{"id":166197,"date":"2025-09-18T21:08:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T21:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/166197\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T21:08:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T21:08:12","slug":"leo-high-school-choir-advances-to-americas-got-talent-finals-with-fall-out-boy-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/166197\/","title":{"rendered":"Leo High School Choir Advances To ‘America’s Got Talent’ Finals With Fall Out Boy Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"

AUBURN GRESHAM \u2014 A South Side high school all-boys choir is one step closer to winning it all on \u201cAmerica\u2019s Got Talent\u201d after an all-out performance that impressed judges and secured enough votes from the public to ascend to the finals of the competition.<\/p>\n

The Leo High School choir raised the energy in the room \u2014 and got some judges dancing \u2014 as they moved and harmonized to Fall Out Boy\u2019s \u201cCenturies\u201d in Tuesday\u2019s semi-finals episode of \u201cAmerica\u2019s Got Talent.\u201d <\/p>\n

Canadian comedian and actor Howie Mandel said the high school choir \u201cchecked every box\u201d in their live performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey made it current. They made it fun. They made it trendy. Great song choice. Great performance,\u201d Mandel said. <\/p>\n

Spice Girls singer and judge Mel B called the act \u201cbrilliant.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou guys literally tear at my heart strings because I can see how much this means to you,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\"YouTube<\/p>\n

Judge Simon Cowell praised the choir for being \u201cthe act that has progressed the most\u201d and shared his love for LaDonna Hill, the school\u2019s choir director. Cowell asked the public to \u201cplease give these boys and Mrs. Hill the chance to perform in the finals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hill, who retired this year<\/a> after 25 years, lost her son shortly before joining Leo High School, she said. Helping to \u201cnurture and shape\u201d the young men has been an honor, she said. <\/p>\n

None of the boys in the choir are trained singers, Hill previously told Block Club<\/a>. The choir director \u201cembraced what they gave her\u201d and worked with them, she said.<\/p>\n

Since auditioning for the show in March, the choir has rehearsed twice weekly and performed in a variety of other shows in Chicago, including\u00a0a ceremony for the new pope<\/a>\u00a0and a Wrigley Field show.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the last 25 years, these young men have certainly filled this void in my heart,\u201d Hill said. \u201cSeeing the guys growing through this experience has been amazing. This is a special group of guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Students from Leo High School on Chicago\u2019s South Side perform \u201cLift Every Voice And Sing\u201d during a special mass at Rate Field Saturday, June 14, 2025.
\n Credit: Heidi Zeiger for Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

Voters heard Cowell\u2019s plea, and in the final moments of Tuesday\u2019s show, the choir learned they\u2019d secured enough votes to advance to next week\u2019s finals. The South Side choir will be one of 10 acts to hit the stage. That number includes six acts advancing from the semifinals and the four acts that received a \u201cGolden Buzzer\u201d from one of the judges during previous performances.<\/p>\n

The \u201cAmerica\u2019s Got Talent\u201d finals air next Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 23 and 24. The winners receive not only the championship title but a $1 million cash prize.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am absolutely thrilled,\u201d Cowell said. \u201cYou so, so deserve this because of your talent, your friendship, your most amazing mentor. Anything is possible now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:<\/p>\n

Ms. Hill is teaching us more than just music, but also how to navigate and operate life. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think this act might be the act that has progressed the most. I have to say, I just really really really really like you, and I love Mrs. Hill. So, America, please give these boys and Mrs. Hill the chance to perform in the finals.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUBURN GRESHAM \u2014 A South Side high school all-boys choir is one step closer to winning it all…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":166198,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[228,88,831,92],"class_list":{"0":"post-166197","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-featured","11":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=166197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}