Round 2 Winner - Pavoratti vs. Studio 60

It is amazing how much people learn about music from one year to the next. The OHNO has proven to be an educational opportunity as well as a music competition. Studio 60 moves on!

O Holy Night Off! Pavoratti vs. Studio 60

Last Round 2 match! Pavoratti, of course, is Pavoratti, and being a high tenor, brings us the OHN in the very high key of E flat, with his high note being a B flat. If you like him, you will like this, if not, then you probably won't.
The Studio 60 version has a backstory that you can read in last year's blog notes on the first round. I moved it on to this round because of the lack of good taste in the masses last year. Hopefully, people have learned more about good music and will vote accordingly, otherwise we will have to relearn this lesson again. So tell me who you like better (like it matters).

Round 2 Winner - Groban vs. TSO

Man, I thought this would have been closer, but it wasn't. Groban by a mile, and moves on into the next round. This gives TSO the distinction of losing twice in the OHNO.

O Holy Night Off! Round 2 Josh Groban vs. TSO

This I will have to explain. In the bracket you will notice that TSO got beat by Manheim in a close match. However, my friend Mike shared with me a link from another TSO OHN that clearly would have won the bracket, so I am giving them an exemption into the next round. The link to the TSO version with Phantom of the Opera star Michael Crawford singing is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRn6gsS2L8U . If you want to hear a high tenor sing the song, this is your dude (although he sings it so high, dude may not be the right word there). He sings it in D and the high note is A, the highest in the competition so far.
He goes up against Josh Groban. Here is a nice youtube version with clips from The Nativity movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zh-yR0pbmU . He sings it in B with the high note a nice F#. The version (a #1 seed) has the arpeggio piano, the verses, the dynamic vocal range, the Noel, but so does Crawford. So do you like your OHN sung by a baritione or tenor? Let me know.

Round 2 Winner - Nat King Cole vs. Harry Connick, Jr.

This turned out to be no contest at all. Nat moves on to the next round!

O Holy Night Off! Round 2 - Nat King Cole vs. Harry Connick

First, both of these performers sing the song in A flat, and both have iconic sounds. Nat is probably one of the most famous covers of OHN in the competition, and the last round Harry won on a controversial tie breaker (go to last year's post to hear that story). To me, I know who should move on, but others may have a different opinion. So let me hear it.

Round 2 Winner - Mariah Carey vs. Mahalia Jackson

Round 2 Winner - Mariah wins! Moves on to the elite 8.