US airborne soldiers wow America's Got Talent judges with their a cappella talents
Singers from the 82 Airborne Division All-American Chorus, a US Army a cappella group, have performed the Temptations classic My Girl on America's Got Talent (AGT) in memory of their fallen comrade.
Due to air on 11 July, the performers from the active airborne infantry division of the United States Army showcased their vocal talent, surprising judges Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, Sofia Vergara and host Terry Crews with their sweet rendition of the American classic.
When asked by Mr Cowell why the group was auditioning, Staff Sergeant Marcus Gilbert said: "Last week we lost one of our soldiers, Specialist Elijah Crawford, so we're dedicating this performance to him and all of the soldiers that have passed before him."
In the Facebook video, which has been viewed more than 30 million times, SSgt Gilbert is visibly moved by the audience's rapturous applause in support of the soldiers' decision to dedicate their performance to Spc Crawford, who died the week before the audition.
In true military fashion, as soon as it was time to perform, they snapped into action, starting with a short rendition of airborne cadence Here We Go before shocking the audience by shifting gear and performing My Girl.
Known as America's Guard of Honor, the 82nd Airborne Division is an active airborne infantry division of the United States Army specialising in joint forcible entry operations based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
However, the 82nd Airborne Division All-American Band and Chorus have an additional mission – to inform people about the US Army's history by performing at Fort Bragg and the local area.
They are a multi-skilled group with the ability to perform brass and wood instruments plus sing jazz and rock songs.
With 897 monthly listeners on Spotify, the 82 Airborne Division All-American Chorus' vocal talents can be heard in their 2007 album, The All-American Chorus.
Their top song, Blood Upon the Risers, has been listened to 135,586 times and is a gruesome Second World War song about a parachute jump that goes very wrong, with lyrics such as: "There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the chute.
"Intestines were a-dangling from his paratrooper's suit.
"He was a mess, they picked him up, and poured him from his boots.
"He ain't gonna jump no more."
The album also features classic American songs such as Stand By Me, Rockin' Robin, Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree and the song they performed on season 18 of America's Got Talent, My Girl.
But the 82 Airborne Division All-American Chorus aren't the only members of the US armed forces to perform on America's Got Talent.
In the Stairwell, the US Air Force Academy's all-male a cappella group, performed on the America's Got Talent stage in 2017 and has even sung for the president of the United States.
And American Samoan Private First Class Paul Ieti, performed on the AGT stage in July 2014, singing songs he had sung to entertain his colleagues during a difficult deployment in Afghanistan.
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