It Had Better Be Tonight: SSA Choral Octavo

Billingsley's arrangement captures the infectious energy and rhythmic drive of the Bublé recording while remaining playable for choral ensembles without professional rhythm sections. The chart sits squarely in contemporary popular idiom, which means your singers will recognize it, care about the material, and understand why precision and stylistic awareness matter in performance.

Sophisticated and sultry with an undercurrent of playfulness. The Latin percussion and jazz harmonies create an atmosphere of elegant nightclub entertainment, sophisticated enough for mature audiences yet immediate and fun enough to energize students in performance.

Choral directors seeking repertoire that connects with student singers and audiences alike. Strong for middle school and high school programs with ensemble confidence in rhythm and the ability to handle contemporary pop idiom with musical maturity.

• Nail the rhythmic precision in the Latin sections. This music lives and dies by groove; lock the accompaniment track early in rehearsal and drill against it rather than letting the choir naturally float.
• Balance the spice in 'spicy Latin flavored' by clarifying the lyrical melody line even when the accompaniment is full and busy. The vocal line must cut through without belting.
• Mark dynamics carefully in rehearsal. This arrangement likely has moments of restraint that set up the climactic sections; resist the urge to sing at full volume throughout.

This works as a standout opener or closer for a pop-focused concert, especially paired with other swing or Latin standards. It's equally effective as a crowd-pleaser in mixed-repertoire settings where you want to bracket classical or art song selections with something contemporary and rhythmically alive.

• Singing with stylistic awareness in jazz and Latin idioms
• Maintaining rhythmic precision and groove against accompaniment
• Balancing vocal blend while projecting a melodic line through complex harmonic textures
• Singing with rhythmic independence in SSA voicing while honoring written articulations