The Leo High School boys’ choir captured the hearts of Chicago, and now they’re capturing the hearts of America too.
The choir has been making Chicago proud with their run on “America’s Got Talent,” and this week, voters advanced them to the semifinals.
On Thursday, they touched down at Midway International Airport for some time at home before they have to return to Los Angeles for their next big performance on the show.
Their eyes are very much on the prize. But the fact that they’re going to the semifinals was still sinking in for the South Side choir as they arrived home.
“Honestly, it feels surreal,” said Leo senior Steven Jackson. “I honestly feel like a celebrity now.”
The young men gave it their all this week on the national stage — even doing backflips.
“In choir, people just think we’re supposed to sing, and just move and do some of the movements, but we had to bring that boom on that big stage,” said Leo junior Blake Moore.
So whose idea was it to do the backflips?
“We just thought of it in the moment,” said Leo senior Derrick Davis. “It was me and his idea. We were like, yeah, we’re going to do these flips and be different.”
Leo’s choir is different, no doubt. Their melodic felony first caught the attention of CBS News Chicago’s Audrina Sinclair more than a year ago during a morning news School Spotlight.
“Audrina put us on the map!” said Leo principal Shaka Rawls.
Sinclair posted the choir on Instagram with the caption, “So inspired by the young gentlemen at Leo High School! Such an amazing morning for our CBS Chicago School Spotlight!”
It was that post that catapulted the school choir to the national spotlight and the big stage.
“What she saw on that one day is what happens in our school building every single day,” said Rawls.
The choir started their school year out in Los Angeles, so they’ve been e-learning. Now that they’re back in Chicago, it’s back to the classroom at Leo, at 7901 S. Sangamon St. in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood.
They still have to work their next routine before flying back to Los Angeles.
“This is a business trip, right? So they’ve been going to school. They’ve been working hard in and outside the classroom. So they’ve been doing a great job,” said Rawls. “These teens really shine. They shine for Chicago, and that’s the most important thing.”
As the choir director works on the next song, the teens have won over Chicago. Each week, America is falling further in love with the boys from the South Side.
No matter the outcome, they’ve won.
“Just confidence, just the belief — knowing whatever happens their winners, and I just believe they’re going to be great at something,” said choir director LaDonna Hill. “These are game-changers now.”
More from CBS News