By Annemarie Marconi
Each of the 13 songs performed at the Satin Dolls showcase was arranged by a member of the all-girl acappella group. (Courtesy of The Fordham Satin Dolls)
At first glance, the songs “Vienna” by Billy Joel, “Our Own House” by MisterWives and “Wild Things” by Alessia Cara do not have much in common. However, on Friday night, they all came together as part of the wildly successful Satin Dolls showcase. These three selections were just a handful of the standout songs performed by Fordham’s only all-girl acappella group. While the Ramblers and Expressions Dance Alliance accented the performance with a few of their numbers, the night undoubtedly belonged to the 17 young women who hummed, sang and beat-boxed their way through one of their most entertaining sets yet — a set, by the way, in which every single one of the 13 songs performed was arranged by a member of the group.
Some particularly good performances were “Fighter,” a Christina Aguilera classic belted out by Alexis Quattrini, FCRH ’17, “Like I’m Gonna Lose You,” a Meghan Trainor and John Legend duet performed by Natalie Sawicki, FCRH ’19, and Alissa Pellegrino, FCRH ’17, and their closing song, “All These Things That I’ve Done” by The Killers, which featured a group performance with no soloist. As each girl stepped forward to sing a line from the song, her voice was supported by the harmony of the group members behind her. The energy and enthusiasm of the girls was tangible, yet they all remained focused on the task at hand, maintaining tight harmonies and synchronization.
“I think overall we were much more composed — pun intended — this concert,” said Jessica Mannino, FCRH ’17, a soprano I in the group. “We felt much more comfortable with the arrangements, were much more prepared and able to really ground ourselves before each song so as to not let our energy detract from our concentration.”
The sizable crowd brought an energy of its own as well. The Fordham Prep Leonard Theatre was filled with fans and supporters, which is interesting given the Satin Dolls’ mode of advertising this semester.
“Oddly enough, this was the first year in a while we didn’t print promotional flyers,” Mannino said. “We relied solely on social media.” With presences on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram, the Satin Dolls had plenty of outlets from which they could advertise. By posting directly on social media instead of on crowded campus bulletin boards, the Satin Dolls were able to reach out to the Fordham community directly.
The Satin Dolls opened their show with a quick tune from Meghan Trainor called “Interlude.” One of the lyrics to that song is: “But the best part of being a singer at all is singing to the world my songs.” This sentiment is certainly echoed by the all girl-group. “The best part of performing is knowing that you can share your work with a very large and satisfying crowd of people,” Mannino said.
For now, the Satin Dolls are singing their songs to Fordham, and if they continue to have performances like the one on Friday night, no one will be able to do anything but stop and listen.
