At Columbia’s Student Center, students erupted into cheers as first-year Keith “Kash” Smith appeared on screen, performing with the Leo High School Choir in the finals of “America’s Got Talent.”
Smith and the all-boys choir from the Auburn Gresham neighborhood of Chicago were among 10 acts vying for AGT’s $1 million grand prize. Viewers selected the winner, which will be announced during the season finale tonight, Wednesday, Sept. 24. The show will air beginning at 8 p.m. on NBC.
Smith, who is earning a degree in music business at Columbia, has navigated an unusual double life this fall semester, splitting time between classroom work, rehearsals and flights to Los Angeles, where NBC’s show, now in its 20th season, is filmed.
Across Chicago, watch parties sprang up in support of the South Side all boy’s choir, and on Tuesday night, Sept. 23, a dozen or so students came to the Student Center to cheer their classmate on national television.
“Smith is a freshman, so he is doing great his first year, and I want other people to know that they can also do this as well,” said Danetra Thomas, a sophomore dance major.
The Leo High School Choir was invited to audition by “America’s Got Talent” last spring after producers saw a video of them performing that went viral. They flew out to Los Angeles in March to audition in front of judges Simon Cowell, Sofía Vergara, Mel B and Howie Mandel.
The choir, led by director LaDonna Hill, had to keep the audition a secret until June when the first show was broadcast. After their semifinal performance, Smith said making it to the finale would “mean the world” to the 18-member choir.
“We got so many people in Chicago, all over America voting for us, cheering for us, we just want to make everybody proud,” he said.
The choir performed a cover of “Centuries” by Fall Out Boy to make it to the final round.
On Tuesday, in their final performance on the show, the choir sang “Hall of Fame” by SCRIPT.
Tanisha Gharpure, a senior fashion design major, helped organize the “watch party” as a way to support Smith and to feel a sense of community in helping people from the school flourish in their careers.
She said that since people don’t know much about art schools, it is important when they can be represented through an individual on such a large platform. People watching will wonder how they made it to that point and discover where they got their education.
“It feels like I can go out there and boast about ‘I’m from Columbia College Chicago,’” Gharpure said.
Senior Kaila Patton, who is also a music business major, came to support Smith’s successes as he is on a similar career path as her.
Patton said that with Columbia being an art school, students often come in with some experience in their field, but might think goals such as making it to the season finale of “America’s Got Talent” are far out of reach.
“I just want to show my face and show some love and support for him,” said Patton. “If he can do it, someone else can do it.”
The support echoed a broader feeling in the room that Smith’s success represents both individual talent and the possibilities open to Columbia students.
“Smith is a freshman, so he is doing great his first year, and I want other people to know that they can also do this as well,” Patton said.
Copy edited by Emma Jolly
