Vocal quartet crushed the spotlight (10)

I believe the answer is:

foreground

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'spotlight' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'vocal quartet crushed' is the wordplay.
'vocal quartet' becomes 'fore' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'crushed' becomes 'ground' (synonyms).
'fore'+'ground'='FOREGROUND'

'the' acts as a link.
This may not be correct. It may be part of another bit of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for foreground that I've seen before include "position of prominence" , "Emphasise" , "nearby territory" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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