I call this 1st Annual as if I'm actually going to remember to do this again next year...although maybe I will, because it was at least a mildly intriguing way to kill time yesterday.



So here's the deal.  This is like the World Cup, only, as you can see from the title, it's musically based.  What ensues is tournament of sorts, pitting band against band.  And let me tell you, this was not an easy thing to do, especially once I narrowed it to 16 bands/artists for the "tournament" portion.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  There are 32 bands in the entry to come, broken down in eight separate groups.  How did I pick these bands?  Well, the first eight (The top seed in each group, AKA the first artist listed in each group) I picked.  The other 24...I put iTunes on random and ranked them.  Pretty simple.  Anyone who has ever done a fantasy football draft knows, at least a little bit, how they're put into groups.  1 seed to group A, 2 seed to group B...8 seed to group H, 9 seed to group H, 10 seed to group G, etc.  So here are the eight groups:



Group A:

dc Talk

Shaun Groves

Linkin Park

Death Cab For Cutie



Group B:

Chevelle

Mat Kearney

Sanctus Real

Mark Schultz



Group C:

Relient K

Mars Ill

Switchfoot

Jeremy Camp



Group D:

Project 86

The All-American Rejects

Anna Nalick

Jazon Mraz



Group E:

David Crowder Band

Thrice

Scott Krippayne

Flyleaf



Group F:

Kenny Chesney

Underoath

Chris Rice

Demon Hunter



Group G:

Dierks Bentley

Brad Paisley

Motion City Soundtrack

Taking Back Sunday



Group H:

Sara Evans

Panic! At The Disco

The Classic Crime

Falling Up



So there's the groupings.  Now what happens is that 16 artists, two from each group, move on to the elimination bracket.  And if you think it's the top two seeds in every group...you're wrong.  Yes, that is the case in some, but in others, not so.  A few two seeds are knocked out, and even one of the top seeds says farewell before the bracket.



How did I choose who moved on from round to round and crown an eventual World Cup of Music champion?  Well, there were a lot of factors.  First, there is the overall; where the band/artist ranks all-time for me.  Secondly, there is current activity (Or, in some cases, inactivity).  A band who has been without a single for two or three years is bound to take a hit, especially against an artist who has consistently thrown out hit singles on my personal charts.  Thirdly, there is wealth of material (And by that I mean quantity and quality).  A band with one disc in my collection is definitely going to have a fight on their hands against a band that has five, six, seven or more CDs in the collection, especially when those five, six or seven discs are all truly quality discs.



So below is my 1st Annual World Cup of Music.   If I felt a need to explain how or why a band/artist moved on in a particular round, you'll see it.  If I feel it's pretty obvious, then there won't be much.  Anyway, read on and enjoy!



Group A:

Winner: dc Talk

Runner-Up: Shaun Groves

Out: Linkin Park, Death Cab For Cutie

dcT rolls through the opening round, and Shaun Groves takes second pretty easily.  Death Cab comes out in third place, leaving Linkin Park in the dust.



Group B:

Winner: Chevelle

Runner-Up: Mat Kearney

Out: Sanctus Real, Mark Schultz

Chevelle makes it 2-for-2 with the top seeds rolling.  Mat Kearney escapes the group with the runner-up position, though not after a hard-fought battle from Mark Schultz.  Kearney pulled through due to the momentum of his single, Nothing Left To Lose.  Sanctus Real is the distant fourth.



Group C:

Winner: Mars Ill

Runner-Up: Relient K

Out: Switchfoot, Jeremy Camp

In the first mini-upset of the tournament, Mars Ill comes out of Group C as the top seed, besting top seeded Relient K.  However, Relient K keeps it from being a major upset and rolls over Camp and Switchfoot to take the runner-up position.



Group D:

Winner: Project 86

Runner-Up: The All-American Rejects

Out: Jason Mraz, Anna Nalick

The competition was relatively non-existent in this bracket.  Project rolled, and AAR bested Mraz for the runner-up position.  Anna Nalick put up a strong fight, but she was really out of her league this time around.



Group E:

Winner: David Crowder Band

Runner-Up: Thrice

Out: Flyleaf, Scott Krippayne

The top seed was never in question; DCB rolled through the opening round.  The runner-up position was hard-fought for, however.  Thrice’s lyrical prowess proved enough to outdo Krippayne’s own lyrical ability and Flyleaf’s edgy music and strong vocals.



Group F:

Winner: Chris Rice

Runner-Up: Underoath

Out: Kenny Chesney, Demon Hunter

The biggest upset of the tournament thus far happened in Group F.  Consistent favorite Kenny Chesney was knocked out of the tournament by Chris Rice and Underoath.  Rice also came out of the bracket as the dark-horse winner.



Group G:

Winner: Dierks Bentley

Runner-Up: Motion City Soundtrack

Out: Brad Paisley, Taking Back Sunday

This was definitely the hardest fought bracket in the tournament.  Bentley kept his top-seeded status, but it was not easy.  All three of the other competitors could’ve made it in and/or knocked Bentley out of the tournament.  However, Bentley kept the top seed and is joined by Motion City Soundtrack in the round of 16.



Group H:

Winner: Panic! At The Disco

Runner-Up: Sara Evans

Out: The Classic Crime, Falling Up

Newcomers The Classic Crime fell just short of the round of 16, with top-seeded Sara Evans just squeaking by.  However, Evans did fall to Panic! At The Disco, putting her in the runner-up position.





Round Of 16:



dc Talk VS Mat Kearney: dc Talk continues to roll through the tournament, keeping their throne as my favorite band ever nice and cozy.  Winner: dc Talk



Mars Ill VS The All-American Rejects: Mars Ill proves that their ousting Relient K from the top spot in Group C was no fluke, with a thorough thrashing of AAR.  Winner: Mars Ill



David Crowder Band VS Underoath: In a valiant effort and riding the momentum of a new CD, Underoath proves a worthy foe for DCB.  However, in the end DCB comes out on top.  Winner: David Crowder Band



Dierks Bentley VS Sara Evans: Two of country’s superstars meet in the round of 16, and it is Dierks Bentley, riding the longest streak of consecutive weeks on my personal Top 25 (46 weeks and counting), who advances to the quarterfinals.  Winner: Dierks Bentley



Chevelle VS Shaun Groves: As great of a songsmith as Shaun Groves is, running into Chevelle in the round of 16 is a fatal blow for nearly anyone.  Winner: Chevelle



Project 86 VS Relient K: This is a heavyweight battle, especially for the round of 16.  However, Relient K’s loss of the top seed in Group C proves to be a blow that puts them in a less-than-desirable match-up.  A solid live show simply can’t match-up to a band with an even better live show and the current #1 single on my personal chart.  Winner: Project 86



Chris Rice VS Thrice: Another hard-fought match-up in the round of 16, but Thrice pulls off the upset in overtime to advance to the quarters.  Winner: Thrice



Panic! At The Disco VS Motion City Soundtrack: Two of the most infectious bands of 2006, this is yet another match-up that could have just as easily be seen in the semifinals.  However, the match-up is here now, and it has to go to penalty kicks (Or, perhaps more accurately, songs that aren’t found on the original releases from each band).  As infectious as Panic! is, the three live/acoustic versions of songs from A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out available on iTunes simply don’t outdo extra tracks from MCS, such as The Worst Part… from Sounds Of Superman and Invisible Monsters, from the re-release/Deluxe Edition of Commit This To Memory.  Winner: Motion City Soundtrack





Quarterfinals:



dc Talk VS Mars Ill: In what is one amazing match-up for the quarterfinals to see, Mars Ill comes out as a once minor long shot turned favorite to win the tournament, pulling off the upset of the tournament’s top seed due to the simple stat of activity versus inactivity (A band that’s been inactive for nearly 10 years, no matter how amazing, can only last so long).  Winner: Mars Ill



David Crowder Band VS Dierks Bentley: The match-ups in the quarterfinals continue to pit one heavyweight against another and prove that it’s anyone’s tournament to win.  This one has to go to overtime.  DCB’s spectacular ability to write a worship song, and the sheer quantity of material produced by the band is nearly enough to oust Dierks Bentley from the tournament…almost.  Bentley’s consistent ability to produce hit #1 singles, along with his spectacular Top 25 streak that will almost certainly continue with the introduction of a new single from his upcoming 2006 release, prove to be just barely enough to squeak by David Crowder Band.  Winner: Dierks Bentley



Chevelle VS Project 86: In the match-up of everything hard, it is no shock that battle is just as hard as these two bands’ music.  Project has come on as one of the biggest bands in the past few years, but Chevelle has been one of the top two bands of all-time for me.  The match-up is a hot one, but Chevelle proves to have enough to get by Project 86’s amazing live show.  Winner: Chevelle



Thrice VS Motion City Soundtrack: In the match-up of the also-rans of the quarterfinals (With absolutely no disrespect meant to either of these amazing bands), Motion City Soundtrack proves to have been worn out by the match-up against Panic!  Thrice takes this one with relative ease compared to the other three match-ups of the quarters.  Winner: Thrice





Semifinals:



Mars Ill VS Dierks Bentley: Dierks Bentley’s spectacular bid for the title of champion is ended by Mars Ill in the semis, sending Bentley to the third-place match-up.  Winner: Mars Ill



Chevelle VS Thrice: Thrice simply proves to be no contest for Chevelle, and Chevelle rolls to send them into the championship match.  Winner: Chevelle





Third Place Match-Up:



Dierks Bentley VS Thrice: Quite simply, Thrice ran out of gas.  A spectacular band worthy of great recognition, they simply can’t get it done against one of country music’s biggest stars today.  Bentley takes a very respectable third.  Winner: Dierks Bentley



Championship Match-Up:



Mars Ill VS Chevelle: Two amazing bands meet in the final match.  Mars Ill is easily the best hip hop act to come around in years and they take it to overtime against Chevelle.  However, Chevelle proves that they are one of the best bands of all-time for a reason.  Ill takes an extremely song second-place finish.  Winner: Chevelle





So there you have it.  In a tournament filled with surprises (Even to me), Chevelle came out as the winner.  Not too much of a shocker, they were the #2 seed (And now get the automatic 1 seed for next year's tournament...if I remember it).  But with artists like Mars Ill, Dierks Bentley, Thrice, Project 86, David Crowder Band and so many others waiting in the wings...there are simply no guarantees...not even the guarantee that any or all of them will make it through round 1 next year.