Collegiate a cappella ensembles are college-affiliated singing groups, primarily in the United States, and, increasingly, the United Kingdom and Ireland, that perform entirely without musical instruments. The groups are typically composed of, operated by, and directed by students. In the context of collegiate a cappella, the term a cappella typically also refers to the music genre performed by pop-centric student singing groups. Consequently, an ensemble that sings unaccompanied classical music may not be considered an a cappella group, even though technically it is performing a cappella.
Deke Sharon is an American singer, arranger, composer, director, producer, author, coach, pioneer, and teacher of a cappella music, and is one of the leaders and promoters of the contemporary a cappella community. He has been referred to as "the father of contemporary a cappella" and "the godfather of a cappella".
The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), originally the National Championship of Collegiate A Cappella, is an international competition run by Varsity Vocals, that attracts hundreds of college a cappella groups each year.
Elizabeth Banks is an American actress, producer and director. She is known for playing chaperone Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games film series (2012–2015) and an ICCA commentator in the Pitch Perfect film series (2012–2017). She made her directorial film debut with Pitch Perfect 2 (2015), whose $69 million opening-weekend gross set a record for a first-time director. She has since directed the action comedy Charlie's Angels (2019) and the horror comedy film Cocaine Bear (2023). Banks founded the film and television production company Brownstone Productions in 2002 with her husband, Max Handelman.
The Hullabahoos are a student-run, all-male a cappella group at the University of Virginia. The group was founded in 1987 by Halsted Sullivan and recorded its 24th studio album in 2024. They have appeared as the fictional group "Here Comes Treble" on an episode of NBC's The Office, were featured in the 2012 blockbuster film Pitch Perfect, and have performed at events like the 2004 Republican National Convention, Washington Nationals baseball games, Good Morning America, in the Philippines, weddings, and private parties. Other performance requests have included invitations from the White House, the Kennedy Center, and NBC's The Today Show.
Skylar Astin is an American actor. He became known for portraying Jesse Swanson in the musical films Pitch Perfect (2012) and Pitch Perfect 2 (2015). He originated the role of Georg in the Broadway musical Spring Awakening, and has since appeared in films such as Hamlet 2 (2008), Taking Woodstock (2009), Cavemen (2013), and 21 & Over (2013). He played the role of Greg Serrano on the last season of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, a role originally played by Santino Fontana, and Max in the musical dramedy Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (2020). He played the titular role of Todd in the television drama So Help Me Todd, which premiered in September 2022 and concluded on May 16, 2024.
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.
Anna Cooke Kendrick is an American actress. Her first starring role was in the 1998 Broadway musical High Society, for which she earned a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She made her film debut in the musical comedy Camp (2003) and had a supporting role in The Twilight Saga (2008–2011). She achieved wider recognition for the comedy-drama film Up in the Air (2009), which earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and for her starring role in the Pitch Perfect film series (2012–2017).
Anna Ragsdale Camp is an American actress who portrayed the villainous Sarah Newlin in the HBO vampire drama True Blood and Aubrey Posen in the musical comedy Pitch Perfect film series (2012–2017).
Adam Patrick DeVine is an American comedian, actor, producer and screenwriter. He is one of the stars and co-creators of the Comedy Central comedy television series Workaholics and Adam DeVine's House Party.
Pitch Perfect is a 2012 American musical comedy film directed by Jason Moore and written by Kay Cannon. It features an ensemble cast, including Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Rebel Wilson, Adam DeVine, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Hana Mae Lee, Alexis Knapp, Ester Dean, Kelley Jakle, Shelley Regner, Wanetah Walmsley, Ben Platt, Utkarsh Ambudkar, John Michael Higgins, and Elizabeth Banks. The film's plot follows an all-girl a cappella group who compete against another group from their own college to win the National. The film is loosely adapted from Cornell University alum Mickey Rapkin's non-fiction book, titled Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate a Cappella Glory and director Moore's own experiences at his alma mater, Northwestern University. Filming concluded in December 2011, in Rogers, Arkansas.
"Cups" is the only song released and performed by American actress Anna Kendrick on the 2012 extended play (EP) More from Pitch Perfect. The song rose to prominence following its debut in Pitch Perfect (2012). Republic Records released the "Pitch Perfect's When I'm Gone" remix on March 26, 2013. The original folk song was written in 1931 by A. P. Carter, and in 2009 it was reworked by British musicians Heloise Tunstall-Behrens and Luisa Gerstein recording under the group name Lulu and the Lampshades.
Ground Floor is an American sitcom created by Bill Lawrence and Greg Malins, that aired on TBS for two seasons, from November 14, 2013, through February 10, 2015. The series stars Skylar Astin, Briga Heelan, Rory Scovel and John C. McGinley and followed Brody, a successful banker who falls for Jenny, an intelligent maintenance supervisor who works in the same building.
Kelley Jakle is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She played the role of Jessica Smith in the Pitch Perfect series (2012–2017) and appeared on the first and second seasons of The Sing-Off in 2009 and 2010. She is also a member of an Americana duo band, Robin Alice.
Pitch Perfect 2 is a 2015 American musical comedy film directed and produced by Elizabeth Banks and written by Kay Cannon. It is a sequel to the 2012 film Pitch Perfect and the second installment in the Pitch Perfect trilogy. The film centers on the fictional Barden University Bellas, an all-female a cappella singing group, who try to beat out a competing German musical group in a world singing championship. The film features Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Skylar Astin, Adam DeVine, Anna Camp, Ben Platt, Hana Mae Lee, Alexis Knapp, Ester Dean, Kelly Jakle, Shelley Regner, John Michael Higgins, and Banks all reprising their roles from the previous film, now joined by Hailee Steinfeld, Katey Sagal, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, and Flula Borg.
Shelley Anne Regner is an American actress and singer, known for her role as Ashley Jones in the Pitch Perfect film series (2012–2017). She is also known as a past member of Disney's a cappella group, DCappella.
Pitch Perfect 3 is a 2017 American musical comedy film directed by Trish Sie and written by Kay Cannon and Mike White. It is set after the events of Pitch Perfect 2 (2015), and is the third installment in the Pitch Perfect trilogy. It features Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Hana Mae Lee, Ester Dean, Chrissie Fit, Alexis Knapp, Kelly Jakle, Shelley Regner, John Michael Higgins, and Elizabeth Banks reprising their roles from previous installments, joined by John Lithgow, DJ Khaled, Ruby Rose, Matt Lanter, and Guy Burnet. The film follows the Bellas, now graduated from college, reuniting for one final performance together during an overseas USO tour.
Evynne Hollens is a female vocalist who lives and works in her native Eugene, Oregon. She was one of the co-founders of the University of Oregon’s female a cappella group, Divisi, with which she sang for five years. Her name is the first word in the first chapter of the book Pitch Perfect, on which the movie of the same title is based. Her and Divisi’s adventures at the 2005 International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Finals make up a major portion of the book.
Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin is an American comedy television series developed by Megan Amram and Elizabeth Banks based on characters created by Kay Cannon. It is a television series spin-off of the film series Pitch Perfect. The series premiered on Peacock on November 23, 2022. In January 2023, the series was renewed for a second season. In September 2023, Peacock decided not to move forward with the second season due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike and the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.
Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin is the soundtrack to the Peacock comedy television series Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin, a spin-off of the Pitch Perfect film series. The album was released by Universal Music Enterprises on November 23, 2022, the same day as its series premiere, and was led by the single "Know My Name" released prior to the album. It was released in Dolby Atmos on Apple Music.
