Watch Carrie Underwood Surprise an Elementary School Choir Ahead of CMA Fest [Watch]
Carrie Underwood made a once-in-a-lifetime memory for the kids who sing in an elementary school choir when she surprised them by turning up in person to cheer them on before a very special performance.
The third and fourth graders who sing in the Andrew Jackson Elementary School's Eagle Honor Choir garnered a lot of online attention in May with a performance of Underwood's inspiring anthem "The Champion," which she recorded with Ludacris. Their performance came to the attention of the CMA Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports music education in public schools, and the CMA Music Festival organizers reached out to ask the kids to perform their unique version of the song during the festival in front of a crowd of 50,000 people.
Underwood turned up to surprise the kids while they were rehearsing the song in early June, just days before they were set to take the stage at the massive annual event. In the clip above, the excited students run up to Underwood and give her elated hugs after she appears from behind the backstage curtain. They then perform "The Champion" for Underwood, who is clearly impressed with their powerful rendition of her song.
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"You guys are going to be so amazing," Underwood gushes to the students.
The "Southbound" singer seems like a proud mama as she continues to brag about the kids in the video, saying, "I can't even imagine what these kids are going through right now, the excitement, the nervousness that they feel about being on a stage like CMA Music Fest, and I'm excited to see where they go from here."
The Eagle Honor Choir is one of the recipient's of a CMA Foundation grant, which, according to the CMA's website, "works to ensure every child has the opportunity to participate in music education." The choir performs under the direction of Franklin Willis, who has won the CMA Foundation Music Teacher of Excellence three times. That award is bestowed upon "selected music educators around the country for their exemplary work."
Portions of the 2019 CMA Music Festival will air on CMA Fest: The Music Event of Summer, which is set to debut on Aug. 4 at 8PM ET on ABC.
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