UCLA Spring Sing
Spring Sing is an annual music competition held in May at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion. Touted as "UCLA's oldest and greatest musical tradition," the competition brings together UCLA students to perform as solo artists, duets, bands, and a cappella groups in front of an audience of over 8,000 UCLA students, alumni, faculty, staff and celebrity judges.
History
The competition began in 2000 under the direction of Gene Block. It began with only 11 groups and was performed on campus at UCLA's Royce Hall. In the beginning years, the competition was composed mainly of sorority singing groups, serenading their fraternity counterparts. The first of these groups to win the competition was a barbershop trio from the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. During the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, the competition grew quickly and outgrew Royce Hall. It was then, that Spring Sing gained its popularity and notoriety within the Los Angeles and Orange County area, as it moved to the Hollywood Bowl. During these years, up to 5,000 Bruins, family, friends, and locals witnessed the competition each year. Also added to the mix were celebrity judges and masters of ceremonies - including Ronald Reagan in 1952. The competition peaked in the late 60s and took an eight-year hiatus during the 70s until student and alumni interest revived the event in 1978. The first group to win in 1978 was the combined efforts of Sigma Kappa sorority and Alpha Tau Omega fraternity performing a 50's inspired spoof of fraternity and sorority life. In 1986, the UCLA Student Alumni Association took over the event and moved the event to the Los Angeles Tennis Center in 1989, eventually returning the competition back to its previous glory.Today
Today, the competition has expanded from its original version of fraternity singing groups, to over 15 artists grouped in 6 different categories. Each category is judged and a winner is selected for each.In addition to the talent aspect of Spring Sing today, the overall production has been turned into entertainment with the inception of the Company - a group of UCLA students who perform skits, songs and parodies in between each act as a way of introducing the next act. According to their website, they are "a group of the most hilarious and creative people on this campus who live for the spotlight and the opportunity to make an audience crack up."
Past performers from Spring Sing include: Grammy nominated members of Maroon 5, who were defeated in 2000 by Barely Manilow, Tyrone Wells, and the Grammy Award winner Sara Bareilles. Bareilles won Spring Sing twice, in 2002 and 2003. In 2006, Mikey G and Dan from Danville won the award for best duet and Best Overall Entry - the duo went on to form the band, Lady Danville. In 2007, Jarell Perry and the Ambassadors won the Las Doñas Award for Best Band Entry. Katie Boeck won the Mortar Board Award for Best Solo Entry and the Northern California Alumni Grand Sweepstakes Award for the Best Overall Entry in 2007, 2008, and 2009. Nasim Pedrad was a member of the Spring Sing Company in 2003.
Since its revival, Spring Sing was held at UCLA's Los Angeles Tennis Center, but due to the overwhelming demand and popularity of the show, it was moved in 2009 to much larger venue Pauley Pavilion, providing the opportunity for more to experience the cherished campus tradition. "Spring Sing 2009 Rock Pauley" made its return debut in Pauley Pavilion on May 8, 2009 and on May 14, 2010. Due to construction on Pauley Pavilion, Spring Sing returned to UCLA's Los Angeles Tennis Center on May 20, 2011. Spring Sing returned to the newly renovated Pauley Pavilion on May 17, 2013 to set a record-breaking attendance for the Student Alumni Association.
Winners
Judges and masters of ceremonies
Celebrities have served as judges and master of ceremonies. They have included former President Ronald Reagan, actor Jason Alexander, Fred MacMurray, conductor André Previn, Christopher Gorham, Ryan Carnes, Amber Stevens, Dr. Bill Dorfman, Tatyana Ali, Sarah Drew and Todd White, a member of the lead animation team for "SpongeBob SquarePants".Others were actors Sean Astin, Ian Buchanan, Dennis Haskins, Andrew Keegan, Tina Majorino, Danica McKellar, and Patrick Renna. 2009 judges included model Janice Dickinson, actress Shelley Long, local KNBC-TV newscaster Ted Chen, and Melissa Joan Hart.
2012 – Bill Dorfman, Nikki Soohoo, Lady Danville, DJ Felli Fel, Taylor Armstrong, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Pentatonix, Michael Strahan, Candace Cameron Bure, Sara Bareilles
2013 – Paula Abdul, Chord Overstreet , Mike Warren, Jensen Ackles, Elisabetta Canalis, Beth Behrs, Francia Raisa
2014 – David Ravetch, Dr. Bill Dorfman, Ken Komisar, Johnathan Franklin, Fiona Gubelmann, Jonathan Bennett, Brett Davern, Raven-Symoné, Jordyn Wieber, and Dennis Quaid
2015 – Sophie Simmons, Kingsley, Jeanine Mason, 8ky 6lu - The Party President, Elaine Hendrix, Jonathan Bennett, Clayton Snyder, Shwayze, Beau Mirchoff, Kathy Bates
2016 – Brett Dier of “Jane the Virgin,” actress Alyson Stoner and Jim O'Heir of “Parks and Recreation,”
The George and Ira Gershwin Award
In recognition of their contributions to American music and in honor of their gift to UCLA, the UCLA Student Alumni Association established the annual George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement in 1988. In 1936, George and Ira Gershwin adapted the title tune from their musical Strike Up the Band as a new Bruin fight song for the growing university.Winners have included:
- 1988 Angela Lansbury
- 1989 Ella Fitzgerald
- 1990 Sarah Vaughan
- 1991 Ray Charles
- 1992 Debbie Allen
- 1993 Natalie Cole
- 1994 Mel Torme
- 1995 Bernadette Peters
- 1996 Tom Petty
- 1997 Randy Newman
- 1998 John Lee Hooker
- 1999 Diane Warren
- 2000 Frank Sinatra
- 2001 Clive Davis
- 2002 Stevie Wonder
- 2003 k.d. lang
- 2004 James Taylor
- 2005 Kenneth Babyface Edmonds
- 2006 Burt Bacharach
- 2007 Quincy Jones
- 2008 Lionel Richie
- 2009 Julie Andrews, actress and singer
- 2010 Sasan Ahoraian Memorial Tribute
- 2011 Brian Wilson
- 2012 Bruce Lundvall
- 2013 MC Hammer
- 2014 Alanis Morissette
- 2015 Anthony Kiedis
- 2016 The Who: Pete Townshend & Roger Daltrey
- 2017 Ziggy Marley
- 2018 Linkin Park
- 2019 None
Julie Andrews said at her award ceremony: "Go Bruins. Beat 'SC... let the Gershwin tunes strike up the band to celebrate every one of those victories."
On May 3 2019, singer-songwriter Don McLean was awarded the Gershwin Award. However, after it was revealed of McLean's previous domestic violence case and conviction in 2016, the Student Alumni Association rescinded the award on May 6 2019.
Committee
Spring Sing is organized and executed each year by a committee of UCLA students of the Student Alumni Association who are selected by the SAA Board of Directors and the UCLA Alumni Association advisors. There are 8 different positions on the Spring Sing committee. Each position carries with it specific responsibilities for the successful implementation of the show.| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
| Executive Director | Ruben Garcia | Ali Owens | Aly Yarris | Kelsey Balance | Kevin Yang | Turner Pope | Susan Peters | Max Baker | Alexis Caddell | Paige Allenspach | Shaina Metha | Kayla Samuels |
| Internal Director | Emily Fizer | Caileen Coleman | ||||||||||
| Assistant Director | Nina Garcia | Samantha Slama | Antoinette Brou | Maddy Matson | Jordyn Berk | Brianna Kaplan | Valentia Shen | Torri Johnson | Bre Brown | Irene Ho | ||
| Talent Directors | Katie LaBouff, Sydney Pritchett, Amber Bissell | Emily George, Samantha Mueller, Brian Tran | Courtney Bradley, Ythy Ho, Alex Reichert | Nicole Jazayeri, Reid Taguchi, Leah Whitehead | Shannon Nguyen, Alexandra Petro, Lisa Phan | Taylor Acampora, Jen Hioki, Amanda Peterson | Alyssa Capili, Sean Santhon, Danielle Romero | Dominic Butler, Abby Freemire, Vanessa Guerrero | Anna Stewart, Natalie Horan, John Roberson | Angela Navas, Kayla Samuels, Chelsea Brody | Kimmy Crickette, Sumant Iyer, Bella Stenvall | Rohan Desikan, Natalie Hynes, Jess Grimes |
| Company Directors | Yong Kim and Jeremy Alm | David Larsen, Cassi Porter | Kelsey Balance | Jenna Kieselbach, Whitney Harrison | Leslie Grant, Susan Peters | Katya Lavine, Spencer Louie | Kimmy Miura, Kylynn Guittierez | Ali Wolff, Amir Ghowsi | Luke Branscum, Carling Farley | Madison Colli, Caroline Desler | Giulia Marsella, Jacob Fisher | Addy Sisk, Austin Newton |
| Public Relations | Candice Chen, Jaclyn Hong, Kiana Pourjanfeshan | Justin Manduke, Kiesha Nazarenus, Tyler Phan | Melissa Chiong, Maiah Parks, Samantha Slama | Nicholas Phelps, Sialoren Spaulding, Erin Wallace | Julie Lee, Briana Munoz-Flores | Danielle Ross, Will Sholan | Kevin Yang, Caitlin Nordberg | Sam Delgadillo, Kelsey Chan | David Deng, Ariana Michael | Will Van Der Wey, Sarah Henry | Roz Chiang, Julia Ho | Elisa Ciappi, Reyna Paredes |
| Judges & Awards Directors | Lauren Poblete, Gina Nuti | Amanda Hill, Rachna Shenoy, Rikin Tank | Lina Kaisey, Felicia Xu, Kevin Yang | Michelle Klein, Turner Pope | Allie Garavaglia, Eleni Lewis | Emily James, Mikaela Ihm | Ali Adam, Disha Bhagwat, Veronica Kwiatkowski | Grace Hunter, Alex Taylor, Nicole Nordstrom | Geena Shah, Jason Gelfat, Hannah Schroeder | Chloe Zgorzelski, Julia Swart, Jay Narimatsu | Lauren Hayat, Corban Lethcoe, Mackenzi Greene | |
| VIP Relations | Meredith Callan, Joselyn Delgado | |||||||||||
| George & Ira Gershwin Award Director | Lindsey Olson | Martha Abundis | Nancy Juarez | Emma Citrin | Maddie Hulstrom | Ashley Lamhofer | Marina Stoye | Kara Logan | Daniella Chernack | Madison Acampora | Isabella Dohil | |
| Production Director | Robert Frink | Lizette Aguirre | Leah Titus | Danny Durbin | Timothy Krause, Tiffany Le | Katie Romanolo | Stephanie Ma, Val Fong | Ariana Stanton, Kelli Tani | Daniel Lee, Kathryn Yang | Hannah Bocarsly, Matt Lawrence | Vito Sipila, Swapnil Bhardwaj | Maripau Paz, Jason Peters |
| Multimedia Director | Yan Zhang |
Company
One tradition of Spring Sing is Company, a collection of twelve to thirteen students who help host with comedic sketches between performances. Usual topics include student life, popular culture, and notable events on campus or in general. Notable alumni of Company include Mikey Day and Nasim Pedrad.| Year | Members |
| 1991 | Pamela Holt, Rachel Bacon, Carrie Bacon, Perri Darweesh Tong, Jon Augustine |
| 1992 | Dana Baron, Jennifer Garson, Wendy Frawley, Eliot Hochberg, Heather Kolde, Lesli Margherita, Matt Sutherland, Eiko Yamamoto |
| 1993 | |
| 1994 | |
| 1995 | |
| 1996 | Dani De Jesus, Martin Gabaya, Todd Sargent |
| 1997 | |
| 1998 | |
| 1999 | |
| 2000 | |
| 2001 | |
| 2002 | |
| 2003 | Mikey Day, Jessie Gaskell, Kevin Hampton, Abby Henchmann, Ben Larson, Nasim Pedrad, Tiffany Reaves, Dean Sage, Alex Spilger, Leah Sprecher, Kim Weisberg |
| 2006 | Jim Brandon, Josh English, Keith Goss, Trenten Chase Huntington, Jenny Lauritsen, Mandy Muenzer, Shaiya Rahman, Lauren Sill, Brian Singleton, Chris Smith, Mike Stevenson, Lisa Zine |
| 2007 | Kean Almryde, Jim Brandon, Keye Chen, Jack DeSena, Melissa Eelkema, Caity Engler, Mark Iverson, Kelly McLean, Aadit Patel, Jordan Riggs, Lauren Sill, Jennifer Sim, Chris Smith |
| 2008 | Sasan Ahoraian, Kean Almryde, Shane Billings, Candace Gragnani, Matt Griffin, Kareem Hammad, Mark Iverson, Michael Lyons, Dylan Matteson, Constance Reese, Regan Riskas, Katy Tang, Madison Vanderberg |
| 2009 | Sasan Ahoraian, Kean Almryde, Shane Billings, Ben Goldsmith, Mark Stewart Iverson, Michelle Lin, Heather Losey, Dylan Matteson, Jackson McNeill, Sydney Pritchett, Jordan Riggs, Regan Riskas, Christine Takaichi, Madison Vanderberg. |
| 2010 | Shane Billings, Colin Davis, Ben Goldsmith, Steve Greene, Maddy Grubman, Kyle Lau, Jessie Linn, Ashley Morrissey, Dean Otsuka, Jake Perkowski, Kevin Ruane, Madison Vanderberg. |
| 2011 | Kimia Behpoornia, Colin Davis, Margaret Gardner, Benjamin Goldsmith, Steve Greene, Maddy Grubman, Albert Heng, Kyle Lau, Jessie Linn, Ashley Morrissey, Jake Perkowski, Kevin Ruane, Nick Smith, Lauren Vally, AJ White |
| 2012 | Kimia Behpoornia, Ida Cuttler, Alexis de Lucia, Levi Dygert, Karel Ebergen, Adam Epelbaum, Maddy Grubman, Kausar Mohammed, Taylor Patterson, Nick Smith, Jake Tieman, Lauren Vally, Alex Vergel |
| 2013 | Kimia Behpoornia, Ida Cuttler, Karel Ebergen, Nathan Galovan, Angela Giarratana, Jack Harrison, Tucker Marsano, Kausar Mohammed, Matt Panopio, Katheryne Penny, Alex Vergel, Michael Yanoska |
| 2014 | Kimia Behpoornia, Anthony DeBenedetti, Nathan Galovan, Luke Gane, Lila Gavares, Angela Giarratana, Lea Guillory, Andrew Hahn, Tucker Marsano, Kausar Mohammed, Joel Ontiveros, Marisa Statton, Alex Vergel |
| 2015 | Landen Baldwin, Rafe Blood, Elliott Desai, Matt Driver, Lila Gavares, Angela Giarratana, Emily Kerrigan, KJ Knies, Charley Rock, Dolapo Sangokoya, Marisa Statton, Marnina Wirtschafter |
| 2016 | Lila Gavares, Emily Kerrigan, Matt Driver, Landen Baldwin, Charley Rock, Jake Dvorksy, Natalina Cosenza, Guya Frazier, Danielle Kay, Brett Sebade, Jules Lom, Brandon Papo |
| 2017 | Avalon Penrose, Brandon Papo, Brett Sebade, Cory Lane, Danielle Kay, Emily Kerrigan, Hannah Connery, Jake Dvorsky, Jeremy Elder, Marie Osterman, Natalina Cosenza, Nathan Glovinsky, Olly Sholotan |
| 2018 | Avalon Penrose, Danielle Koenig, Hannah Connery, Irvin Mason Jr, Jake Dvorsky, Jeremy Elder, Madison Dahm, Natasha Williams, Nathan Glovinsky, Olly Sholotan, Spencer Martin, Wes Dunlap |
| 2019 | Jamie Atlas, Leah Bercovitch, Owen Braithwaite, Madison Dahm, Eliza Dillon, Jeremy Elder, Eliza Faloona, Jakob Garberg, Nathan Glovinsky, Danielle Koenig, Melissa Peng, Olly Sholotan |