UConn a capella group could perform with Lady Antebellum

Rubyfruit, an all-female a cappella group at UConn, is on a mission: to make it to Nashville, Tenn. to perform with none other than Lady Antebellum. Lady A recently introduced a contest in which any a cappella group could enter by sending in a video of themselves covering Lady A songs. The prize? An all-expense paid trip to Nashville in December, when the winners of the contest will sing with the famous country group. The second place participants will each receive $1000 worth of Lady A merchandise, including embroidered sweatpants, towels, backpacks and new Lady A T-shirts.

Christine Campbell, a 5th-semester early childhood education major and the musical director of Rubyfruit, described how the group first learned about the competition.

“One of our members is an avid Lady Antebellum fan, and she found this contest on Twitter. All we had to do was submit ourselves singing one of our favorite songs, “American Honey,” she said.

After entering their video along with many other contestants, Rubyfruit was among the top five to make it to the next round of the competition: voting. Currently, Rubyfruit is virtually neck and neck with an all-male a cappella group, but was in first place on Monday morning, with over 9,000 votes and 36,000 views. To vote, go to http://acappella.ladyantebellum.com/entry/733470. Voting closes on Friday, so Rubyfruit has turned all its efforts to securing first place.

Rubyfruit business manager Emily Beaulieu, a 5th-semester human development and family studies major, explains, “Our strategy has been to contact every person we’ve ever known since birth. Because the second place group is professional, they already have a huge network of followers, so we have to work that much harder to get everyone to vote each day.”

To raise more awareness for this event, Rubyfruit created a Facebook page “SEND RUBYFRUIT TO NASHVILLE,” where the members constantly post updates about everything concerning the competition and how fans can support them. This week, they are hitting the road to perform or speak on local radio and television news shows, such as 99.9 Kiss Country Music Station, 99.1 WLPR, 98.3, Better Connecticut and FoxCT.

Overall, Rubyfruit could not be more pleased with the support from their fans, friends and family. Fifth-semester French major Laurel Filek said, “The feedback we’ve received is incredible, and without our fellow Huskies, we wouldn’t be where we are.”

On Wednesday, Rubyfruit will pull an idea from the “Mean Girls” quotebook to raise even more support for the contest: “On Wednesdays, we wear pink.” Throw on some pink apparel Wednesday to show your support for Rubyfruit, and send them to Nashville for the opportunity of a lifetime.