Sing! Ultimate A Cappella: Meet the contestants and groups in the first heat tonight

Sing: Ultimate A Cappella starts tonight: Meet the first set of contestants here.

The new singing competition is here and the first cntestants in the opening heat have been confirmed.

Sing: Ultimate A Cappella start time

Sing: Ultimate A Cappella starts at 9PM on Friday, October 6 on Sky 1.

Taking to the stage at London’s Troxy, 30 groups will use beatboxing, harmonies, choreography and more to create jaw-dropping interpretations of songs by artists from Bowie to the Backstreet Boys, all in the hope of winning the chance to record an album at the famous Abbey Road Studios.

Hosted by Cat Deeley, Sky 1 says the show is the UK’s first truly vocals-only entertainment show, filmed like a real-life a cappella competition.

The contestants will be joined by house group The Sons of Pitches who chime in with a cappella interludes and performances alongside guest artists including The Vamps and Midge Ure.

How it works

Across the the first six weeks, the heats will see 5 new groups each week competing to make the final.

In the heats, the contestants will take part in a series of rounds which groups being eliminated at every stage.

Contestants will first sing a medley of two songs before putting their twist on a classic hit by an iconic artist.

In the third round, the remaining groups will perform a showstopper number in a bid to row the judges and land a place in the final.

Contestants

In week one, guest artist The Vamps will make an appearance alongside the first five groups.

ELLE & THE POCKET BELLES
Location: London
Members: 9
Age range: 22-23
Vocal style: Electric swing

London based Elle & The Pocket Belles are five female swing vocalists who combine with four beatboxer/rappers to form a super-group that fuses “the old and new, swing and drum’n’bass, vintage and urban.”

SEMI-TONED
Location: Exeter
Members: 10
Age range: 18-22
Vocal style: Modern/pop

From Exeter, these high-achievers are among the UK’s most established university a cappella groups, and the boys are never without their burgundy blazers on stage.

ARDÚ
Location: Dublin
Members: 6
Age range: 25-34
Vocal style: Pop

Ardú (which means ‘rise’ in Gaelic) are aiming to make a cappella more popular in their native Ireland and in July headlined their own a cappella festival in their home city of Dublin.

TUNE ARMY
Location: Newcastle
Members: 15
Age range: 18-24
Vocal style: Contemporary/musical

Tune Army were formed by Newcastle University in 2012 and recruit new members every year. They pride themselves on not taking life too seriously and welcome anyone to join. Some members will go their separate ways after graduating from uni and they want to go out with a bang.

ACADEMY
Location: Bristol
Members: 7
Age range: 19-26
Vocal style: Pop classics

All-male group Academy are self-proclaimed jokers and want to make sure their fun personalities come across when performing. They’re all based at Bristol University, studying courses such as law, chemical physics and aerospace engineering.

Sing: Ultimate A Cappella airs Friday night from 9PM on October 4.