How a Viral Video Led Singing Trio 1aChord to ‘America’s Got Talent’ Success
Tyler Golden/NBC Reading Time: 4 minutes
Singing trio 1aChord has been one of the biggest highlights of the America’s Got Talent auditions. They blew everyone out of the water with their cover of “Fix You” by Coldplay. The group has only been performing for a short period of time thanks to a viral video. Now, with 1aChord announced as one of the acts performing in the live shows, they have big plans for the $1 million.
‘AGT’ Singing Trio 1aChord Joined the Show After Video Went Viral
The group first met at UNC Greensboro in North Carolina. Group member Tavis Kordell Cunningham explained that their first interaction happened “by chance.” They were all in the cafeteria and noticed the hoodie that Julian Kennedy had on. They started bonding over their shared love for the artist on the hoodie. Before they knew it, they were belting out a song by that artist.
They got together and decided to shoot a video in the loft area of their cafeteria. After they were done singing, the lunch ladies came out praising them. They told them to “SANG.” They never expected the video to go viral online but people really resonated with their angelic voices.
“We didn’t go to class and decided just to post the video,” Tavis said in an exclusive interview. “We didn’t really like the tape but we decided to post the video and next thing you know it went viral and that’s really when we solidified ourselves as a group.”
Christoff Hairston admitted that any time he watches the video back he cringes a little bit. There’s one note in particular that doesn’t sound exactly how he wanted it to. In the end, 1aChord has been blown away by all of the support they have gotten online.
“People were touched by it,” Christoff said. “They saw how much fun we were having and they really enjoyed it and that’s kind of why it took off the way it did.”
What Are They Going to Sing in the Live Shows?
After their video took off, a producer from AGT reached out to 1aChord. She suggested that they audition for the show. In that moment, they decided to start taking their group seriously. At the time of their AGT audition, 1aChord had only been singing together for a little over a month. When we asked how much they have gotten to know each other, they fell silent and began laughing. Obviously, they have gotten to know each other pretty well throughout this journey.
Fans are dying to know what song 1aChord will be performing in the live shows. They unfortunately couldn’t give us all of the details about their next performance. They did hint that the process of picking a song has been challenging because a lot of different factors come into play.
“I would say it’s very difficult because we’re trying to figure out a song, first of all, that nobody would expect us to sing and how we’re going to put 1aChord’s little flair onto it,” Tavis said. “You know make it our own, like make it seem like we’re the ones who created the song and put our own little flair to it.”
Even 1aChord was shocked that the Judge Cuts got cut down this year instead of its usual big production.
“I think we’re just as surprised as everybody else,” Christoff said. “There are so many things that are happening that are unforeseen even with COVID. I mean this is just a very difficult and different year in production and of course our thoughts and our prayers are with Nightbirde with her not being able to go on in the show and so there’s just so much that’s going on that you can’t expect or you can’t foresee.”
1aChord Reveals What They Would Do if They Won $1 Million on ‘AGT’
Winning AGT comes with one massive prize. If they win the $1 million dollars, 1aChord agrees they would be splitting the prize evenly three ways. Tavis wants to give back to his hometown. It is his goal to “make sure the arts is supported” for kids like him who want to pursue their dreams.
“Other than purchasing my dog that’s going to go with me everywhere and sowing into my education, I do want to give back to my community, Raeford, North Carolina and give back to the arts program,” he said.
Julian plans on using half of his winnings for student loans because he will be graduating soon with a bachelor’s degree in jazz studies. He would use the other half of the money to fulfill his dream to be a producer. Christoff wants to make sure that they give back to all of their parents.
“I would definitely buy them something nice just to thank them,” Christoff said. “I think in all of our cases, all of our parents have been really big supporters of us, and we are who we are and where we are because of the contributions that our parents have made.”
You can catch 1aChord performing in the live shows on August 10 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
Thank you 1Achord for your sharing and caring. God has blessed you three to come together and share his love for all man kind. KEEP IT UP!!! Waiting for your first album.