UCLA Spring Sing: A Tradition Set to Music

Spring Sing is UCLA's biggest musical event of the year, a tradition showcasing the diverse talent of its students. More than just a show, it's a tour de force that has evolved from a humble singing competition to a spectacle rivaling professional productions. This annual event, managed and produced by the Student Alumni Association (SAA), brings together students, alumni, and friends to celebrate Bruin spirit and artistic expression.

From Serenades to Spectacle: A Historical Overview

Spring Sing debuted in 1945 as a friendly competition among fraternities to determine the "Champion Serenader of Sorority Row." Director of Associated Students William C. Ackerman suggested the competition in Royce Hall. The Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, with their barbershop trio, clinched the first victory.

The event quickly outgrew its initial scope, attracting the entire student body. In 1949, Spring Sing moved to the Hollywood Bowl to accommodate the growing audience. This transition marked a significant turning point, as the event gained popularity and notoriety within the Los Angeles and Orange County area, witnessed by up to 15,000 Bruins, family, friends, and locals each year.

Hollywood's Embrace

Spring Sing also caught the attention of Hollywood, with Ronald Reagan serving as emcee for six years, starting in 1952. Celebrities served as judges and masters of ceremonies, including Jason Alexander, Fred MacMurray, conductor André Previn, Christopher Gorham (Ugly Betty), Ryan Carnes (Desperate Housewives), Amber Stevens (Greek), and Dr.

Winners garnered fame themselves, recording their acts onto albums that were handed out with yearbooks at the end of the year. In 1960, 2,000 students in 60 different acts auditioned for just 26 spots in UCLA’s show of shows.

Hiatus and Revival

Interest in Spring Sing waned during the political activism of the late ’60s, and the event fell dormant in 1968.

In 1986, the Student Alumni Association (SAA) became the official organizer of the event in an effort to return the show to its previous glory and have it represent the diversity of today's students. The SAA manages and produces everything, from securing the judges and collaborating with the city’s fire marshal to working the soundboard, filming intros, and even setting up the folding chairs.

Since its revival, Spring Sing has been held at various locations, including UCLA's Los Angeles Tennis Center and Pauley Pavilion. The move to Pauley Pavilion in 2009 provided the opportunity for more to experience the cherished campus tradition. Due to construction on Pauley Pavilion, Spring Sing returned to UCLA's Los Angeles Tennis Center on May 20, 2011. In 2020 and 2021, the event moved online due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2024, the event returned to the Los Angeles Tennis Center.

The Modern Spring Sing Experience

Today, Spring Sing is a dynamic showcase of student talent, featuring a diverse range of performances. The competition has expanded from its original version of fraternity singing groups to over 15 artists grouped in 6 different categories: Solo, Duet, A Cappella, Band, Production, and Exhibition.

The setting sun is really what starts the show, dimming the glow over the audience of 6,000 at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. Only then does the true grandeur of the spectacle become clear - a wide, two-tiered stage flanked by two massive screens, framed by soaring aluminum trusses, all mounted with stage lights of every hue that crisscross over the glittery black backdrop. For two and a half hours, students perform 16 or so originally composed, arranged or choreographed musical acts - solos, duets, a cappella groups, bands, dance troupes.

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Company: Adding Comic Relief

Adding to the entertainment is Company, a group of UCLA students who perform comedic sketches, songs, and parodies in between acts. Usual topics include student life, popular culture, and notable events on campus or in general. The ceremony spotlighted Company’s tango skit for Best Company Sketch.

Filmed sequences featured the group delivering jokes about hungry squirrels stealing students’ food on campus and the horror “alt baristas” feel when preparing a beverage with real milk.

The Bruin Choice Award

ACA All Day, an open-style dance group, won the audience-voted Bruin Choice Award at the talent competition. Members of ACA All Day perform onstage at Spring Sing on Friday while wearing black-and-orange outfits. The stage became drenched in red and blue lights, and dozens of dancers in matching orange-and-black outfits moved in a triangular formation.

Showcasing Talent: Highlights from a Recent Spring Sing

A recent Spring Sing featured a variety of performances:

A music industry student played her original song “American Daze” and sang in a hushed lower register, dancing and twirling around the stage barefoot while delivering the refrain, “It must’ve happened in a dream.”
Student singer-songwriter Ava Ulloa came next with a rendition of her song “American Slacker,” which she sang while playing an electric keyboard under a single spotlight.
Awaken A Cappella’s take on Olivia Rodrigo’s “the grudge” came next. A spotlight was given to the piece’s main singer who stood in the middle of the group. The lead singer was lifted at one point during the performance as the group moved through a variety of formations during the melancholy number about forgiveness.
Matty Gottesman and his backing band charged through the rock-leaning number “Voice of Reason,” as the third-year communication student transitioned from the standalone microphone to the electric keyboard to dancing.
Ella Gibson took the stage for her song “Patch,” standing alone while strumming her guitar under green and purple lights. Members of the audience turned on the flashlights on their phones, swaying back and forth as the second-year music industry student transitioned to the bridge of her mid-tempo original track. Gibson also won the judge-decided Best Overall Act.
Viva and her backing band brought to life the original track “Eat Your Words,” which the second-year theater student said she wrote at age 16.
Under pink lights, Icarus Contemporary danced through five songs while donning pink basketball shorts and black vests. The choreography ended with about half of the troupe running off the main stage and into the aisles to continue the group’s movements.
The final act of the night was The Band Called Sex, which took the stage with its song “Mirage Melting.” Trumpets, trombones and tambourines filled out the mix alongside bass, guitar and drums, with several of the members clad in ensembles evocative of medieval garb.

Judging Panel

The judging panel for Friday’s talent showcase included “Jessie” actor Kevin Chamberlin, “Modern Family” actor Nolan Gould and “She’s All That” actress Rachael Leigh Cook. The panel also included several musicians, with singer-songwriter Devon Gabriella, singer-songwriter and alumnus Mad Tsai, Pentatonix member Matt Sallee, former Maroon 5 drummer and alumnus Ryan Dusick and pop duo The Army, The Navy appearing as judges.

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The Gershwin Award: Honoring Musical Legends

Spring Sing now includes an award dedicated to George and Ira Gershwin. In 1936, George and Ira Gershwin adapted the title song from their musical Strike Up the Band as a new Bruin fight song for the growing university. The Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement was first given out in 1988, honoring Angela Lansbury. In 2002, recipient Stevie Wonder played “Superstition” live; in 2009, Julie Andrews shouted from center stage, “Go Bruins! Beat 'SC …"

The 2025 UCLA Spring Sing George and Ira Gershwin Award was presented by assistant director Anna Neiger, a fourth-year environmental science student. This year’s awardees were The Temptations, who were recognized for their impact on multiple genres across several decades. “They did not just help create the Motown sound that went on to influence mainstream artists like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones,” Neiger said. At the heart of the group is Otis Williams, the original and founding member who has led The Temptations across decades of musical evolution and cultural impact. The Temptations are known for iconic harmonies and timeless hits such as My Girl, Just My Imagination and Papa Was a Rolling Stone. They defined the Motown sound and set a new standard for harmony, choreography and soul. Their influence spans generations, and their place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is a testament to their enduring legacy.

Past recipients include:

Angela Lansbury (1988)
Stevie Wonder (2002)
Julie Andrews (2009)
Hans Zimmer
Don McLean (2019)

Bruin Traditions Woven into Spring Sing

Spring Sing embodies the spirit of UCLA and its traditions. Like those of the University of California, UCLA’s colors are blue and gold. The university’s colors were chosen to represent the state’s various attributes: Blue to symbolize the ocean, and local wildflowers. Yellow to reflect the Golden State, the California poppy and sunsets.

The show is the manifestation of what George and Ira Gershwin cultivated when, as a gift in 1936, they revised the lyrics of one of their hit songs, encouraging Bruins to “Strike up the Band for UCLA.”

Ticket Information

Students can purchase tickets in any section at a discounted price. Group seating is available for groups of 8 or more. The general public can purchase tickets through tickets.ucla.edu or in person at the Central Ticket Office. General Admission tickets are non-assigned seats; all other sections are assigned. General admission ticket holders must enter through the entrance at the top of Bruinwalk at Gate 13 of LATC.

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