Their sequined hats typically shimmer under stadium lights on fall Friday nights. This year, however, the Emerald Belles of Southlake Carroll were illuminated by stage lights on “America’s Got Talent.”
With director Melissa Page at the helm for over 20 years, the high school drill team is always looking to take things to the next level. And this year, the Emerald Belles did just that, auditioning and moving to the next round on NBC’s hit talent competition.
“I couldn't quit smiling,” Emerald Belles director Melissa Page says. “I truly was so excited because they are such a special group to me.”
The episode featuring their audition aired on June 4, and clips of the Belles’ high kick routine spread like wildfire on social media platforms. While we have yet to see what happens with the team during the next round, the accomplishment of bringing judge Simon Cowell to his feet is enough to instill a sense of Southlake pride.
Scouting Southlake
The process of getting to that stage is a story in itself. In 2017, a video of the Emerald Belles’ 2017 high kick routine went fairly viral. Now, with the video boasting over 3 million views, it’s safe to say that people well outside of the Metroplex have seen the Southlake drill team perform. As fate would have it, a casting producer from “America’s Got Talent” stumbled across the video. Seeing their potential for the big stage, he reached out to Melissa.
“At first I was like, 'Is this legit?'” she recalls. “So I looked him up and thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is for real.’”
After participating in many conference calls and sending more videos of her team to the show’s crew, Melissa finally received the good news: They were headed to California. She announced it the team last May.
“We were shocked and so excited,” Emerald Belles captain Molly McKinnon recalls.
Here’s the thing about the Emerald Belles team: It’s huge. With 78 team members and 16 chaperones, there were a lot of moving parts to get to Los Angeles. Regardless, “America’s Got Talent” flew the team to California.
“It was interesting because when they first called me, they didn't realize exactly what we were,” Melissa recalls. “I had to explain that we were a public high school drill team and that we weren't a dance company. People don't really know what a drill team is unless you live in Texas.”
Hitting the Big Stage
A flurry of activity is probably the best way to describe audition day. Between certain Belles getting pulled aside for interviews, others warming up and a variety of other auditioning acts preparing all around them, it was a long day.
“I was so impressed with my kids because they were taking them all for interviews left and right, and they were so poised,” Melissa says of the team. “And my captain [Molly] was just phenomenal. She had a lot of pressure on her to speak in front of the cameras and on stage, and she just handled it with such grace.”
By 3 p.m., the Pasadena Civic Auditorium was packed and the audience anxiously awaited the judges’ arrival. Now in its 14th season, “America’s Got Talent” has two new judges, actress Gabrielle Union and dancer Julianne Hough, as well as a new host, actor Terry Crews. The judging panel is rounded out by longstanding television personalities Simon Cowell and Howie Mandel.
The new judges garnered particular excitement from the Belles, as Gabrielle starred in the teen classic cheerleading movie “Bring It On,” and Julianne is a two-time professional champion of ABC's “Dancing with the Stars.”
“I’ve always viewed Julianne as a role model,” Molly says.
Melissa laughs as she recalls some of the Belles’ excitement upon running into Julianne in the ladies’ room. Of course, amidst the excitement, there were definitely nerves. When asked what she said to the team before their performance, Melissa admits she doesn’t remember.
“I was so nervous too,” she says. “I was nervous and trying to act like I wasn’t nervous.”
And for Molly, the biggest hurdle before her wasn’t a split jump or high kick.
“I was honestly more nervous about talking to the judges than performing,” Molly says. “We practice and perform so much that I knew we could do it.”
As team captain, it came down to Molly to introduce the team to the judges. As she did, Simon inquired, “Do you really think you can win?” Appearing unphased by the bold question, Molly replied, “I think we for sure got what it takes.”
From there, it was perhaps the fastest one minute and 45 seconds of the Belles’ lives. Melissa stood backstage with Terry, watching her girls make high kicking look effortless.
“Terry was so funny,” Melissa says. “He was like 'Oh my gosh, your girls are so good!' When they first started kicking, he was stunned. He was the nicest guy ever.”
Only a small portion of the team started out on stage, with more emerging from the audience and both wings of the stage. As they came together as a unit, their high-kick routine came to life, with its perfect timing and seamless connections to the next element.
As all team members leaped into the air and landed in a perfect split to end their audition, Simon rose out of his chair with a standing ovation.
“If you would have asked me if something like that would ever happen I would have said, 'No way,'” Melissa says. “The only thing going through my mind was excitement. I felt like a proud mom. It was so fun for me to see them so happy.”
Rising from their splits, the Belles stood and awaited the judges’ responses. It didn’t start well, as Howie kicked things off with a “no” vote, stating that their talent level did not measure up to the Rockettes.
"I just tried to not let anything show on my face,” Melissa says of hearing Howie’s comments. “We are not the Rockettes. We're a high school drill team. We're not trying to compare to the Rockettes. They are their own professional, wonderful group. These are 14-18-year-olds.”
The negative feedback didn’t last long, as Simon jumped to their defense and Julianne and Gabrielle only had good things to say about the performance.
“You were cohesively and collectively beautiful,” Julianne told the Belles during the episode.
Upon receiving the three yes votes, the team jumped, screamed and cried.
“You always see people crying on TV after they make it through and think that they are overreacting,” Molly says. “But when you’re really there, and you think about all of the work it took to get there, there’s a lot of emotion.”
Setting The Bar High
Regardless of how the next round of “America’s Got Talent” plays out for the Belles, they have certainly set a high standard, not only for themselves but also for high school drill teams. With football season around the corner, it will be interesting to see the team hit the field once again.
“I've been at Carroll for 22 years now, and every year I have a great group,” Melissa says. “The kids are always wonderful – that's why I keep doing it. But this group has just been so special to me. I just don't know what I would have done without them this year. They're wonderful kids and so kindhearted. There's not a better group for this to happen to.”
The televised team features 32 recently graduated seniors. It will be up to their younger teammates to continue their constant pursuit of excellence.
“This whole experience has been so special for all of us seniors,” Molly says. “For this to be what we leave on is incredible.”
Back in Southlake, Sewell Cadillac, one of the team’s sponsors, hosted a watch party when the Belles’ audition aired.
“I think we had over 200 hundred people at the watch party,” Melissa says. “It was a blast and, of course, there was a lot of screaming going on.”
With plans to include the community once again this month, Melissa praises the residents of Southlake for their support of the team. And while being nationally televised every year is certainly not an attainable goal, Melissa still intends to take things up a notch.
“We're going to do big things,” she says. “I'm working on it. I'm trying to get us to do something a little different and do something with the team that I've never done before.”
In the meantime, the current team is just taking it in and enjoying their time in the spotlight.
“It’s just such an honor to be captain of this team,” Molly says. “It’s such a great group and we’ve been having so much fun through this experience.”