At first, fifteen students gathered around a table, cups sitting upside down on a table in front of them may be a perplexing sight. However, for anyone who remembers the 2012 release of the film ‘Pitch Perfect’, their next move will strike them with a bolt of pure nostalgia. In unison, the group began tapping out a rhythm on their cups, launching into ‘Cups’ from the film. The students of inlingua Vancouver may deserve the award for the most impressive version of this once-viral trend.
While one member of the group played his guitar and sang, the rest of the members tapped out the rhythm, and Music Man fans will not be able to believe how in sync the group was. One of the reasons this trend became so viral was how tricky it was to sustain the cup-tapping rhythm, especially over the course of the whole song. Despite brief flashes of panic on their faces as they tried to keep up, the members of the group kept it together throughout the cover, earning their video 11M views.
While I was, of course, impressed with their in-sync abilities, what stood out most to me about this video was how much fun the students appeared to be having as they played. Despite their intense focus on keeping the rhythm in time, it was clear they couldn’t resist sharing glances with each other and bursting into laughter as they tried to keep up with the pace. I was heartwarmingly to see how coming together to perform this cover appeared to give the students a genuinely joyful experience.
Though Inlingua Vancouver is an English Second Language school, ‘Cups’ is not the only song its students have come together to make a music video for. In fact, it looks like they are more than happy to jump on an online trend. Surely, many of our Music Man readers remember the ‘Harlem Shake’? Of course, the students gave that one a go too. They even performed the entire dance routine to Japanese pop group AKB48’s ‘Fortune Cookie In Love’, once again taking on the choreography with a laugh.
These students’ performance videos are a heartwarming reminder of how singing and dancing together can spark real joy. Not only that, but the fact that these were recorded by students at a language school is a reminder that music can transcend language barriers, bringing people together despite their differences. While it appears to have been a long time since the inlingua Vancouver students have taken on a viral trend, perhaps we will get to see them take on more in the future. With TikTok trends now dominating the music scene, they certainly have no shortage of options.