| NOTA | |
|---|---|
| Origin | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Genres | A capella, reggae, pop |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels | Epic (2010-present) Sony (2010-present) |
| Website | notavocal.com |
| Members | |
| Johnny Figueroa Jose A. Rodriguez Ludwig Henderson Edgar Rios Juan E. Diaz David Pinto |
|
Nota is an a cappella group of six male vocalists from San Juan, Puerto Rico. The group met in 1994 and started singing together occasionally.[1] The group won the first season of the musical competition The Sing-Off.
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Johnny Figueroa, Nota's bass singer, first heard of The Sing-Off during the summer of 2009.[1] He called five other people he had sung with on and off with for 15 years, seeking the five best singers for the competition. There was initially some doubt that Rodriguez and Rios would be able to participate [1] Both had family members sick with the H1N1 virus,[1] and David Pinto was unsure if he could participate in the competition, due to financial issues. Daddy Yankee, whom Pinto was working with, paid the airline bill in order for Pinto to participate in the competition.[1] All five entered the competition.
Nota participated in the first season The Sing-Off, a singing competition broadcast on NBC where they competed against seven other vocal groups. Largely considered the underdog of the competition, Nota's popularity soared after performing "Down" by Jay Sean, on the second episode of the competition.[2][3] In the final live broadcast on 21 December 2009, Nota won the contest against The Beelzebubs and Voices of Lee.[1] After Nota won the competition, Jay Sean joined the group onstage to perform "Down".[1] .
| Episode | Theme | Song choice | Original artist | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Group's choice | "I'm Yours" | Jason Mraz | Advanced |
| 2 | Big Hits | "Down" | Jay Sean | Advanced |
| Guilty Pleasures | "Stayin' Alive" | The Bee Gees | Advanced | |
| 3 | Superstar Medley | Various | Jackson 5 | Advanced |
| Judge's choice | "Sledgehammer" | Peter Gabriel | Advanced | |
| 4 | Finale | "Lean on Me" | Bill Withers | Advanced |
| "The Tracks of My Tears" | The Miracles | Winner |
As winners of the competition, they received US$100,000 and a recording contract with Sony Music Entertainment. In 2010, Nota met with Sony Executives to plan a studio album. They reported on Facebook that they were recording in San Jose.
They performed at the Puerto Rico national anthem in the opening ceremony of the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games held in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.[4] They also opened for Shakira on a few American dates of her The Sun Comes Out World Tour.
The group's debut album, Nota, was released on November 1, 2010. On December 8, 2010, the group returned to The Sing-Off and performed a cover of The Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling," which is also featured on their debut album.[5]
| Year | Album | Peak | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Heat |
US iTunes[6] |
|||||
| 2010 | Nota
|
— | 8 | 53 | |||
Nota's A Capella Christmas
|
— | 21 | 57 | ||||
| "—" denotes the album didn't chart. | |||||||
| Year | Single | Peak | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Latin[7] |
|||||||||
| 2010 | "Down" | 14 | Nota | ||||||
| "I Gotta Feeling" | 16 | ||||||||
| "All I Want for Christmas Is You" | 31 | Nota's A Cappella Christmas | |||||||
| 2011 | "My Girl" | 40 | Nota | ||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
| Year | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "All I Want for Christmas Is You" | Nota's A Capella Christmas |
| 2011 | "My Girl" | Nota |