Entertainment

Six choirs to compete in Pitch Battle final

One group will be named the winner in the live finale.
One group will be named the winner in the live finale. One group will be named the winner in the live finale.

Six singing groups will fight it out to be named the winner of Pitch Battle on Saturday.

The final groups will go head to head in a live final as judges Gareth Malone and Kelis, along with guest judge Deke Sharon, whittle the remaining six down to two contenders.

The public vote will then determine the final winning choir.

Six choirs to compete in Pitch Battle final
Six choirs to compete in Pitch Battle final
Scot Soul are among the groups (BBC)

Scot Soul, a vocal harmony quintet from Loch Lomond, will face off against Tring Park 16, a chamber choir from Hertfordshire; The Portsmouth University Gospel Choir; Leeds Contemporary Singers; All The King’s Men, an all-male a cappella group from London; and Welsh community choir Sgarmes, the wildcard pick for the final.

Each week a different guest judge, including Seal, Chaka Khan and Will Young, has joined Malone and Kelis and all of them will return for the live final to sing with one of the groups.

Kelis, Gareth Malone and Seal
Kelis, Gareth Malone and Seal (Kieron McCarron/Tuesday's Child//Press Association Images)
Kelis and Gareth Malone with guest judge Seal (BBC)

The judges will decide on three groups to send through to the a cappella round, before one is eliminated and the public vote is opened.

The winners will receive a £50,000 prize and the title of Pitch Battle Champions.

Kelis hailed Leeds Contemporary Singers as “some extraordinary singers who are all equally really strong vocalists”.

Six choirs to compete in Pitch Battle final
Six choirs to compete in Pitch Battle final
Leeds Contemporary Singers (BBC)

She added: “Their challenge is to keep things simple, they do tend to get too complicated sometimes.”

Of All The King’s Men, she said: “They are young, they’re exciting, there’s something very fresh and very new about them,” while she said of Portsmouth University Gospel Choir: “They need to find the dynamics within them and know when to pull back and kind of doing it as a unit, I think that’s important.”

Six choirs to compete in Pitch Battle final
Six choirs to compete in Pitch Battle final
All The King’s Men (BBC)

The Milkshake singer described Scot Soul as “exactly what their name is, they are a soulful group from Scotland and they’re great”, and said Tring Park 16 are “young, they’re vibrant, they’re extremely skilled”.

Of Sgarmes, she said: “I don’t want them to over-complicate things and I feel like there needs to be a little bit more technique added to them.”

Six choirs to compete in Pitch Battle final
Six choirs to compete in Pitch Battle final
Sgarmes (BBC)

The final of Pitch Battle is at 7.25pm on BBC One.