It’s Joshua Smith’s dream to one day sing with his mother on “America’s Got Talent.”
As the Leo Catholic High School choir second tenor said this past week, he’s now “halfway” there.
Smith, along with 21 other members of the all-boy South Side choir, auditioned earlier this year for the 20th season of the NBC show. Their performance airs Tuesday night (the show starts at 7 p.m.).
“She wasn’t on stage with me, but I was on stage, and she was there to support me,” Smith said of his mom.
Celebrity isn’t something entirely new to these young men. They’ve performed for the Cubs, White Sox and at last year’s Democratic National Convention.
But, well, “AGT” judges Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Mel B and Sofia Vergara take celebrity to a whole new level.
“You’re on a big stage, you have this platform — of course you’re going to be nervous, but then as my choir director … says, we prepared for this. So the nervousness is just going to go away once we start. And that’s how it really was,” Smith said.
A video of the choir went viral after they appeared on a 2024 segment on CBS News Chicago, which drew the attention of the “AGT” producers.
For some of the kids — about half, actually — it was a first-ever plane ride.
What else did they do while in Los Angeles? Explored the city. What else would Chicago kids do? They ate pizza.
“All of a sudden, we’re in Pasadena, having a great time with palm trees and beautiful weather,” Leo Principal Shaka Rawls said.
So did the South Side choir win over the judges, or did they inspire Cowell to utter a withering put-down?
The choir boys’ lips are sealed.
Tune in Tuesday night when all will be revealed.
