The choir at Leo High School is famous around Chicago, but the nation got a glimpse into what makes it special when the young men took the stage of “America’s Got Talent” on June 8.

They captured the hearts of the judges, who were effusive in their praise, and moved on to the second round of the competition. They will compete live on Aug. 26 on NBC.

The choir is no stranger to performing on large stages, having performed for the Cubs and White Sox, at last year’s Democratic National Convention and during the Archdiocese of Chicago’s celebration of Pope Leo XIV at Rate Field on June 14. But performing on “AGT” this month will be their Super Bowl moment, school staff say.

The choir’s journey to the national talent competition began after a talent scout from the show saw a viral video of the group posted by CBS reporter Audrina Sinclair. The scout reached out to the school to have them audition last season, but it was too late in the season to get the choir in.

On the day school came back into session last fall, the producer, who told school staff she was “in love with the choir and their story,” reached out again and everything started moving, said Yolanda Sandifer-Horton, choir manager and coordinator of community partnerships, student engagement and college persistence for Leo.

“The boys were super excited when they found out that we were going back to ‘America’s Got Talent’ to audition,” Sandifer-Horton said.

The young men’s performance had been viewed over 750,000 times on the show’s YouTube channel when this newspaper went to press.

When the choir went to California in June, they were there for a couple of days, but did not meet the judges until they walked out on stage.

“This time, we’re going to be there a little longer. The stage is going to be 10 times bigger and the lights and fireworks — the best way to describe it, this will literally be their Super Bowl moment,” Sandifer-Horton said.

Response to the choir’s performance has been tremendous, she said.

People are inspired to see young, Black men coming from Chicago in such a positive way, she said.

“It’s bringing people together through their voices,” Sandifer-Horton said.

When the choir next performs, it will be live, she said, and it will have a chance to receive the “golden buzzer,” which would send the group straight to the finals.

Many Catholic high schools tout their strong athletic programs, and Leo High School has that, but the choir has drawn even more attention over the years.

“Our choir is the face of the school. They really are our ambassadors,” Sandifer-Horton said. “They are always out doing performances.”

The choir has done over 60 performances so far in 2025.

Those performances are led by choir director LaDonna Hill. Even though Hill retired in May after teaching and leading the choir at Leo for 25 years, she stayed on to take the young men to “AGT.”

“What an amazing journey to have it culminate with this experience, with this group of guys,” Hill said. “It’s been wonderful.”

For their performance, the choir will sing “Believer,” by Imagine Dragons. They submitted several songs and “AGT” producers chose that one based on the choir’s story, Hill said.

“That’s one of the things I love about ‘AGT.’ They tell amazing stories,” she said. “They sit down and talk with you to find out — I call it your DNA.”

Performing on “AGT” has raised the young men’s self-esteem and given them confidence, Hill said.

“For them to know that they can embrace something different that they’ve never done before, I think it’s important to keep that in the forefront,” she said.

She accepts students for the choir regardless of their musical ability and says she is blessed to have young men who put in so much effort. Choir members have to meet the same academic criteria to perform as students involved in sports or other extracurricular activities.

Many of the choir members are on the honor roll, Hill said. 

“Leo is a very special place,” Hill said. “Any given day, there can be something amazing going on in this school and that makes it fun to come to work.”

Leo student Emanuel Smith said he feels “pretty good” to go back on “AGT.”

“It’s another chance to show myself on TV,” he said. “It will be a journey of a lifetime to find out that our choir is going to make history going back on that stage. Just to show the judges — through the audition they already saw a piece of the action. Now when we go back, they’re going to see the entire thing. I’m stoked.”

Gratitude is one of the emotions that Stephen Jackson said he feels as the choir prepares to return to “AGT.” But there are others too.

“I feel ecstatic, excited, motivated to push myself to be a thousand percent better than I was on that last stage,” he said. 

Through that experience, Jackson learned he can inspire others through his talent.

“Anytime I sing, I feel a sense of pride, a sense of accomplishment that I’m using the talent God gave me for a purpose and for a reason,” he said.

“That was just a surreal experience,” his choir mate Steven Jackson said. “It really felt breathtaking in a sense.”

All of the congratulations and positive reactions he has received from family, friends and others has touched Jackson.

“Honestly, it has made me feel like I did something, being able to live, essentially in a moment that is larger than like, if that makes any sense,” Jackson said.