, one of the first we’ve heard this singing. And I have no problem proclaiming this performance the best of the night.

With that performance, the second group of five have sung. That means its time for the judges to decide who should go home. Since half the Deltones were checking times for the flight home during their performance anyway, I want them to be sent packing. They had the worst performance of the second set of groups by far.

The judges have made up their mind, and the five groups have joined Nick on stage. The first two groups going on to the Top 8 are Pentatonix and Urban Method. The third group moving on is Vocal Point. That leaves the Deltones and Afro-Blue on the stage. This shouldn’t even be a question on who is going home.

The second group going home tonight is………………. Deltones. Yes!

Wow, even the farewell song for the Deltones is weak. So not sad to see them go.

So what did you think of tonight’s The Sing-Off? Were you happy with who the judges sent home? Or do you think the judges need medication and therapy to get over their issues? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

If you watch The X Factor, join me back here tomorrow night at 8 PM ET / 7 PM CT as I live blog the final night of the Judges’ Home phase for that show. Also, don’t forget the live Idol Radio Show on Wednesday at 11 PM ET / 10 PM CT as I talk about The Sing-Off, The X Factor, American Idol, and any other entertainment news that needs to be discussed.

And join me next Monday at 8 PM ET / 7 PM CT for more live blogging of The Sing-Off.