VoicePlay - My Shot (from Hamilton the Musical)

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Every 5 years or so, a broadway musical comes along that captures the imagination of the public and secures it's legacy as a bonafide, enduring smash. In the past twenty years we have had The Lion King, Wicked, Book of Mormon and now Hamilton. The latter is a genuine phenomenon that has sold over a million copies of the soundtrack and looks set to sweep the Tony awards next week. Tickets are as hard to come by in New York as Harry Potter & The Cursed Child ones are in London; Brits like me are going to want to get themselves on the waiting list for tickets now - the show transfers here in October 2017...

...Now I've long imagined that the songs of Hamilton are ripe for pop interpretations. The soul, latin and hip hop influences make an intriguing change of pace from the faceless beats and cookie cutter choruses that proliferate the charts of today. Imagine Little Mix singing Helpless or VoicePlay bringing a cappella majesty to the exhilarating My Shot. Oh, wait - like an answer to my whispered prayer to the pop gods, my five main lads have gotten resplendent in Hamilton finery and voiceplayed the heck out of that very song (balls in your court Little Mix). Long time followers of The Sing-Off alumni will know that each song VoicePlay cover isn't just them singing someone else's music; it is a fully conceptual work of art that requires multiple listens and viewings to appreciate the intricate nuances. The sounds the create with their voices continues to astound me. My Shot is full of military precision beats, synth-like loops and textured harmonies that really accentuate the beautiful melodies that Lin Manuel-Miranda has created, sending them to giddy new heights. Perhaps more than any other song, the guys get to truly embody characters and infuse them with personality, wit and gravitas as required. For example, their French was perfect - I must have remembered more than I thought from school because I understood every word ;-) (PS, as a Brit I apologise for ripping on you endlessly). Alongside the wit there is genuine pathos (the lyrics pondering death) but ultimately it is a rallying call to arms. VoicePlay work this exquisitely with succinct, precise and emphatic delivery of every beat, vocal tick and word the song demands. It is genuinely breathtaking and possibly their best performance to date (and that is saying something). Aaron Burr, sir, would be proud but Alexander would be ecstatic.