The long standing Bloxham tradition of House Shout returned on the final Friday before the half term break, with this year’s theme of love bringing out some truly fantastic performances. Each House sung their hearts out after weeks of practicing at every available breaktime. We had songs about relationships, break ups, marriages, jealousy and more, all of which combined to form an evening which, through the medium of song, celebrated the multifaceted and complex nature of love. To see photos from the evening, please click here.
We wouldn’t have wanted to have to choose between all the brilliant acts who took part this year, but luckily, this difficult decision was up to our independent adjudicators, Martin Toher and Leah Stockford. Martin is the founder of London-based record label B-Unique Records, and has worked with various powerhouse bands including Snow Patrol and the Kaiser Chiefs. Leah is a music marketing consultant who has run successful campaigns for some of the biggest stars in the industry, such as Beyoncé, Madonna and P!NK.
Merton did a great job of opening the show with their ensemble performance of Layla by Eric Clapton, but it was Wilberforce and Egerton who really blew the judges away when it came to the ensemble category, leading to them being named joint winners in this class. Egerton’s performance of Careless Whisper featured a truly fantastic saxophone solo and an enormously charismatic lead singer, while Wilberforce brought the house down with a beautifully harmonised Adele medley.
After a brief supper break, it was time for the unison portion of the competition. Every House really brought their A game here, with lots of hard work being demonstrated through the upbeat performances. The competition was fierce, but it was Exham who were eventually declared victorious thanks to their stunning rendition of What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction.
After announcing the category winners, it was time for the big one – which House would take home the trophy after being declared House Shout champions? This year, the prize went to Wilberforce! Both their ensemble’s Adele medley and their unison performance of Hit Me Baby One More Time really impressed the judges, and they certainly merited their victory.
Well done to everyone who took part!