House Shout Unison Overview- Phoebe G and Bella P:

Featured Music Opinion School 8GrahaP February 6, 2025 0 Comments

Collingwood- I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)

We really enjoyed the piano solo at the beginning, it really upped the tempo, making the start very strong and punchy. At times, volume certainly wasn’t a problem- the fine line between shouting and singing did become slightly blurred…. Hopefully those of you closer to the stage have regained your hearing by now! The harmonies were a great addition to the song and one that we really appreciated. They gave some comedy to an performance that was otherwise slightly lacking in pizzazz. There were much fewer dance moves, rockstar performances or smiles when compared with Howe/Hood/Raleigh. Nevertheless, that seems more a reflection of the song choice, which we found didn’t really lend itself well to dance moves…

St V- Party in the USA:

Moving swiftly on from Collingwood’s solemn performance St V definitely stepped it up (although perhaps not in the actual singing department… sorry!) but definitely in terms of their moves on stage. And judging by the sudden screams from the audience (and smiles from St V boys), a school favourite was definitely the hip shakes. A subtle addition that we really appreciated was the USA coloured lights in the background, it really helped give a more immersive experience!

Raleigh- Shut up and Dance:

For many, Raleigh’s ranking in the unison category sparked some controversy. HOWEVER, as much as it pains one editor to admit, they were very impressive and certainly raised the bar for the potential of a day house in house shout, especially in comparison with last year’s…displays? Often, expectations aren’t high; there is a much smaller amount of rehearsal time available given bus timings etc compared with boarding houses, but we were pleasantly surprised with the togetherness of the performance of the house. We certainly thought it deserves praise, whether it deserves 2nd place ranking is ultimately subject to personal preference. However, we thought that overall, Raleigh and those in charge of the performance have every right to brag (a little!!!!) about their efforts and do deserve that 2nd place position- well done Raleigh! Special shout out must go to Joel S on the guitar- some have claimed that his contribution was the true musical backbone to the performance!

Drake- I’m still sitting (standing):

All jokes aside, Drake’s performance must be prefaced with a reminder that they did draw the short straw and ended up performing first so some nerves are understandable. However, I just didn’t feel the same excitement and enthusiasm from everyone on stage compared to the other houses, and most importantly their was definitely a lack of volume (although this may be exaggerated by the dazzling heights of the balcony miles away from the stage). That being said the song was in our opinion a strong choice and even if some of the performers lacked enthusiasm a certain Drake housemaster certainly made up for this.

Nelson- I Want It That Way:

Good thing we weren’t competing otherwise we would have won said none of the year 13’s! To be fair if you’d been at the limited number of Nelson rehearsals spanning a total of two family times and one last minute lunchtime rehearsal it would’ve sounded like a definite improvement. However, I think credit for this might not be for our memory of the lyrics but a few sneaky lyric sheets hidden behind people’s backs. But we think we still deserve credit for our questionably coordinated dance moves and the time we took out of our very busy days to learn them (we promise we’re not actually too busy)!

Hood- Call Me Maybe:

We really enjoyed the actions, but felt at times that it detracted from the sing-song

Would it be a Hood House Shout performance without dance moves that seem slightly eclectic in solidarity but when pieced together create a dazzling dance display… of course not! Alongside these, it was obvious that all the pupils were having a great time (or perhaps had been promised a large reward we’ll never truly know) as they were smiling enthusiastically at all times. I think our fellow bubble editor Tilly’s ‘GO HOOD’ shout at the beginning may have brought spirits up? We wondered whether slightly fewer dance moves would have allowed the quality of singing to be more appreciated?

Howe- One way or Another:

What is there to say… The energy was at 110% the entire performance, the dance moves were flawless and pretty mesmerising to watch and, most importantly, the house looked like they were having an amazing time, Collingwood take notes? Like St V, Howe also carefully coordinated their lights to their house colour (pink) which added a nice touch to the performance!

Blake- Let Blake Entertain You’:

With the running order being jumbled up this year it was almost hard to tell that this performance was by Year 7’s who of course have never been part of an RHS House Shout (or most likely anything similar) We were thoroughly impressed with Blake’s performance and think they should get a special congratulations especially when comparing this to the memories we have of our House Shout performance (which even featured an interpretive dance to detract from our questionable singing). And of course we couldn’t forget the stand out performances of the pianist, the two guitarists and the drummer!