Pitch Perfect 2 trailer: Let the 'aca-auditions' begin!

Pitch Perfect ignited a fresh wave of interest in a cappella groups on campus. Will the sequel, Pitch Perfect 2, hit a new high note?

So you think you can sing?

The release of the trailer for the film Pitch Perfect 2 may inspire would-be a cappella singers to tune-in to their local options for getting into the “aca-awesome” sing of things. 

In the first film adding an "aca" to every phrase, as in "aca-mazing," was a trademark of the fictional college singers, The Bellas: Beca the counter-culture brain (Anna Kendrick), the belter Cynthia Rose (Ester Dean), whispery Lilly (Hana Mae Lee), and the self-named Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson).

The trailer for Pitch Perfect 2 has been released much to the delight of fans of the kitchy, catchy remixes of pop tunes new and old as harmonized in this hipper, less chipper type of “Glee.” 

“While we see many qualified applicants I have heard plenty of stories in the a cappella community here at Cornell about how the movie Pitch Perfect has resulted in people who – God bless them – can’t hold a tune, coming out to audition,” says Christian Kelly, currently a junior and musical director of “The Hangovers A Cappella” singing group at Cornell University in New York in a phone interview. “They sing their hearts out and it’s always wonderful to see them there. I’m sure Pitch Perfect 2 will inspire a whole new wave of applicants of every qualification.”

According to Mr. Kelly, A cappella singing has been on a stately rise for the past five years, but hit a fever pitch when the first film’s gorgeous harmonies brought back the derivative of barbershop quartet music.

“This movie will most likely start another wave of fresh interest,” Kelly says.

The close-knit a cappella community at Cornell was one of the competitive singing communities that fell in love with the first film, according to Kelly. “I’ve watched the movie multiple times,” he says. “We all did. There was so much about it that was what we see in the acapella community every day. Of course there are things you don’t often see as well.”

The first film centered around an all-female group from the fictional Barden University.

This time around – instead of the conflict being between the all-male Treblemakers and the female group The Bellas – it’s a run at an international title, where Americans are about as loved as cyclist Lance Armstrong at any given Tour de France race.

As the film trailer gains traction ,social media begins to groan with the overuse of “aca” in tweets as fans sing the praises of everything from the casting to the film’s stock phrase “Prepare To Get Pitch Slapped.”