Chelsea High School’s competitive show choir, “Out of the Blue” competed on February 24 in the Heart of America Nashville national show choir competition held at Tennessee’s Gaylord Opryland Resort representing the state of Alabama.
“Out of the Blue”, under the direction of Kay Dick, was honored with a first runner-up trophy in the preliminary open division with a high top score earning them a spot in the final round. The evening ended with the show choir being awarded overall fourth runner-up and Patricia Noel earning awards for Overall Best Female Soloist.
“Out of the Blue,” which is comprised of 22 singers, seven band members, and five crew members, competed among programs double their size with triple the experience from Massachusetts, West Virginia, Indiana, and Missouri.
While in Nashville, the group recorded two of their award-winning contest songs, ‘I Look to You’ by Whitney Houston, and ‘Devil in Disguise’ by Elvis Presley. The songs were taped in the historic RCA Studio B at the invitation of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Some of the original instruments from Elvis’s 1963 record were used by the students and staff during their session. See a video of them singing at RCA here: https://tinyurl.com/y86ogk76
The award-winning ensemble received a police escort back to school due to the support, assistance, and organization of Chief Deputy Chris George with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office. They were met at the school by cheering fans, family, and friends as the bus pulled up and students unloaded from a very eventful, memorable, and successful weekend.
I am so proud of these students. My Granddaughter is a part of this group so I had the opportunity to go with them to Nashville. I was so proud of the way they represented Shelby County. Way to go OOTB!!!! And a shout out to Kay Dick we are blessed to have her in the Shelby County System.