Wenham's Penta To Be On NBC's 'The Sing-Off'

Everyone has heard their mother say, “If your friends jumped off the bridge, would you?”

Actually, in some instances it pays to follow your high school friends.

Cortney Penta, a 2006 graduate of , needed some nudging by her friends, and then the courage of her own, to try out for the Kings of the Beach a cappella group. She finally auditioned, and “the rest is history,” as she said.

Penta used that experience to join Deltones, an a cappella group at the University of Delaware. There she made numerous lasting friendships, performed in front of thousands of fans and honed her singing skills.

Most recently, however, she and her singing-without-instruments friends competed in NBC’s “The Sing-Off.”  The season premiere is Monday, Sept. 19, at 8 p.m., with the Deltones making their debut the following week on Sept. 26. The winning group will get a recording contract with Sony Music and $200,000.

“She has had a passion for singing that was pretty constant from time I knew her in elementary school through high school,” said Claudia Frost, retired Choral director at the high school, where she was for 16 years. “She was very creative with her singing. She is very talented and she loved a cappella more than the other areas.”

The producers of “The Sing-Off” contacted the group after seeing them on YouTube. The group then sent in a video of themselves performing and answered questions to gauge their personalities. A few weeks later they got the call that they were on the way to Los Angeles.

“A lot of us had to rearrange some big plans. We were like, ‘oh no, do we want to do this?’,” said Penta, who graduated from Delaware in 2011. “But we figured we would never have another chance like this.

“We are proud of what we did and were psyched to do this.”

It was quite a challenge to Penta and the Deltones, which often has graduates perform with undergrads. Despite putting on two concerts a year where they need to learn up to 18 songs for each, they don’t partake in competitions.

So that aspect and a short practice period doubled the pressure already present due to cameras and national TV.

“We had far less time to learn songs and perfect them than we would during the school year,” said Penta, who grew up in Hamilton but now lives in Wenham. “It was far more intense and we had to be far more focused. It was cool because it pushed us to limits we didn’t think we could reach.”

The experience also has changed Penta’s mind about going to grad school. Instead she is going to take the leap in an effort to make it in the world of music. She is currently writing songs and perfecting the piano while she works at in Wenham, which her parents and aunt and uncle own.

“Right now I am trying to build a repertoire and write songs that I am happy with,” she said.

Frost doesn’t see why Penta can’t put tiny Hamilton and Wenham on the map.

“She wouldn’t be first to be successful in this area, but is somewhat unique,” said Frost, who now lives in Maine. “I am very proud of her. She’s always wanted a singing career. I don’t see why she can’t. She’s as talented as anyone (else) out there.”