CincySings pits local companies against each other for chance to sing National Athem at Reds Game

Drew Lachey, formerly of band 98 Degrees, stops by WLWT News 5 Today to discuss CincySings. The competition raises money for ArtsWave, a nonprofit that supports the arts locally. Click here to learn more or to buy tickets. Subscribe to WLWT on YouTube now for more:http://bit.ly/1ipUX3c

Cincy Sings (Yeah, She Does) -- DREW

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By Leah Zipperstein

Wow. That's where we must begun when delving into last night's Cincy Sings competition at the Aronoff Center. I could have sworn the friendly sing off would have been held in the smaller Jarson-Kaplan Theater. But no.

With 1,500 folks in attendance, we filled (well, almost filled) the big house. While there have been a few internal sing offs at some of Cincinnati's major companies, there has yet to be a city-wide competition pitting the engineers against the grocers and the bankers against the card sharks. Last night changed that.

Presented by ArtsWave and hosted by Drew Lachey, 10 teams battled it out. The judges were Bob Herzog (Local 12 morning anchor and traffic reporter), Pamela Myers (Tony nominated actress), Dr. Casey J. Hayes (Artistic Director of the Cincinnati Men's Chorus), and Kathy Wade (International award winning jazz vocalist). 

The grading criteria: 

  1. Song selection
  2. Stage presence
  3. Vocal quality

Some of us have hidden talents. Sure. But who knew there were so many talented peeps hiding among Cincinnati's corporate elite. For example American Modern's Vocal Intensity forced us to drop our jaws and Kathy Wade to flail her arms in amazement when one of their singers broke into a solo jazz be-dee-bop-a-dee-bop of perfection. Still. Blown. Away. 

Then there was Any Direction, a GE boy band giving Avicii's "Wake Me Up" some serious justice. I have my doubts if Sheldon (from The Big Bang Theory) could have been that sly. Or how about the Curious Fifth Third Bankers singing "Tornado" by Little Big Town? The three vocalists on stage, one of whom strummed the guitar, felt like they were playing the Grand Ole Opry. Watch out, Rayna James.

The winning team, by a single split hair, went to P&G's Legal Notes for their rendition of a Beatles tune. Dave Mattheis, current senior legal counsel at P&G, walked out on the stage with a briefcase, looking ready to depose Drew Lachey. When Drew informed to calm down because it's only a friendly singing competition, Mattheis brought in a little help from his friends that was straight acapella goodness. The harmony, finger snapping, and overall charm was too much for the judges to ignore. That, and the threat of a lawsuit.

In between the first half of songs and before the judges final deliberation, we also enjoyed short performances by other local arts groups — MamLuft & Co. Dance along with Exhale Dance Tribe. I have to give a special shout out to the male dancer from Exhale who opened their performance with a slick and fluid contemporary number that I'd like to put on repeat. 

Other highlights from the night include: 

  • Bob Herzog saving someone's life with a sweet mic catch after a member of Any Direction accidentally knocked it over

  • Hearing the Just Roll With It Cincinnati Children's wild card team close the night with Pharrell's "Happy." That song has yet to get old. Really, it just keeps getting better.

  • Drew Lachey. If you want a hostest with the mostest, he is your guy. He kept the performances moving straight along. He had the right amount of witty banter with the judges and the audience, and he's an amazing ambassador for the city. Companies should hire him to emcee a day at work. There'd be no more reports of cube monkey-itis. I'm sure of it. 

Local Choir Competition Will Be Hosted by Drew Lachey

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by JENN DERANGO

As a dealership that sells used cars in Cincinnati OH, McCluskey Automotive is always on the lookout for the best news and events happening around Cincinnati. There are a ton of fun things to do in this great city on a daily basis, and incredible events get brought into town that are always worth mentioning. If you are a fan of singing competitions like The Voice, and American Idol, then you may want to listen up. If you have a great voice, and know others that can also carry a tune, then you definitely want to listen up.

Cincinnati’s very first region-wide choral competition is happening this April 9. The event is an exciting one, and is being hosted by celebrity Drew Lachey, ot 98 Degrees fame. The competition will feature a total of ten different choirs from ten local companies to compete on the stage at the Aronoff Center on April 9. Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, Procter & Gamble, Fifth Third Bank, Duke Energy, Horseshoe Casino, GE Aviation, TriHealth, and American Modern Insurance are among the companies that will be competing. An eleventh team will be chosen by a fan vote starting on March 17. Any local group or choir can submit a video to be entered for a chance to compete on April 9. Submission guidelines and rules can be found here. The submitted videos will be posted on YouTube and be up for a vote starting on March 17.

The choral competition will be raising money for the ArtsWave Community Campaign – a local non-profit organization that is dedicated to being a leader in the arts community of Cincinnati. Tickets for the event will likely sell out, so be sure to get yours now! The show begins at 7pm, and tickets range in price from $20 to $50. We hope to see you there, and who knows – we might even see you on center stage!

First choral competition of its kind coming to Cincinnati

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By Ben Petracco

Winner of competition will sing national anthem at a Reds game

CINCINNATI —A new choral competition is coming to Cincinnati.

The CincySings Competition will be hosted by Drew Lachey.

CincySings will be the first region-wide choral competition for Tri-State businesses.

“Everybody from Duke, to P&G, GE, Humana, American Modern, Fifth Third, Tri Health, Cincinnati Children's, and I'm missing another one. They all do talent shows and they crown a winner, and all those winners and one wild card also from Children's are coming to the Aronoff Center on April 9 for a battle of the bands,” Lachey said.

The Horseshoe Casino and Kroger will also be participating in CincySings.

The winner will get to sing the national anthem at a Reds game this season.

All of the money raised from CincySings will go to benefit ArtsWave, which supports art and culture in the Tri-State.

19 things you didn't know about Drew Lachey

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Posted by Mary Kate Gaffney


Cincinnati News, FOX19-WXIX TV

CINCINNATI, OH (FOX19) -

Drew Lachey stopped by the studio to discuss his upcoming event CincySings. Behind the scenes, I had a chance to ask him 19 personal questions!

19 things you didn't know about Drew Lachey: 

1. Where did the Lachey family grow up? College Hill.
2. What's a new Cincinnati restaurant that you like? Sotto, A Tavola and Bakersfield.
3. Favorite sports team? My grandfather taught at UC so I have to say the Bearcats!
4. Favorite dish to cook? A bowl of cereal.
5. What other languages can you speak? About four different languages to order a beer. 
6. What's your favorite social media app? Twitter. 
7. Where did you come up with the name 98 degrees? It's representative of the mood we wanted our music to create. It's like steamy, hot, body heat.  All our love songs!
8. Favorite TV show? House of Cards, Game of Thrones, Walking Dead and Homeland.
9. First car? 1981 Toyota Celica that I bought for $300.
10. Last restaurant you ate at? Skyline!
11. Last movie you saw? Frozen.
12. Mustard or ketchup on your hot dog? Mustard.
13. Favorite holiday? Thanksgiving.
14. If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would you meet? I love history so maybe FDR. 
15. One of your biggest fears? I'm not a big fan of rodents. 
16. Dogs or cats? Dogs! 
17. What's your Starbucks order? I don't drink coffee.
18. Laying on the beach or skiing in the mountains? Go to California and you can do both in the same day!
19. Favorite color? Navy blue.

Follow Drew on twitter at @DrewLachey! 

Drew Lachey on The Xtra Tuesday to talk about CincySings

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Posted by Paul McKibben 

Posted by Mary Kate Gaffney

(FOX19) -

Drew Lachey will be on The Xtra Tuesday morning to talk about CincySings, a new singing competition April 9 at The Aronoff Center.

Teams of employee choirs from the 2014 ArtsWave Community Campaign will face off in this competition that will continue Cincinnati's choral tradition. The winners of the CincySings competition will receive a special prize package from ArtsWave and have the chance to sing the national anthem at a Cincinnati Reds game.

The ArtsWave campaign supports more than 100 arts and cultural organizations with grants and services.

Lachey will host the contest.

For more information: http://www.cincinnatiarts.org/events/detail/cincysings.