Note-oriety is an upper voices a cappella singing group at James Madison University in the United States, founded in 1998 by Kelly Myer and Bonnie Estes. The group sings in and around Harrisonburg, Virginia, tours the east coast and other parts of the United States. Note-oriety is best known for the viral video of their cover version of Beyoncé's song "Pretty Hurts".Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: The group has been featured in USA Today, The Huffington Post, and BuzzFeed, and the group has been praised by Nicki Minaj, TLC, and Kelly Clarkson. They have also been nominated for and received several awards from international organizations, notably, the Contemporary A Cappella Society and the Recorded A Cappella Review Board. Note-oriety has performed all over the country, including The White House, the Lincoln Center, and Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey's United State of Women Summit.
History Note-oriety was founded in 1998 by Kelly Myer and Bonnie Estes as a sister group to the premier a Cappella group at JMU, The Madison Project. It is the first all-female group at James Madison University. The student-run musical group performs in and around Harrisonburg, Virginia and up and down the East Coast of the United States. In addition to various gigs, Note-oriety holds a concert once per semester, typically at the end of each semester. Additionally, they go on tour approximately bi-yearly.
Note-oriety has competed in several competitions throughout the years. In 2012, they won "Best Choreography" at SingStrong Aca Idol. In 2013, they won 1st place at the SingStrong Aca Idol Competition as well as winning "Audience Favorite". Note-oriety has also competed in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella, most recently in 2019, where they placed third.
Throughout their 20 years, Note-oriety has released several studio albums and singles. In 2015, they released their self-titled album Note-oriety. The album was nominated for numerous awards and was selected as the Recorded A Cappella Review Board's 2015 Album of the Year. The group has been nominated for several CARA awards through the years, most recently winning "Best Song" in the Collegiate Female category for "Bang Bang" on Note-oriety. The music video for "Pretty Hurts" from this album garnered over half a million views. The video went viral after it was released, and was praised by Nicki Minaj. Note-oriety's eighth album, titled XX in honor of their twentieth anniversary, was released April 29, 2018. Their most recent album, Note to Self, was released in July 2020.
Note-oriety as a group works for charities as well as groups promoting Women's empowerment, and has been involved with numerous philanthropic events since its founding. In 2016, Note-oriety performed at the United State of Women Summit in Washington, D.C. and in 2017 the group performed at The National Crittenton Foundation's national conference "In Solidarity We Rise: Healing, Opportunity, and Justice for Girls". In 2018, College Magazine named Note-oriety one of The 10 Female Groups Running the A Cappella World.
Discography Source: Overquota (2000) Lights Out (2002) Fusion (2005) Bettin' High (2007) Get Gone (2010) "Only Girl in the World" (2011) I'll Never Say (2012) "DNA" (2013) Note-oriety (2015) "Boogie Woogie/Salute" (2016) XX (2018) "Fall in Line" (2019) "God Is a Woman" (2020) Note to Self (2020) "Beggin'" (2023) "Mind Your Own" (2024) "Snow Angel" (2025)
Awards and nominations Musical awards
+ Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARAs)YearNominee/workAwardResult2025Note-oriety for "Oh My God" by AdeleBest Upper Voices Collegiate SongNominated2025Note-oriety for "Hypotheticals" by Lake Street DiveBest Upper Voices Collegiate SongNominated2025Sophie Castro for "Wouldn't Come Back" by TrousdaleBest Upper Voices Collegiate ArrangementNominated2025Note-oriety for "Mind Your Own" Best Upper Voices Collegiate Album or EPNominated2025Note-oriety for "80s Mercedes" by Maren MorrisBest Country SongNominated2021Emma Wagner for "I Don't Think About You" by Kelly ClarksonBest Upper Voices Collegiate SoloNominated2021Emma Wagner for "Dreams" by Fleetwood MacBest Upper Voices Collegiate ArrangementNominated2021Note to Self (2020)Best Upper Voices Collegiate AlbumNominated2021Sara Edwards for "Runaway" by AuroraBest Professional Arrangement for a Scholastic GroupNominated2019Maggie Rabe for "Feel It Still" by Portugal. The ManBest Female Collegiate ArrangementNominated2016Note-oriety (2015)Best Female Collegiate AlbumNominated2016"Bang Bang" by Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki MinajBest Female Collegiate SongWon2016Zoe Elizabeth McCray for "Bang Bang" by Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki MinajBest Female Collegiate ArrangementNominated2014"DNA" by Little MixBest Female Collegiate SongNominated2013"Earth" by Imogen HeapBest Female Collegiate SongNominated2013Addison Balser for "Turning Tables" by AdeleBest Female Collegiate SoloNominated2001Mandi Meros, Overquota (2000)Best Female Collegiate SoloNominated
+ Recorded A Cappella Review Board (RARB)YearNominee/workAwardResult2015Note-oriety (2015)Album of the YearWon2015"Bang Bang" by Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki MinajTrack of the YearWon
Selection for "Best of" compilation albums + Best Of College A CappellaYearNominee/WorkAwardResult2025"Oh My God" by AdeleBOCA 2025Won
+ singYearNominee/workAwardResult2015"Bang Bang" by Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minajsing 12: This Big!Won2013"DNA" by Little Mixsing 10: NeonWon
+ Voices OnlyYearNominee/workAwardResult2015"Lies" by Marina and the DiamondsVoices Only 2015Won
Competitions + Competition Placements and AwardsYearCompetitionAwardResult2008ICCA QuarterfinalsOutstanding Soloist: Jonnelle Morris for "Bring Me Down"Won2012SingStrong Aca-IdolBest ChoreographyWon2013SingStrong Aca-IdolAca-Idol Overall Winner1st Place2013SingStrong Aca-IdolAudience FavoriteWon2013SingStrong Aca-IdolOutstanding Soloist1st Place2013SingStrong Aca-IdolOutstanding Vocal Percussion2nd Place2013SingStrong Aca-IdolOutstanding Visual Presentation1st Place2019ICCA QuarterfinalsThird PlaceWon2019Shenandoah Valley Sing-InOverall WinnerWon2019Shenandoah Valley Sing-InAudience FavoriteWon2020Mid-Atlantic Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella FestivalThird PlaceWon2025ICCA QuarterfinalsParticipated
Other Awards + A Cappella Video Awards (AVA)YearNominee/workAwardResult2025"80s Mercedes" Music VideoBest Country VideoWon2019"R&B Medley" Music VideoOutstanding Choreography / StagingNominated2019"R&B Medley" Music VideoOutstanding Costume / MakeupRunner-up2019"R&B Medley" Music VideoOutstanding Video EditingNominated2019"R&B Medley" Music VideoBest Female Collegiate VideoWon2019"R&B Medley" Music VideoBest R&B VideoWon
References