Staff reports
NEW PALESTINE — For most teenagers, the answer to the question of how the summer was spent is answered with: “I hung out by the pool with my friends.” “We went to King’s Island.” “I visited my grandparents.” But for Madyson Ebert, the answer is quite different.
Ebert, a senior at New Palestine High School, entered a national online singing competition — and made it to the finals.
A friend told Ebert about the online reality series called “Show Choir Famous” that was looking for individual singers to take part in a national competition. The only requirement was for auditioners be a part of a high school show choir. As a member of New Palestine’s Crimson Heat — the top choir at New Pal — Ebert fit the bill.
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In June, Ebert submitted two videos of her singing: “Burn” from the musical “Hamilton” and “Watch What Happens” from the musical “Newsies.” Ebert had played the supporting role of Katherine Plumber, a young reporter, in New Palestine’s recent production of “Newsies,” and that song was fresh in her repertoire.
“I was just thinking ‘whatever,’” Ebert said. “’This is something silly.’”
“She didn’t think she would make it,” said Ebert’s mother Tracey.
But just 10 days later, Ebert got an email with the announcement, “Congratulations! You’ve been cast.”
The show’s producers were interested in her performance of “Watch What Happens,” so that is the song that Ebert rehearsed.
Ebert appeared in the third of four opening round episodes of “Show Choir” on Twitch TV, competing against 52 other performers from across the United States. At the end of each of the first four rounds — each with 12 to 14 competitors — three singers would move on. Two were selected by judges and the third through an online audience vote.
For the performance, all the contestants were part of one large Zoom call — a screen-sized checkerboard of singers and judges. Ebert was nervous.
“My whole life I’ve been on stage singing,” she said. “I didn’t know how I would sound over Zoom.”
Ebert was buoyed by the fact that so many of her friends and family were watching.
“You usually see that with lots of sports, but you don’t see it a lot for the arts,” said Tracey Ebert.
Ebert was tapped by the judges to advance to the finals.
For the show’s finale, Ebert opted to sing “Monster” from the Disney movie “Frozen.” As each person sang, judges gave feedback on what the contestants did well and what they needed to work on. Judges voted for the top five, and an audience vote determined the overall winner.
Although Ebert didn’t make the final five, her mother felt experience was well worth it. Like schools in most of the country, New Palestine High School had shut down in the middle of March, essentially canceling the weekly show choir competitions for Ebert and the rest of Crimson Heat.
“It kept her doing what she loves,” Tracey Ebert said.
Madyson Ebert plans to go into vocal performance when she graduates in May. And feedback like this from one of judges just fuels her fire: “Your singing may not cure cancer, but it can make someone forget they have it for a little while.”
“After a comment like that,” Madyson said, “it didn’t matter if I won or not. That was all I needed.”
