Earlier this summer, a youth gospel choir from Birmingham made waves when they auditioned for the national talent competition show on NBC, America’s Got Talent. The choir, made up of young performers in bright tee-shirts and overalls under large x-shaped signs, belted out a medley of gospel songs.
When it came time to the judges’ feedback, notoriously difficult judge Simon Cowell was effusive.
“Every single one of you played the perfect part. We had lead vocals, we had emotion,” he said. “I’m so honored that you would come here on our 20th anniversary, and in return, I want to give you something.”
Cowell pushed the golden-colored buzzer in the center of the judge’s table to trigger confetti to fall onto the stage. Cowell had awarded his only golden buzzer for the season to the choir. The golden buzzer is a feature of the audition portion of the talent competition awarded to extraordinary acts, allowing them to avoid elimination rounds and proceed straight to the live shows.
The group taking home that golden buzzer is the Birmingham Youth and Young Adult Choir. It is made up of Birmingham youth aged 9 to 29 from all over the city. This year, they’re competing for a million dollar cash prize as a part of America’s Got Talent, a televised, national talent competition. The choir’s director, Akheem Lee, cofounded the group while in high school in 2015 with the intention of putting on a one-time benefit concert to provide back-to-school supplies for youth in the city. The choir has continued the tradition of that benefit concert for the past decade at Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church.
Lee was raised at that church and is a product of the city, as are the rest of the choir’s members. They belong to churches around the city and attend Birmingham City Schools.
Ja’Kayla Evans is a high schooler and one of the choir’s members. She joined about a year ago after a friend at her school who was also in the choir encouraged her to audition.
“ I got in, [and] first rehearsal I fell in love. So now I’m here and I stuck with it,” Evans said. “It was so wholesome and family-like.”
Evans didn’t grow up going to church, but the choir gave her an opportunity to embrace her faith.
“I’ve never joined church, but I’ve always wanted to sing for the Lord,” Evans started. “This is what I want to do. And I’m finally doing it.”
Evans described a profound sense of purpose she feels as a part of the choir.
“ You know how you expect the sun to rise and like it always has its duty to rise? I feel like that’s what singing for the Lord gives me. It gives me a purpose and it’s very fulfilling,”
Other choir members shared a similar sense of purpose, as they also spoke about the strong sense of community, fellowship, confidence, and faith they get out of being a part of the group.
For Maria George, singing is a spiritual experience. Also in high school, George described the way that this form of praise uplifts her and those around her.
“Sometimes (God) feels how grateful you are in your words and your tears and your prayers,” George said, “Not only does it touch yourself and the Lord, it touches everybody else … People who hear it, they might be uplifted or they might have joy in their heart because they heard your testimony and song.”
To George, the choir is a really big part of her life. She’s even brought people from her high school to join. She sees the choir as a positive influence on herself.
“So just seeing me and a few of my friends praising the Lord, just doing good things for the community, it just feels really good,” George said.
Lee hoped that the choir’s golden buzzer moment resonates beyond the choir and its members.
“I hope that it inspires other young people that regardless of your background, regardless of what school you may attend, regardless of what you may see in your community around you, you can be anybody you want to be, and you can do anything you wanna do,” Lee said.
He also reflected on the decade-long journey, and the faith required to continue the work.
“(God) doesn’t operate on your time, he operates on his,” Lee said.
The choir’s journey on America’s Got Talent continues Tuesday, the first night of the live-show portion of the competition.