Nota (group)

Last updated

NOTA
Origin San Juan, Puerto Rico
Genres A cappella, reggae, pop
Years active1994–present
Labels Epic (2010-present)
Sony (2010-present)
MembersJohnny Figueroa
Jose A. Rodriguez
Ludwig Henderson
Edgar Rios
Juan E. Diaz
David Pinto
Website notavocal.com

Nota is an a cappella group of six male vocalists from San Juan, Puerto Rico. The group met in 1994 and started singing together occasionally. [1] The group won the first season of the musical competition The Sing-Off .

Contents

Biography

Johnny Figueroa, Nota's bass singer and a distinguished neuroscientist from Loma Linda University School of Medicine, first heard of The Sing-Off during the summer of 2009. [1] He called five other people he had sung with on and off with for 15 years, seeking the five best singers for the competition. There was initially some doubt that Rodriguez and Rios would be able to participate [1] Both had family members sick with the H1N1 virus, [1] and David Pinto was unsure if he could participate in the competition, due to financial issues. Daddy Yankee, whom Pinto was working with, paid the airline bill in order for Pinto to participate in the competition. [1] All five entered the competition, and won.

The Sing-Off

Nota participated in the first season The Sing-Off , a singing competition broadcast on NBC where they competed against seven other vocal groups. Largely considered the underdog of the competition, Nota's popularity soared after performing "Down" by Jay Sean, on the second episode of the competition. [2] [3] In the final live broadcast on 21 December 2009, Nota won the contest against The Beelzebubs and Voices of Lee. [1] After Nota won the competition, Jay Sean joined the group onstage to perform "Down". [1] .

Performances and results

EpisodeThemeSong choiceOriginal artistResult
1Group's choice"I'm Yours" Jason Mraz Advanced
2Big Hits"Down" Jay Sean Advanced
Guilty Pleasures"Stayin' Alive" The Bee Gees Advanced
3Superstar MedleyVarious Jackson 5 Advanced
Judge's choice"Sledgehammer" Peter Gabriel Advanced
4Finale"Lean on Me" Bill Withers Advanced
"The Tracks of My Tears" The Miracles Winner

Post Sing Off

As winners of the competition, they received US$100,000 and a recording contract with Sony Music Entertainment. In 2010, Nota met with Sony Executives to plan a studio album. The album was recorded at Bill Hare Productions in Silicon Valley, California, Produced by Deke Sharon and Bill Hare.

Career

Nota (2010-present)

They performed the Puerto Rico national anthem during the opening ceremony of the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games held in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. [4] They also opened for Shakira on a few American dates of her The Sun Comes Out World Tour.

The group's debut album, Nota, was released on 1 November 2010. On 8 December 2010, the group returned to The Sing-Off and performed a cover of The Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling," which is also featured on their debut album. [5]

Discography

Albums

YearAlbumPeak
US
Heat
2010Nota8
Nota's A Cappella Christmas
  • Released: 7 December 2010
  • Label: Sony
  • Format: Digital download
21
"" denotes the album didn't chart.

Singles

YearSingleAlbum
2010"Down"Nota
"I Gotta Feeling"
"All I Want for Christmas Is You"Nota's A Cappella Christmas
2011"My Girl"Nota

Music videos

YearSongAlbum
2010"All I Want for Christmas Is You"Nota's A Cappella Christmas
2011"My Girl"Nota

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayagüez, Puerto Rico</span> City and municipality in Puerto Rico

Mayagüez is a city and the eighth-largest municipality in Puerto Rico. It was founded as Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez, and is also known as La Sultana del Oeste, Ciudad de las Aguas Puras, or Ciudad del Mangó. On April 6, 1894, the Spanish Crown granted it the formal title of Excelente Ciudad de Mayagüez. Mayagüez is located in the center of the western coast on the island of Puerto Rico. It has a population of 73,077 in the city proper, and it is a principal city of the Mayagüez Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Mayagüez–San Germán–Cabo Rojo Combined Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez</span> Land-grant, sea-grant, space-grant state university located in the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico

The University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (UPRM) or Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez (RUM) in Spanish, is a public land-grant university in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. UPRM is the second-largest university campus of the University of Puerto Rico system. In addition to its status as a land-grant university, it is also a member of the sea-grant and space-grant research consortia. In 2009, the campus population was composed of 12,108 students, 1,924 regular staff members, and 1,037 members of the education staff. In 2013, the student population remained relatively steady at 11,838, but the instructional faculty dropped to 684. In the second semester of 2019 around 12,166 students where enrolled. UPRM has been accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) since 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilkins (singer)</span> Puerto Rican singer

Wilkins is a Puerto Rican pop music singer and composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puerto Rico national baseball team</span> National sports team

The Puerto Rico national baseball team is the national baseball team of Puerto Rico. The men's senior team is currently ranked 11th in the world, while its women's counterpart is 12th. Puerto Rico is the incumbent Pan American and Central American/Caribbean champion, as well as the World Baseball Classic runner-up.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1993 Central American and Caribbean Games</span> Held in Ponce, Puerto Rico

The 17th Central American and Caribbean Games were held in Ponce, a city in southern Puerto Rico. The Games were held 19–30 November 1993, and included 3,570 athletes from 31 nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Central American and Caribbean Games</span> Sports events hosted in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico

The 21st Central American and Caribbean Games took place in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, from 18 July 2010 to 1 August 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente</span> Professional baseball league in Puerto Rico

Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (LBPRC) is the main professional baseball league in Puerto Rico; it is colloquially referred to as the Puerto Rican Winter League. Consisting of seven teams as of the 2020–21 season, the league's champion participates in the Caribbean Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Duffy</span> American politician

Sean Patrick Duffy is an American politician, prosecutor, former sports commentator and reality television personality who is currently a Fox News contributor. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the U.S. representative for Wisconsin's 7th congressional district from 2011 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ektor Rivera</span> Puerto Rican Broadway actor and singer

Héctor "Ektor" Ramón Rivera Alicea on February 11 in Bayamón, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican actor, singer and visual artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Mayagüez</span> Port located in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico

The Port of Mayagüez, located northwest of downtown Mayagüez in Mayagüez Bay, is the third busiest port on Puerto Rico. The port is situated along Puerto Rico routes 64, 341, and 3341, and stretches for 3.8 miles along the coast. Its main canal is 0.4 miles wide and its depth ranges from 47 to 120 feet; the water's depth along the piers ranges between 28 and 29 feet. The port is protected from rough seas by reefs which run along its northern and western sections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beelzebubs</span> Musical artist

The Tufts Beelzebubs, frequently referred to as "The Bubs", is a male a cappella group of students from Tufts University that performs a mix of pop, rock, R&B, and other types of music while spreading their motto of "Fun through Song." Founded in 1962, they have toured in Europe, Asia, South America, and North America, and they competed on NBC's The Sing-Off in December 2009, finishing in second place.

The Puerto Rico Soccer League or PRSL is an association football league in Puerto Rico founded in 2008 and the first unified football league in the island's history. Association football had been growing in popularity in recent years, and this was an attempt to further develop the game on the island. The previous highest league in the country was the Campeonato Nacional de Fútbol de Puerto Rico. It shares Division I status with Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Puerto Rico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Down (Jay Sean song)</span> R&B-electropop song by British artist Jay Sean

"Down" is a song by British singer Jay Sean featuring American rapper and labelmate Lil Wayne. The song was released in North America as his debut single from his first album there, All or Nothing. In other markets, including the United Kingdom, the song serves as Jay Sean's lead single from his third studio album. Produced by J-Remy and Bobby Bass, "Down" is the seventh-best selling single of 2009 and has been certified Platinum in several countries. The song went on to sell six million copies in the United States and received a large airplay on radio worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaza Colón</span> Historic plaza in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico

Plaza Colón is the main plaza in the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. This plaza and its fountain commemorate the explorer Christopher Columbus, whose name in Spanish was Cristóbal Colón. The plaza presents the traditional urban relationship in Puerto Rico with the church, now Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria Cathedral on one end of the plaza and the "Alcaldia" or Mayagüez town hall in the other. Its location was designated in 1760 close to the city founding.

<i>The Sing-Off</i> American television singing competition featuring a cappella groups

The Sing-Off was an American television singing competition featuring a cappella groups. It debuted on NBC on December 14, 2009, and was produced by Sony Pictures Television and Outlaw Productions, with Mark Burnett's One Three Media being added for the fourth season. A fifth season aired as a holiday special in December 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Architecture</span> School of architecture located in the Ponce Historic Zone in Ponce, Puerto Rico

The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Architecture is an institution of higher learning granting degrees in the field of architecture. It is located in the Ponce Historic Zone, across from Plaza Las Delicias. It was established in 2009. Together with the School of Law, it is one of two semi-autonomous professional colleges of the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico (PCUPR) in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. In 2010, the school won an award from the Southern Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce for Valor del Año en Educacion. The school is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). It has a teaching staff of 40 and a student body of 300. The current dean of the school is Luis Badillo Lozano.

The second season of The Sing-Off began on December 6, 2010. The number of a cappella groups was increased from eight to ten, with all acts coming from the United States. Nick Lachey remained as host and the three judges, Ben Folds, Shawn Stockman and Nicole Scherzinger, also returned. Deke Sharon returned as music director and vocal producer. The music staff included Ed Boyer, Ben Bram, and Bill Hare. The program was broadcast for five nights in December with the finale on December 20. The season premiere averaged 8.5 million viewers. On the finale, the group Committed became the second champion of the show, beating Street Corner Symphony, The Backbeats and Jerry Lawson & Talk of the Town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics</span> International athletics championship event

The 2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics were held in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. The event served as classifiers for the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and took place from July 15–17, 2011. It was the fourth time Puerto Rico hosted the event; the first time in Ponce in 1975, and later in San Juan in 1989 and 1997.

The first season of The Sing-Off premiered on December 14, 2009. The show featured eight a cappella groups performing popular songs live. The winner's prize was $100,000 and a Sony Music recording contract. Nick Lachey hosted, while Ben Folds of Ben Folds Five, Shawn Stockman from Boyz II Men and Nicole Scherzinger from The Pussycat Dolls were judges. The show ran for 4 episodes, concluding on December 21, 2009 with a live finale. The group Nota won the title.

Sonido Tré is a latin music trio comprising vocalists Mayda Belén Rivera and Edgar Ríos, and Quique Domenech on Cuatro. All three members were born in Puerto Rico. Domenech studied the cuatro from the age of six. At 11 he entered a five-year program at the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture studying the cuatro and music theory. He has been nominated twice for a Latin Grammy. Rivera was a semifinalist on Latin American Idol. The newest member of Sonido Tré is Edgar Ríos. Ríos was a member of the a cappella group Nota, winners of the NBC show The Sing-Off.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Piazza, Jo (24 December 2009). "'Sing-Off' winners Nota thankful for 'dream come true'". CNN . Retrieved 24 December 2009.
  2. Piazza, Jo (22 December 2009). "Nota wins NBC's 'Sing Off'". CNN . Retrieved 24 December 2009.
  3. Adalian, Josef (22 December 2009). "RATINGS: 'Sing-Off' Hits a High Note". The Wrap. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
  4. Pereira, Jose F. "Grupo Nota Vocal interpretara el himno de Puerto Rico en la ceremonia inaugural de Mayaguez 2010" (in Spanish). PRIMERA HORA. Retrieved 7 July 2010.[ permanent dead link ]
  5. "Such a Joy! The Sing off Season 2 Night 2 Recap". 9 December 2010.