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

2020 NCPA A CAPPELLA CHAMPIONS – THE HARVARD OPPORTUNES – HARVARD UNIVERSITY – $3000 in prizes and donations benefiting the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund

SOUTHERN REGION FINALISTS – THE MELODORES – VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY – $2000 in prizes and donations benefiting the Tennessee Education Association

SOUTHWESTERN REGION SEMIFINALISTS – VOCAL POINT – BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY – $1500 in prizes and donations benefiting the NAACP

MID-ATLANTIC SEMIFINALISTS – PENN MASALA – UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA – $500 in prizes and donations benefiting Black Men Heal

NORTHEAST REGION QUARTERFINALISTS – RAAG – RUTGERS UNIVERSITY – $500 in prizes and donations benefiting the Equal Justice Initiative

MIDWEST REGION QUARTERFINALISTS – NO COMMENT – UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS – $500 in prizes and donations benefiting the Urbana Champaign Equal Justice Initiative

SOUTH REGION QUARTERFINALISTS – ALL-NIGHT YAHTZEE – FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY – $500 in prizes and donations benefiting For the Gworls

WEST REGION QUARTERFINALISTS – SCATTERTONES – UCLA (UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES) – $500 in prizes and donations benefiting 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

FUNDAMENTALLY SOUND – UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSON – Freedom-inc.org
AFRO BLUE – HOWARD UNIVERSITY – Central Union Mission
GESTALT – UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA – Black Health Commission

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 Media – Morning 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