By Charlie Friday

The Swingle Singers are one of the most storied a cappella groups in the history of the style. But are they still the Swingle Singers?

This week, if you are (were?) a fan of the Swingle Singers' Facebook page, you may have noticed a significant branding change. They are now "The Swingles."




This shocking change comes on the heels of years of gradual plotting by the new regime of Swingle Singers (I can't bring myself to call them Swingles).

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This Grammy-winning group, which once graced the city of lights, Paris, home of classiest of classy musical acts, previously regaled audiences worldwide with amazing vocal renditions of such works as "Flight of the Bumblebee," "Air on the G String," and "The Well-Tempered Clavier."



Now they sing (if you could call it that) such trite pop hits as "Swingle Ladies" -- an adaptation of Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" -- "Shake It Out" by Florence and the Machine, and "Unravel" by Björk.

Scandalously enough, they even incorporated some of the modern dance moves found in "Single Ladies" into the presentation, causing former tenor Christopher Jay to "dance his pack off" at one fateful London A Cappella Festival headlining performance in 2012.

His hips were shaking so feverishly that he slung his wireless monitoring pack across the stage. #hishipsdontlie



The Swingle Singers have always been progressive.

They pioneered using individual handheld mics in a cappella performance, a technique that was for years referred to as "Swingling."

But have they gone too far?

Now, they've forsaken instruments, engage in live-looping, and even have been known to beatbox during their sets.

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Despite the fact that these are integrated seamlessly into their performances, does it really bespeak a group that recorded with the New York Philharmonic?

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Only time will tell if this "New" Swingle Singers or, Swingle II, if you will, might appeal to the young, avant garde elements of a cappella music.

Have they been "The Swingles" before this? Yes. The question is, will they be able to do it again, with the same style and grace they've had?

Stay tuned.

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