Evie Clair

Tag: america’s got talent

  • Evie Clair Performs from Philly to Maui

    Evie Clair Performs from Philly to Maui

    Evie Clair has been living her dream and traveling far distances to share her gift and her love. She recently had a beautiful opportunity to perform for an event called the Lime Light Gala. The formal concert supported the expansion of Nick’s House, a facility operated by the HEADstrong Foundation which provides complimentary lodging and community support to cancer patients and families who are displaced for experimental treatment in Philadelphia.  She was so happy to be able to help support those who struggled the same way her family did just last year. Her own father actually looked into experimental treatment at the Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania and they were a part of this event. There are more resources for helping with treatment and travel costs than Evie’s father was aware of. Evie hopes that others will know and spread the word about the help available through the HEADstrong foundation. It was created by family members of a young man named Nick who started the foundation and was taken by cancer in the prime of his life. His family has worked tirelessly to make sure there is purpose in his sacrifice.

    Evie Clair returned home from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday and turned around to catch a plane for Maui, Hawaii on Monday. She has been very grateful to have set an early commitment to keep Sundays for rest and worship. She doesn’t believe she would be able to keep up her frantic pace if she didn’t have a day each week to slow down and remember where her blessings come from.

    Maui was an absolute dream come true for Evie Clair who before America’s Got Talent, had never even been on an airplane! She is definitely an experienced traveler now, but going from the East Coast to the far reaches of Hawaii can cause a little jet lag. She went early to make sure she was rested up before the show and stayed a few days after the show to catch some waves and enjoy one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

    This concert at the Four Seasons in Maui was for Trustmark, an employee benefits company. Since 1994 they have taken their Globetrotters incentive group through 24 years of unforgettable destinations all over the world. In every country they have visited they have showcased unforgettable performances like last year’s Phantom of the Opera performance in Budapest or Her Majesty’s Royal Scots Guard Bagpipers band in Scotland and the Vienna Boys Choir in Austria.  This year they decided that since Hawaii is the 50th state they would remind them that America also has talent. They brought together a sample of the acts that have helped make America’s Got Talent the most popular show on television.

    The show was brilliantly hosted by ventriloquist and comedian: Taylor Mason and included America’s Got Talent top acts from over the years including magician: Eric Jones, danger act: Deadly Games, light sand artist: Joe Castillo and singer: Evie Clair. It was a perfect balance of intrigue, excitement, entertainment, and heart and Evie will never forget it.

    They arrived Monday night for an incredible luau at the Marriott in Wailea where Evie was pulled on stage by a local to do the hula. The next day was performance day and we were treated like royalty by The Four Seasons Hotel. We arrived for a sound check and decided to stop for lunch at their beachside restaurant. Evelyn tried calamari for the first time and the food and atmosphere were perfection. The waiter was probably the nicest person ever and he came out to let them know that the hotel was covering their lunch bill because they were just so thankful Evie had come to perform there. He then insisted on bringing out dessert which Evie’s brother, Porter, said was the best thing he had ever tasted in his life!

    The days after the performance Evie Clair and her mother, brother and friend explored Maui. They had friends of her father’s, Steve and Kamie, who had recently moved to Maui from Idaho to start a touring business. They happened to live just a mile from her beach condo and were perfect tour guides. They introduced them to a local named Ina who taught the kids how to surf and then took them on an all day Road to Hana adventure in dune buggies where they stopped to jump off a waterfall, explore caves, eat coconut shrimp and see the black sand beach. Find more videos and pics on Evie’s Instagram account @evieclair

     

  • Evie Clair at World’s Largest Family History Conference

    Evie Clair at World’s Largest Family History Conference

    Evie Clair was given a rare opportunity to perform and share stories of her ancestors at RootsTech, the largest family history conference in the world, on Saturday.

     Article on Family Search

    With Keynote speakers like Olympic Ice Skater, Scott Hamilton and Latin musician, Natalia LaFourcade from the Disney movie Coco, RootsTech goes all out every year to give high priority to Family History.  They make it relevant and fun for the whole family to jump into the past and research their ancestors. This year, for their main stage finale with over 10,000 in attendance and hundreds of thousands watching a live stream on lds.org, they featured Evie Clair. She shared music about families that is special to her and told of Swiss ancestors that she was able to learn more about through a RootsTech personal family history specialist.

    While back stage for the rehearsal and the show day, Evie was able to meet and mingle with President Dallin H. Oaks of the first presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his family, Elder Rendlund of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles as well as Scott Hamilton, Hank Smith and the incredible people she performed with including her good friend Sara Arkell, The Piano Gal, Alex Melecio, Kenya Clark, Rodrigo Benecourt and Masa Fukuda – director of the One Voice Children’s Choir and host Jason Hewlett. Natalia LaFourcade would have been there as well, but had to leave the conference early for an opportunity that came up to sing at the Oscars.

    Evie’s family and friends came to watch her perform in the final main stage segment of the conference and were so touched by her songs and the deep meanings they held for the family. Evie sang To Where You Are made popular by Josh Groban and I’m not sure a dry eye could be found in the 13,000 seat room. One audience member said, “Somehow she conveys emotion so powerfully. It’s not the polish or power, just her ability to reach into your soul.”

    Evie then spoke about her own Swiss ancestry and the incredible origin of her last name. She sang a song called Army of Angels written by her cousin McKenna Morris who is currently serving a mission in Russia. She then spoke of music and her ancestors and the origins of her musical talents. The final number was How Can a Moment Last Forever from the recent Beauty and the Beast movie. She sang with Alex and Kenya an arrangement by Masa Fukuda for the perfect finale.

    Every detail of the conference was handled with such professionalism and Evie was so grateful to be part of it. They used a clip from America’s Got Talent to introduce her and in the exchange with NBC for licensing on that video, they were so impressed with RootsTech for going through all the correct channels to acquire legal rights to use the clip. They were impressed with an organization that would obey the rules so perfectly when so many others seemingly break copyright laws without thought or consequence.

    RootTech 2018 was a success! We know our children had a wonderful time at the Family Discovery Day and we plan to return next year.

  • AGT Reunion Shows in Washington

    AGT Reunion Shows in Washington

    In a little city called Mill Creek near Seattle, Washington, many of the finalists from America’s Got Talent were showcased Friday and Saturday at a Christmas spectacular at Gold Creek. Evie Clair took the stage with Merrick Hanna, Christian Guardino, Kochi Okwuchi, DaNell Daymon & Greater Works: Gospel Choir plus several other acts including finalists from NBC’s The Sing Off.

    Gold Creek really knows how to put on a show and they were brilliant to recruit musical genius, Gary Verrill, to direct and produce the music! We were stunned by the incredible stage and sound. They even had ice skaters skating on stage somehow and an aerialist flying over the stage in the pre-show.

    The entire concert was incredible. We showed up for sound check expecting to use backing tracks for Evie’s songs but were excited to find out that she would have a live – extremely talented band backing her up. Evie, like most musicians, comes alive when the music is real, live and not overly rehearsed.

    Evie and dancer Merrick Hanna from AGT collaborated for the first time together on a dubstep mashup of Carol of the Bells/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen that was a huge hit!

    At the end of the dynamic show, the pianist – Gary, pulled up the favorite Christmas songs from audience polls and called on performers to improvise a random song completely unrehearsed! Golden Buzzer winner, Christian Guardino, from AGT was clearly the king of improv this weekend, but Evie proved that she could also hold her own on the spot.

    Evie loved spending time with her AGT friends but she was also thrilled to be able to spend some time with her aunt and uncle and cousins who live in Seattle. They hosted a breakfast at their home while we were in town and invited dozens of young women from church for brunch and a musical devotional.

  • Evie Clair Collaborates to Light the World

    Evie Clair Collaborates to Light the World

    After the America’s Got Talent finale, Evie Clair has been traveling the country performing and sharing her story in person. Today she returns as a YouTuber in collaboration with non profits, composers and other talented musicians to join in the movement to #LightTheWorld with service, love and the peace of the Christmas season. Learn more about #LightTheWorld

    Evie released two videos on her YouTube channel today which are the first performances she has been able to release since before her first appearance on NBC’s most watched show, America’s Got Talent.

    For Here in My Arms, she collaborated with young vocalist, Rosevelt Rawls and with Cinematic Pop composer Rob Gardner who in his spare time writes sacred oratorios such as Lamb of God, orchestrated by the world famous London Symphony Orchestra. Here in My Arms has emphasis on the divine calling of motherhood and the special ways Mary, the mother of Christ, was able to give Jesus the gift of lifelong service as His mother.

    Here in My Arms sheet music is available here.

    For Light the World, composer Sara Baril and her son Benson caught Evie’s attention with an original song they released that captures the heart of the #LightTheWorld in 25 ways over 25 days initiative to teach, serve and love as Jesus Christ.  Sara and Benson traveled from their home in Canada to record and film Light the World and bring message to life in collaboration with Step UP Schools, Mormon.org and the Salvation Army, they put their words to action as they participated in service projects including preparing food boxes and hygiene kits for families in need and reading to and playing with the students.

    Light the World sheet music available here.

    Both videos were produced in collaboration with Mormon.org and with Production by Stephen Moyer, Thomas Manning and James Adams.

  • Finals

    Finals

    Evie Clair’s epic adventures on America’s Got Talent Season 12 have come to an end. She made amazing friends, inspired many, held to what she believes, said goodbye to her daddy and made some difficult decisions. One was to continue when her heart was broken.

    For the finals she sang her dad’s song “What a Wonderful World.” Her dad wasn’t a singer but he did sing this song on demand and belted it in a Lois Armstrong growel for laughs.

    No one was laughing during her performance. Everything was silent, almost reverent in the center of a raucous Hollywood Blvd. She sang an understated version holding back tears with everything in her.

    AMERICA’S GOT TALENT — “Live Finale” — Pictured: Evie Clair — (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC)

    Simon and AGT producers and staffers checked on her throughout the night to make sure they weren’t putting too much pressure on her. She never felt pressure but made the decision herself to get back on a plane to LA the very day after her father’s funeral. She knew he would want her to be there to continue. This time he would be there in spirit with new abilities to strengthen her.

    The live results finale was the day after the finals and Evie was feeling more confident.

    AMERICA’S GOT TALENT — “Live Finale Results” Episode 1224 — Pictured: (l-r) Evie Clair, James Arthur — (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC)

    On the results show Evie was so happy to be able to sing her original song “Okay Day.” She hasn’t been able to release it yet but was stunned when producers said they wanted her to sing it with James Arthur who is currently on the Billboard Hot 100 for his song “Say You Won’t Let Go.”

    Evie sang a verse and chorus of the upbeat song with perfect confidence then introduced James Arthur who came in on the bridge.

    The bridge of this song is so special to Evie because it came to her in a dream a few months ago. She said she was standing in a circle of fire and rain came down and put it out. In the dream she heard herself singing…

    “When the clouds start to form

    And the rain starts to fall;

    Everyone knows after rain

    Comes a rainbow after all.”

    She woke up and gathered her sister Kirra and brother Porter to help her finish writing the song.

    The AGT producers heard the song on a home video and loved it so they sent it in for approval for the final show.

    Evie didn’t win America’s Got Talent but is so happy for her good friend, Darci, who did. Just being in the top 10 of the greatest talent show on earth is more than she could have ever dreamed and she plans to keep moving forward.

  • Quarter Finals

    Quarter Finals

    Evie Clair performed the song “Wings” by Birdy for the Quarter Finals. She had an incredible experience working with the staff of AGT on this beautiful performance. She was thrilled to be able to play the piano for this round because she feels it is such a big part of her. The stage and set and all the candles were remarkable.

    This is a clip of Evie’s performance. You can watch the entire episode at www.nbc.com

    Her favorite part of this experience so far has been in making friends with the other contestants and their families.  One of the other moms told her that this doesn’t feel like the other talent competitions they have been in. She said it didn’t feel like a competition at all because people were so kind toward each other.

    We have felt that too and have felt the same compassion and kindness from the America’s Got Talent staff. From the assistants and judges to the producers, managers and crew, they are truly relationships we will have “for the rest of our lives.” Even Simon publicly sent his love to Evie’s dad this round.

    Yes, Evie Clair was the Dunkin’ Save this round. It doesn’t mean she was in the bottom 3 on voting. It means she was 6,7,or 8th in voting out of 12. She was very nervous for all this extra attention but it turned out alright since America saved her. She wants to send out some special love to all her fans for that amazing gift.

    A couple months ago Evie’s dad said he would not miss the live show if they had to roll him in on a stretcher.  It seems that he never imagined how quickly and how horribly his body could deteriorate making it impossible for him to travel. Someone videotaped his reaction from his hospital bed.

    Evie’s dad is no longer able to work or even function without help. He has suffered severe malnutrition from the cancer disrupting his digestive system. The doctors were able to save his life just in time with nutrition that is delivered directly to his veins bypassing his digestive system. The problem with this solution is that it is very hard on the liver. Her dad had never smoked or consumed alcohol in his life so his liver was in pretty good shape to begin with. Now they are draining liquid from his distended abdomen to make room for food so they can save his liver and be strong enough to endure more cancer treatments.

    His chances for survival are now very slim, but so were his daughter’s chances to be on America’s Got Talent. Both Evie and her dad are learning that nothing is impossible in this life. They are both staying positive and are ok with whatever happens. Seeing her move forward through the rounds is giving her dad the strength he needs to keep fighting and that is a blessing for our entire family.

     

     

  • America’s Got Talent Round 2

    America’s Got Talent Round 2

    Evie Clair had a difficult time watching last night’s Judge Cut episode since it was filmed weeks ago and her dad has become noticeabley frail since then. The colon cancer has spread to his liver and lungs and he has been in the hospital since Monday having fluid drained from his lungs and stomach and suffering from malnutrition.

    Some people talk about hating sob stories, but her current reality is that the person she loves and looks up to most in life is in a downward spiral that will play out on live television.

    AMERICA’S GOT TALENT — “Judge’s Cuts” — Pictured: (l-r) — (Photo by: Vivian Zink/NBC)

    She seeks none of the attention that has come to her, but only for him to be well again and to share her light.

    She can belt like no one’s business but the restraint she showed last night was remarkable. Her new, softer version of the song I Try by Macy Gray told of her feelings for her incredible father. She sat with him in a hospital room to watch the show air last night.

    This was one of a couple tweets sent out by the writer of her song, Macy Gray.

    This girl still has hope and will be off to round 3 soon to fight. She fights because she has been taught by her dad ‘s example to fight. She believes somehow that if she can beat the odds, So can he.

     

  • Evie Clair on America’s Got Talent – Round 1

    Evie Clair on America’s Got Talent – Round 1

    What an unforgettable night for Evie Clair during round 1 of America’s Got Talent Season 12!

  • Evie Clair on America’s Got Talent

    Evie Clair on America’s Got Talent

    Tune in Tuesday, June 20th, at 8/7c to NBC as Evie Clair takes the biggest stage in the world!