Carrie Underwood found a fan with a very inspirational story and invited him on stage at her concert in Boston this week.
What happened next was a shock.
Earlier this year, the singer had asked fans to share their stories about personal champions, which was a prelude to the release of her song “The Champion,” with rapper Ludacris. As People magazine noted, one of the people who responded was Boston resident Chuck Choi, who said he taught himself to speak English by listening to the music of rapper Eminem.
The winners of the contest got the chance to join Underwood on stage at a concert as she shared their stories, and Choi was picked to join Carrie at her concert on Thursday at the TD Garden as part of her “Cry Pretty 360” tour. Carrie told the crowd that Choi arrived in the United States speaking no English, but he learned thanks to the legendary rapper.
“He chose to keep a good attitude, and learned to speak the language by listening to Eminem,” Underwood told fans. “Chuck says his experience has taught him that nothing is impossible, and you can overcome any struggle with a positive attitude.”
Chuck then got the chance to perform Ludacris’ verse from “The Champion” — and killed it. Video showed the Boston man bouncing on stage as he performed alongside Carrie, drawing huge cheers from the crowd. His performance even made it into Carrie’s Instagram post recapping the concerts this week in Connecticut and Boston.
Choi, who has delivered a TEDxYouth talk on YouTube about his experiences moving to America and learning English by listening to Eminem, shared his unusual story of determination and how he found inspiration in a quite unlikely place. After his performance with Carrie this week, Choi gushed about the experience and the chance to perform with the singer. Choi added that fans treated him like a star after his surprising performance on stage.
“Carrie was so fun to perform with, and I got so hyped up to the point where my glasses fell off,” Choi told People magazine after his surprising performance with the country singer. “Carrie was very nice and picked up the glasses for me! As I was leaving the stage, everyone was cheering for me, asking to take pictures. I couldn’t get out of the arena for about 40 minutes. It was an experience I’ll never forget. Thanks to Carrie’s Crew, I’ll never forget feeling like a superstar.”
