Change it up to say, "The 4^th time's the charm."
 
After coming with an eyelash of getting there each of the past two years, the Grand Canyon University Club A Cappella Canyon Crescendos finally ascended to a 2^nd-place finish out of 10 teams at the Varsity Vocals International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Southwest Quarterfinals in Scottsdale Saturday night. In only their fourth overall appearance in the competition, the Lopes' rousing set was enough to reach one of the top two spots necessary to qualify for the semifinal round for the first time ever.
 
"When we walked off the stage, I just felt it in my chest that we had done everything we possibly could," said Lopes' Student Leader Enrique Urbina. "We had never sounded that locked in before. Every entrance, every cutoff, every moment just felt right. There was this quiet, overwhelming feeling of knowing we had left absolutely everything on that stage. No regrets. No "what ifs." Just pride."
 
The 'feeling of home' certainly didn't hurt the Crescendos' motivation this year, since they had to travel to California each of the past two seasons for the competition due to an overflow of Arizona-based teams. The three-song set began with a mash-up of "Follow Me" and "Butterflies & Hurricanes" – both Muse hits – which were soloed by Lopes' freshman Isaac Johnson. The Crescendos followed that up by changing the mood up and going a little darker with Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters", bypassing solos for a unison performance. For the swan song, Emily Foran, Sariah Otero-Sermeno, and Lopes' Student Leader Elyse Reed (who also arranged the set) stepped to the forefront to team up for Yebba's "Stand".
 
The squad nervously sat through another 90 minutes while the other groups took their shots at reaching the next round before the event officials delivered the news to the audience, and euphoria erupted in the back of the stage for those wearing purple.
 
"When they started announcing results, I honestly didn't know what to feel, since a part of me was at peace because I knew how hard we worked," said Urbina. "When they called our name, I was shocked and emotional in a way I can't fully explain. I think it hit me all at once: the late rehearsals, the stress, the rewrites, the doubts, the trust we had to build with each other. Every single person in our group poured so much into this year, and you could see it on that stage."
 
The Lopes and Northern Arizona University's group "The Axecidentals", who won Saturday's competition, will both head to the ICCA Southwest Semifinals, will be held at the same venue (the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts) March 15 at 3PM.
 
"People see GCU and think "underdog"," said Urbina. "We're newer. We're still building. We're not always the expected name, but being one of only two groups to move on says something more than just results. It says we've grown and that the work mattered."