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UpStagedAID: One World, Every Student Voice

THE 2020 NCPA A CAPPELLA CHAMPIONSHIPS

NCPA’s UpStagedAID: One World, Every Student Voice was the biggest virtual college A Cappella competition in history. with more than 5,000 a cappella groups from around the globe competing for $10,000 for their teams and their social justice charity of choice.

From Florida to Boston, Seattle to Tucson, collegiate A Cappella groups performed their hearts out to prove they were NCPA’s National Champions! Nearly 150,000 fan votes determined the regional champions and our panel of industry judges determined who would emerge victorious as 2020 NCPA A Cappella Champion.

Teams eliminated in the main bracket competed in the “All-American Encore Round” until the final 16 were submitted to judges to determine four All-Americans who received $500 in cash prizes for themselves and their social justice charities.

Exclusive streaming partner Broadway On Demand streamed the Semifinals, All-American Encore Finals, and Championship Match-Ups to their OTT audiences.

Who were the stars of the show? The Harvard Opportunes reigned supreme as 2020 NCPA A Cappella Champion, benefitting the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund.

2020 Championship

Out of 5000 groups nationally, it came down to two. Watch the judges determine 2020’s top A Cappella teams!

All-American Encore

Eliminated teams had the opportunity to earn recognition and prizes for their groups and social justice charities.

Watch the Top 32

From Florida to Washington, 64 teams battled it out. Watch their phenomenal performances, guaranteed to get you on your feet!

2020 NCPA A CAPPELLA RANKINGS

RANKINGS

TEAM NAME / COLLEGE

PRIZE AND DONATIONS

BENEFITING CHARITY

2020 NCPA A CAPPELLA CHAMPIONS
THE HARVARD OPPORTUNES / HARVARD UNIVERSITY
$3000
NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund
SOUTHERN REGION FINALISTS
THE MELODORES / VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
$2000
Tennessee Education Association
SOUTHWESTERN REGION SEMIFINALISTS
VOCAL POINT / BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY
$1500
NAACP
MID-ATLANTIC SEMIFINALISTS
PENN MASALA / UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
$500
Black Men Heal
NORTHEAST REGION QUARTERFINALISTS
RAAG / RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
$500
Equal Justice Initiative
MIDWEST REGION QUARTERFINALISTS
NO COMMENT / UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
$500
Urbana Champaign Equal Justice Initiative
SOUTH REGION QUARTERFINALISTS
ALL-NIGHT YAHTZEE / FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
$500
For the Gworls
WEST REGION QUARTERFINALISTS
SCATTERTONES / UCLA (UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES)
$500
Lebanon Red Cross

2020 A CAPPELLA ALL-AMERICANS

Eliminated teams were given the opportunity to compete in the All-American Encore bracket to earn up to $500 in prizes and donations for their social justice charities.

#1 – PITCH SLAPPED – BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC – benefiting Lebanon Red Cross

#2 – THE DOOX OF YALE – YALE UNIVERSITY – benefiting the Connecticut Bail Fund

#3 – THE PRISMATICS – BELMONT UNIVERSITY – benefiting The Mental Health Association of the MidSouth

#4 – THE NOR’EASTERS – NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY – benefiting the Black Arts Futures Fund (BAFF)

#4 – AMAZIN’ BLUE – UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN – benefiting Lebanon Red Cross

2020 A CAPPELLA ALL-AMERICAN HONORABLE MENTIONS

JUDGES’ SPECIAL MENTIONS

  • Best Vibe – PITCH SLAPPED – BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC
  • Best Use of Zoom – THE DOOX OF YALE – YALE UNIVERSITY
  • Best Self-Referential A Cappella Humor – FUNDAMENTALLY SOUND – UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

Competition Stats

MARKETING AND PRESS IMPRESSIONS

  • All earned media, no paid media: Oct. 1st-Dec 30th
  • 15 Mil. Definite Reach – 13 Mil. NPR audience, 600K+ SM Views, 350K+ SM viewers, 100+ on-line videos, 50+ media pieces
  • 25+ Mil. Direct Reach – Add’l 10+ Mil. alumni from 32 schools, 100+ School Press Releases, PR media push at each school
  • 100K Actively Engaged – 50K visitors (spending 3-4 mins each), 20K voters, 32 teams active social media posts outside UpStaged

VOTERS ENGAGED

  • 25,000+ Active Voters – Almost 20K from A Cappella, almost 5K from Camp, and 2K from Step competitions
  • Nearly 150,000 Votes Cast – From nearly 20,000 unique individual voters across the country, with verified e-mails
  • 50,000+ Online Visitors in 6 Weeks – And thousands more on UpStaged event produced videos distributed online

SOCIAL MEDIA REACH

  • 350,000+ Reach, 600,000+ Impressions – Across multiple UpStaged/NCPA web platforms throughout competition time period
  • Entirely Organic Growth, No Paid Media – From UpStaged social media posts in conjunction with 32 competing teams’ posts
  • Election Year Restrictions Suppressed Numbers – All this in spite of the fact that social media algorithms suppressed content frequently mentioning voting
  •  – And thousands more on UpStaged event produced videos distributed online

TRADITIONAL MEDIA REACH

  • NPR National MediaMorning Edition segment (13 Mil. audience), 4-minute piece
  • Local Media in 32 School Markets – Bloomberg, NBC, ABC, and local affiliates on radio, TV, and print in all 19 team states
  • Student Hometown Media – Press releases, news stories, and student interviews run in hometowns of student performers

SCHOOL AND ALUMNI RELATIONS

  • 32 Media/Alumni Relations Media Partners – Multiple contacts at each school, for total of 300 (5-15 per school) relationships
  • Hundreds of UpStaged-Produced School Media Placements – Tailored press releases and videos for each school to distribute to thousands