Although high school was probably a long time ago for most of us, there’s still plenty of things to remember.
There’s the struggle to always be sitting at the cool kids’ table at lunchtime, the pressure to ask somebody special out for the upcoming dance and the parental pressure to get good grades. On a more fun note, however, there were also periodic talent shows where kids could show off their skills in front of the entire student body.
Although many of us might have competed in one, few people did it as well as this group of boys.
A YouTube video has recently been making its rounds on the internet of a group called the Hot Scots.
For those who don’t know, the Hot Scots are a drum line who perform at Lake Powell High School. As the clip begins, the curtains rise up and five boys walk out together on stage. As is fitting for their name, each one of them can be seen wearing a traditional Scottish kilt! After a few moments, they all line up behind their drums and are ready to get started.
But their performance takes the entire auditorium by surprise!
Though everyone was expecting a drum performance, nobody was expecting it to be as sharp as this one.
The show starts with some impressive choreographed drumming before all the drummers start doing a slow, controlled roll together. After jumping back in, the boy perform a few more rolls and a few more choreographed parts before taking a dramatic pause. In the middle of everything, they take some time out to sing “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley.
As soon as the chorus is over, they dive back right back into their drumming.
Soon after that, it’s onto the trick portion of the performance.
The boy in the middle tosses one of the sticks behind his back, catches it and ends up playing a drum roll holding the stick between his nose and lip! After that, he passes it down the line and the other boys show what they can do. The performance ends with all the boys drumming on one another’s instruments before striking a few poses and flashing the audience (with boxers on, of course).
When they’re done, the crowd bursts into applause.
The video is from as far back as 2011 and has since garnered more than 15 million views.
Still, this clip isn’t the only performance from the group of young men to make the rounds on the internet. Another performance from 2012 shows that the boys only get better at their craft year after year. Much the like the other video, all the boys come out wearing their kilts before setting off into a dazzling drum routine.
Just like the other one, it’s packed full of incredible tricks and impressive moments.
In this one, the boys have a little bit more humor right from the beginning.
At one point, they all take a break and settle into a casual drum roll while scanning the crowd and giving shout outs. After that, they drop back into the routine again… at one point falling into complete silence. The crowd cheers but they start back up again, tapping each others’ drum sticks quietly over the kit and playing with the rhythm over and over.
At the end, the boys do a signature sign-off not unlike the one in the other video.
For major Hot Scots’ enthusiasts, there’s even a third video from as recently as 2015.
Once again, the boys come out wearing skirts and start into their routine. The drumming is impressive as the boys alternate who is taking the lead, some of them bowing to the ground while the others keep up the rhythm. Funny enough, there’s even a slight mistake in this one.
In the middle of the performance, one of the boys drops his drum stick!
Fortunately, the show rolls smoothly onward as two of the boys pull out pots for the others to drum on.
In no time, the boy on the end is able to recover hist stick and start back into the performance. Towards the end of the performance, the boys all take turns drumming on one another’s instruments before running into the crowd to wild applause.
Needless to say, these boys are a huge hit at their school talent show!
Above all, videos like these remind us of the power of creativity.
In high school, everyone is looking for a way to fit in and to not be noticed. Talent shows, on the other hand, are an opportunity for those with special abilities and characteristics to stand out and be appreciated for them. Although we can’t all drum as well as the boys in this video can, their performances (and the enthusiasm of the crowds each time) shows us just how important it is to be our complete selves.
Congratulations to the Hot Scots on so many great performances!
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