This Saturday sees the launch of BBC choral contest, Last Choir Standing, and one choir hoping to win over the audience are Alleycats, a group of students from St Andrews University who perform their own arrangements of pop, rock and r'n'b songs.
Musical Director Rebecca Hawley tells us what it's like singing in front of the judges, why young musicians need more support at school and why America is streets ahead when it comes to a capella singing.
MM: How did Alleycats get started?
RH: It was set up by a group of guys about seven years ago who just enjoyed singing together. It changes every year as people graduate and new people join, and this is the first year it's been a mixed choir.
So you were one of the first girls then?
Yes, I was the first girl. The boys lost their MD last year and they were looking for a new MD so I stepped in.
What kind of music do you do?
Mostly contemporary music, anything from the Fugees to Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse. At the moment we are doing of version of the Arctic Monkeys' cover of Girls Aloud's Love Machine.
Have you done lots of singing in the past?
I started singing when I was a kid and joined a county junior choir until I was about 15. When I came to university I did musicals and auditioned for an all-girls acapella group and then was asked to join this choir.
Did you do a lot of music at school?
Not academically, my schools have never been very musical. But I learned violin through Leicestershire Arts and was very involved at county level, playing in the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra.
How would you have improved music at your school?
I wish there had been more support for young people learning instruments at school. At the age of eight or nine lots of people take up instruments and then at 11 or 12 everybody gives up because it's seen as a really geeky thing to do and it's not cool anymore. I was really uncool for years at school and then I got to 16 or 17 and I was really quite good and people around you say, 'I wish I'd carried on playing'. I wish schools had done more to encourage it and make it a cool thing to do.
Why did you want to enter the TV show?
As a bit of fun really. My sister saw an advert for it and said we should enter. We recorded a video as a bit of a laugh and never expected to get anywhere. We've really loved the process so far but it's also been a complete shock. Our audience was always very studenty and there's no music department at St Andrews so singing in front of the judges was the first time we'd had a professional opinion.
What kind of comments have you had from the judges?
We got some fantastic comments. I was worried because we're not music students, we just do it because we love it and it's really good fun. But Suzi Digby, who's the most technical judge, actually said some lovely things, like we had a near perfect blend.
What about your competitors, what do you think of them?
Loads of the choirs are really impressive. There's a choir called Sense of Sound from Liverpool who are going to be awesome. There's a male voice choir who are outstanding and a really good community choir from Belfast, Open Arts, they have such amazing control.
How do you feel about going on prime time Saturday night TV?
I'm a bit scared, but very excited at the same time. I feel like I've just got to be myself. We've got to go for it, have fun and give it our all.
Do you think you might encourage other people to get out there and start singing?
That would be amazing, the ultimate compliment. I think we are very accessible as a choir; we're young people and we sing really contemporary music from the charts. It would be awesome if young people at schools and universities decided to set up a capella groups, like they do in America, and sing the music they want to.
Why do you think a capella hasn't been as big over here as in the States?
Maybe it is because of that stigma of classical music, the stigma of singing. Also it's really well supported over there. It's part of high school and college culture - you can YouTube any song and find an American high school or college singing it. There's a big association called BOCA who release a CD every year of the best college a capella groups. A capella is such a huge culture in America and if any of that could filter over here it would be awesome.