Gonna make me happy

Several years ago, I wrote a musical arrangement for my favorite Microsoft a cappella group. (Yes, there actually are several a cappella groups at the company. Honestly, between the various extracurricular activities, teams, clubs, sports fields, "campuses", and the omnipresent cafeterias, I really do think we're a cleverly disguised high school.) The song was called 'Gonna Make You Happy'; I can't actually claim credit for the original tune and lyrics, which came from an excellent Australian comedic music group, but it was a fun challenge to put into a strictly vocal arrangement. The Baudboys are a fabulous group of singers -- they do a nice eclectic mix of styles, understand the need for a polished 'performance' to complement their already stellar vocals, and really just seem to have a good time singing. (Incidentally, friend J of J & S is a tenor in the group.) After I gave them the sheet music, I didn't hear from the group for several months, and then it was suggested that I might enjoy one of their upcoming performances -- where they proceeded to brilliantly perform the arrangement for the first time, getting big laughs and cheers from the audience.

I'm pleased to see that it's remained one of their most popular staples ever since -- I think the Microsoft 'geek' persona (also clearly labeled on the t-shirts they frequently wear at concerts) certainly doesn't hurt its effectiveness either. :) Anyway, the group competes in the annual Harmony Sweepstakes a cappella festival, a major a cappella competition with the winners of the eight regional competitions moving on to the national finals. The Baudboys have frequently been in the top handful at the Northwest Regionals, but hadn't actually won. Yet.

Yup, last weekend, they were back for this year's competition. Apparently a few people who'd heard them before even asked if they were going to do "that Xbox song". And with two excellent new arrangements by group members and my own arrangement getting huge audience reactions, they were crowned champions! One of these years I'm going to have to attend; it would be a blast to hear the arrangement (and of course the group as a whole) performed in front of a packed house. But for now, the Baudboys are off to the national finals in May (May 3 in San Rafael, for those Bay Area folks who'd like to scout things out). Huge congrats!

Oh, and if you want to watch their performance via a handcam recording in the audience, check it out below (or here if the embedded video doesn't work). My song starts about 5:15 in:

And if you'd like to compare the arrangement and performance to the original Tripod version, look here.