On Saturday, January 13, the Sandpiper and Drifters previewed this season’s show choir shows to their friends and family. This year, the Drifters are following the 2023 Barbie hype with their show “Girls!,” which is all about girlhood and female empowerment with Barbie-inspired costumes and numbers. The girls begin their show with a mash-up of the songs “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” “California Gurls,” and “Pink” from the Barbie movie, with soloist Paige Nittner opening the show. They continue to turn into Barbies in the second number and sing “Barbie Girl,” with soloist Kristen Cartergine, and then transition into a jazzy rendition of Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy.” After the second number, the Barbies begin their uplifting feminist ballad, with a mishmash of songs “I See Stars” and “Girls” featuring soloist Hannah Loving.
After the ballad, Emme Curran sings a solo from the song “Dress You Up” while Sofia Cunningham, Jodie Geenen, Ava Cunningham, and Mia Larimer showcase the four different Barbies outfits. After the transitional solo, the Malibu Barbies come out and sing “California Sun,” followed by the Gogo Barbies singing “These Boots Are Made for Walking,” then Rocker Barbies singing “Heartbreaker,” and finished up by the Aerobic Barbies singing “Physical.” The Drifters then close with “Just Dance,” “Barbie Dreams,” and “I’m Good” with soloist Kathleen Coleman. The Drifters hope to have a successful season with their amazing show this year.
“I do [think this season will go well] because it seems like we have a lot of hard workers and people just seem a lot more interested in the whole show choir aspect, like singing, dancing, and just wanting to get along with all your teammates,” said senior and Alto Section Leader Kristen Cartergine.
The Sandpipers theme this year is “Sandpiper County Spelling Bee.” They begin with an adapted version of the children’s song “Champion of the Spelling Bee,” which features a trio of soloists Ryan Gray, Melissa Cook, and Kassidy Miller. Then the spelling bee progresses and the second number begins with spelling bee rules and goes into a mashup of “I Hope I Get It” and “Get’cha Head In The Game,” where soloist Cooper Fowler portrays the nerve-wracking energy of a spelling bee. The emotional ballad is a mixture of “This is The Moment” and “Proud of Your Boy” with soloist and winner of the spelling bee Luke Housman, who illustrates the desperation of wanting to win. The fourth number is the actual spelling bee part of the show with soloist Karleigh Pawlszyn and her three backup singers, Sophia Gudino, Ava Cunningham, and Sofia Cunningham, singing “Respect,” then the boy’s number where they sing “Love,” and then the girl’s number is “Glamorous.” Ending the fourth number is soloist Luke Housman spelling “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” causing him to win the spelling bee. The closer and victory number is “Word Up!” with soloist Antonio Unpingco, who displays the excitement of winning perfectly. Both Sandpipers and Drifters have faith in breaking records previously set from last year’s season, like having the best season since the creation of both groups.
“I feel that if we really put in the work and put in the effort we can set a couple of records,” says senior and Tenor Section Leader Luke Housman.
Over the next three months, the Drifters and Sandpipers will be competing in five competitions and holding a home competition at CHS. They will be competing this weekend at Anderson High School in Anderson, Indiana.
