The third season of '' The Sing-Off'' premiered on September 19, 2011. The number of a cappella groups was increased from 10 to 16, resulting in a new format. The show created two brackets, with only half the groups performing each week for the first few weeks. Nick Lachey stayed as host for the new season, as did

Ben Folds Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and composer, who is the first artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., since May 2017. Folds was th ...

and Shawn Stockman as judges. New to the judges' table was

Sara Bareilles Sara Beth Bareilles (, ; born December 7, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She has sold over three million albums and over 15 million singles in the United States. She has earned various awards and nominations including nin ...

, who replaces Nicole Scherzinger, who left after 2 seasons to become a judge on '' The X Factor''.

Deke Sharon Deke Sharon (born December 12, 1967) is an American singer, arranger, composer, director, producer and teacher of a cappella music, and is one of the leaders and promoters of the contemporary a cappella community. He has been referred to as "th ...

returned as music director and vocal producer. The music staff included Ed Boyer, Ben Bram, Rob Dietz, and Christopher Diaz. The program ran for 11 episodes, and concluded on November 28, 2011 with

Pentatonix Pentatonix (abbreviated PTX) is an American a cappella group from Arlington, Texas, currently consisting of vocalists Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, Kirstin Maldonado, Kevin Olusola, and Matt Sallee. Characterized by their pop-style arrangements ...

winning the title.

Groups

Elimination Table

Performances

Episode 1

*Theme: Contestants' choice *Group performance: " Fuckin' Perfect" by Pink

Episode 2

*Theme: Contestants' choice *Group performance: "

Sing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

" by My Chemical Romance * For this episode, only the song by Pentatonix appears to have had any significant iTunes sales.

Episode 3

*Theme: Radio Hits (first round), 60's Classics (second round) *Group performance: " Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane * For this episode, only the top three songs appear to have differed significantly from the others in iTunes sales.

Episode 4

*Theme: Radio Hits (first round), 60's Classics (second round) *Group performance: " Rhythm of Love" by

Plain White T's Plain White T's are an American Rock music, rock band from Lombard, Illinois, formed in 1997 by high school friends Tom Higgenson, Dave Tirio, and Ken Fletcher, and joined a short time later by Steve Mast. The group had a mostly underground music, ...

Episode 5

*Theme: Guilty pleasures *Group performance: " All Night Long (All Night)" by

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...

* * This song marks the biggest performance in television history.

Episode 6

*Theme: Hip-Hop *Group performance: " Nothin' on You" by

B.o.B Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. (born November 15, 1988), known professionally as B.o.B, is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Simmons was signed to Jim Jonsin's Rebel Rock Entertainment imprint in 2006. Two years later, ...

featuring Bruno Mars

Episode 7

*Theme: Superstar medleys *Group performance: Halloween medley of " This Is Halloween" by

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the singer-songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since the 1990s, Elfman has garnered internation ...

, "

Werewolves of London "Werewolves of London" is a rock song performed by American singer-songwriter Warren Zevon. It was composed by Zevon, LeRoy Marinell and Waddy Wachtel and was included on ''Excitable Boy'' (1978), Zevon's third solo album. The track featured Fl ...

" by Warren Zevon and " Ghostbusters" by

Ray Parker Jr. Ray Erskine Parker Jr. (born May 1, 1954) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. As a solo performer, he wrote and performed the theme song to the 1984 film '' Ghostbusters''. Previously, Parker achieved a US top-10 h ...

*Guest performance:

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

medley by Committed

Episode 8

*Theme: Rock classics (first round), Country hits (second round) *Group performance: "

Wake Up Wake Up or wake up is to awake. It may also refer to: Music Albums * ''Wake Up'' (Anthony Neely album) or the title song, 2012 * ''Wake Up!'' (The Boo Radleys album), 1995 * ''Wake Up'' (BTS album) or the title song, 2014 * ''Wake Up!'' (Ha ...

" by Arcade Fire

Episode 9

*Theme: R&B Current Hits (first round), R&B Classics (second round) *Group performance: R&B medley of " I Got You (I Feel Good)" by

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

, "

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

" by The Jackson 5 and " Crazy in Love" by

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

feat.

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

Episode 10

*Theme: Master Mix (combining 2 songs from different artists) (first round), Judges' Choice (second round) *Group performance: Master Mix: "

Bitter Sweet Symphony "Bitter Sweet Symphony" is a song by the English rock band the Verve, from their third studio album, ''Urban Hymns'' (1997). It was produced by Youth and released on 16 June 1997 by Hut Recordings and Virgin Records as the album's lead single. ...

" by The Verve, " Hollaback Girl" by

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs ...

, " Baba O'Riley" by The Who, and "

Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" is a song by American singer Katy Perry from her third studio album, '' Teenage Dream''. The song was produced by Dr. Luke and Max Martin, who also co-wrote the song with Perry and Bonnie McKee. Perry stated that s ...

" by

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...

Episode 11

*Group performance: " The Way You Make Me Feel" by Michael Jackson *Closing performance: "

Happy Christmas (War is Over) "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" is a Christmas song released in 1971 as a single by John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir. It was the seventh single release by John Lennon outside his work with the Beatles. The song reac ...

" by John Lennon and Yoko Ono (sung by 14 a cappella groups: most were from the show's second season)