Video showing thousands singing 'Star-Spangled Banner' in Kentucky hotel goes viral
A Bullitt County Public Schools choir director's video showing thousands of students singing the national anthem in a Louisville hotel's cavernous atrium is going viral.
The video was captured during the Kentucky Music Educators Conference Feb. 5, but it's just now gaining traction. Several news outlets have picked up the video, and it has amassed more than 500,000 likes on TikTok.
Singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" in the atrium is an annual tradition for students staying at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Louisville during the multi-day Kentucky Music Educators Conference, Bullitt East High School Choir Director Carrie Ann Gary told The Courier Journal.
In 2022, CBS News reported the tradition started in 1987 after a group of students hanging out in the atrium extemporaneously started singing.
"It was just student-inspired," Gary said. "There's not a person that starts it. There's not a conductor. It's just students joining together."
Gary has gone to the conference with students each year since 2008. She always looks forward to seeing her students experience it for the first time, which was the case for five of her six students who attended this year.
"It really is such a cool thing to be a part of. So, that's kind of why I just like to kind of get their expression," Gary said.
Why it went viral this year? She's not sure.
One reason, she suspects, is that the video was taken from the hotel's 17th floor, giving a unique vantage as she pans from the ground floor all the way up to her floor.
Another explanation could be that people are hungry for "something positive," Gary said.
Whatever the reason might be, she's glad it's resonating with people.
"It's just such a unifying thing that everybody knows, a unifying song, a unifying symbol that everybody's familiar with," she said.
Contact reporter Killian Baarlaer at kbaarlaer@gannett.com or @bkillian72 on X.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Star-Spangled Banner sung by thousands of students at Louisville hotel
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Internet Can't Cope With Reason Dog Is Obsessed With Wall Behind Couch
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A dog's perplexing standoff with his own shadow has led to plenty of amusement among viewers online after a TikTok video captured the moment he locked eyes with the wall behind his owner's couch—and refused to look away. The clip, originally posted on April 7 by @nikigilbert79, features Charlie, a brown Labrador, standing upright on a couch and staring intently at the wall, unaware that the figure captivating his attention is his own silhouette. The post has since drawn over 4.7 million views and more than 520,000 likes, prompting a flood of lighthearted reactions in the comments. Viewers were able to see Charlie standing upright on the couch, his snout just inches from the wall, eyes locked with intense focus. His shadow, cast clearly in front of him, moved subtly with each twitch of his head, a silent and unknowing dance partner. With a combination of confusion and curiosity, Charlie repeatedly nudged his snout toward the wall, each time pulling back with a bewildered expression, as if hoping to finally make sense of the flickering figure before him. For many TikTok viewers, the video struck a universal chord of humor. The straightforward, seemingly trivial moment—a dog misunderstanding the basic principles of light and shadow—turned into a comically relatable spectacle. "Remember when LittleFoot thought his shadow was his mom," one viewer said. "Not a single thought behind those eyes," another added. "That's hilarious, how long did that last," a third viewer shared. "Don't let him get ahold of a mirror," one comment read. While plenty of viewers poked fun at the viral moment, several warned that Charlie's growing obsession with his own shadow should not be encouraged. "That's a bad thing to encourage," one viewer said. "Might seem cute in the moment but you're just allowing a possible shadow chasing obsession to start." "Try to distract him away from that," another added. "I've heard that they can get super obsessive with shadows and can end up being a really bad thing." "Actually just found out today that this isn't something good," a different viewer shared in much agreement. "Could create an OCD obsession which can lead to constant stress." Newsweek reached out to @nikigilbert79 for more information via email. Stock image: A chocolate-shaded Labrador lays outdoors in the evening sun. Stock image: A chocolate-shaded Labrador lays outdoors in the evening sun. Getty Images Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@ with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
'I Was Broke': Gary Oldman Gets Honest About Starring In 1 Of The Most Hated Films Ever
Sir Gary Oldman has opened up about how he came to star in a film that's widely considered one of the worst in history. Back in 2003, the newly-knighted British actor starred alongside Matthew McConaughey, Patricia Arquette and Kate Beckinsale in Tiptoes (two of whom have gone on to win Academy Awards, as has Sir Gary). The film centred around a young man, played by Matthew, who gets his girlfriend pregnant, having concealed from her that every member of his family, including his twin brother, has a form of dwarfism. Sir Gary played Matthew's brother in the movie, for which he donned prosthetics and spent much of the shoot on his knees. During a new interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Sir Gary admitted that he's never actually seen Tiptoes, and revealed that it came along at a difficult time in both his personal and professional life. 'I'll be very honest with you,' Sir Gary began. 'I had gone through a divorce and a nasty thing with a contractor.' He continued 'I ended up in California, in LA, at 42 years old, a single dad, and I was broke. And, ironically, I was living under the Hollywood sign, living in this rental. We had no furniture – thank God for Ikea.' Sir Gary said that when the offer for Tiptoes came along, he'd not worked for just shy of two years, and had been affected by an actors' strike. 'It was a bit of a rough time, and I needed to pay some bills, and I needed some money, and it was an actors' strike ontop of it all, which was a double whammy,' he admitted, noting the situation was a 'terrible time' for everyone in Hollywood. 'And then this film came along, this crazy idea, from this director, that I would play a little person. And I would play Matthew McConaughey's brother. 'There were several [issues]. First of all, I got locked in to doing a voice like that, because I had to sound like Matthew. We were brothers, so somehow, I had to sound like Matthew. So that was that. And then, I'm on my knees… desperate measures, desperate times.' 'I needed to work,' he insisted. 'And it was a crazy idea. But, would I do it now? No.' He said that if one good thing came out of the film, it's that several actors with dwarfism – including a pre-Game Of ThronesPeter Dinklage – were able to get work at a time when many performers were struggling. 'It was a good thing in that regard, because they were all going through the same thing I was going through, with no work,' Sir Gary said, insisting: 'But it's a misfire, to be sure. Not one I talk about, I'm so glad you brought it up.' Elsewhere in the interview, Sir Gary was also asked about another of the films he hasn't held in an especially high regard, The Fifth Element. He explained that his wife of eight years, Gisele Schmidt, has helped to 'convince me that it's a better film than I think it is'. Sir Gary explained: 'I'm contaminated, because I was the one who had that haircut. And I was the one who was wearing rubber. So, others can experience it in a different way. I get a little triggered when I see it, and I go back to that place of Jean-Paul Gaultier and rubber.' He added: 'Bruce [Willis] didn't like [that] either – you know that orange vest that he wears? He hated it.' A year after Tiptoes hit cinemas, Sir Gary made his debut as Sirius Black in the third Harry Potter film – a role with which he's still synonymous to many today. Since then, he also won an Oscar for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour. Over the weekend, it was announced that Sir Gary had been bestowed with a knighthood by King Charles for his services to drama. Prior to that, he was the only British recipient of Best Actor or Best Actress this century not to be honoured with a knighthood or damehood. Dakota Johnson Speaks Out About Past Sex Scenes That 'Did Not Feel Good' Will Smith Gets Candid About The 1 Reason He Turned Down Inception Role 11 Behind-The-Scenes Facts You Probably Never Knew About How Batman Begins Was Made
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Wait. The TikTokers don't love you like I love you - Yeah Yeah Yeahs thrill at Manchester Apollo
Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Manchester Apollo. Monday June 16, 2025. What do you do when your most famous song has been completely bastardised by a TikTok dance craze? If you're the Yeah Yeah Yeahs you strip it back entirely and add a string quartet. READ MORE: 45 of Parklife 2025's most fashionable festival-goers READ MORE: Chris Brown brings surprise star guest out at Co-op Live gig in Manchester It could easily have been business as usual for the New York trio - now 25 years into their journey as one of the most revered indie darlings of the 21st century. An electric live band, their pretentious, cerebral art-rock speaks for a generation. So when they announced a short tour to celebrate their many years together, it sold out in minutes. More recently, they have found fame with a new audience much younger than the Millennials who grew up hearing Y Control and Zero blasting out of the speakers at 5th Ave and 42s. That's because their glorious ballad Maps has become part of a viral dance trend that propelled the song to the top of the TikTop Billboard Top 50 chart - 21 years after its release. But it's the die hard fans rather than the TikTokers who fill the seats of Manchester Apollo tonight. After a test run in California, Manchester is the first stop on a tour of 'beautiful iconic theatres' and one of only two UK dates. The Hidden In Pieces tour is intended to display YYY's softer, more mature side with the band working alongside a string quartet to show off a selection of rarities and B-Sides. And from the opening chords of lovesong Blacktop, it's clear this is going to be something pretty special. Frontwoman Karen O's pure, delicate vocal rings out above a reverberating synth - setting the tone for a show filled with delicate and heartfelt moments of beauty. O is usually one of the most energetic performers around. But she spends much of this set gently pottering about the stage in a red jumpsuit, gold boots and a blue diamond encrusted cape. During some of it, she's even sitting down - unheard of at a normal YYY's gig. The last time they visited Manchester, O spat water into the air, growled, roared, rolled around and hurtled about the stage. That's her shtick. Tonight she is a different beast. Older, wiser, more relaxed - much like her audience (I can't have been the only one to delight in the prospect of a seated gig on a weeknight). 'Are you ready to get comfy and cosy with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs tonight?' she asks. 'This is new for us. It's just you and us tonight.' Promising some 'deep cuts' from their back catalogue, O launches into Mystery Girl - a very early song from their first EP. Then there's an acoustic guitar version of the anthemic Gold Lion which doesn't stray too far from the source, but slows the tempo down and adds a double bass. Let Me Know - a B-side O admits is only really for true fans, follows with a searing string quartet intro. A cover of Bjork's Hyperballad doesn't quite work and it takes me a little while to recognise the bonkers lyrics of that masterpiece above a busy arrangement and overly loud synth. And IsIs - a gloriously chaotic racket in its recorded form - honestly sounds a bit of a mess here. But overall the orchestral arrangements in this show throw new light and shade on YYY's raw, exposing lyrics. As O, guitarist Nick Zinner and drummer Brian Chase power into fan favourite Cheated Hearts, the energy ramps up and you can feel they are on safer ground. Warrior lends itself well to this more acoustic sound and really allows O to show off both the vulnerability and explosive power of her unique voice. A new arrangement of Runaway sounds lovely and achieves the Lynchian vibe the band may have hoped to display when they cited the late great director in their press for this tour. It sounds huge and dramatic with strings adding an ethereal, Mica Levi-like eeriness. O has always been an emotionally raw performer - you need only look at the famously heart-wrenching video for Maps to glean that. But this evening's performance is bolder still. 'I'm not really sure why we're doing this,' she admits 'We just really wanted to. 'We just wanted to sing these songs really vulnerable for you. It's really special to be here doing this with you.' This is a bold, experimental show which at times feels more akin to something you would find at Manchester International Festival rather than the Apollo on a Monday night. There are also moments of huge charm and emotion. The short pretty Mars - which O dedicates to her son Django - is an ode to childhood wonder and wisdom. While Maps - an already sorrowful song - is elevated with an utterly beautiful string quartet interlude. 'Those strings man,' gasps a visibly moved O. An acoustic, almost Country version of Spitting off the Edge of the World leads us into songs it would be impossible not to include - Modern Romance, Y Control. An encore in which O dons light-up trainers and blasts out Burning and Zero in her more usual energetic style brings the show to a thrilling end, and all before 10pm - something that disappoints the girls in front of me who have just returned to their seats with fresh pints. As a Millennial of a certain age, I admit that the nostalgia linked to YYYs might not make me the most impartial of reviewers. I love this band. I have a Stan Chow poster of Karen O on my living room wall. I am an early noughties cliché. But even I am not impervious to their mistakes. At some points tonight, the heady mix of strings, synth and fuzzy guitars sounds a mess. But mostly, it's a spectacular show. And unlike some of their peers from the New York indie sleaze era, Yeah Yeah Yeahs are always developing. This might be a gig for true fans, but the TikTokers are missing out on something truly beautiful.
