Many people feel that they have a calling in life, and sometimes it comes from the hardest situations. Some are thrown into terrible situations in life, which leads them to try and make a change and help others in the process. While it may have come from a place of pain, these movements and acts of kindness from those who have gone through horrible circumstances have the potential to impact countless lives.
Enter the Missing People Choir, who demonstrated their mission on Britain’s Got Talent in 2017. As their name suggests, this large collective of singers has been formed with the intent of finding missing people and spreading awareness through their music of the rising issue of people vanishing. Watch their heart-wrenching audition performance on Britain’s Got Talent in the video below:
Before the Missing People Choir begins its audition in front of a full theatre and four nerve-wracking judges, they introduce their mission to help find missing people. However, their goal does not just come from a place of compassion and a wish to help; everyone in the choir has been impacted by somebody in their family going missing, which is a tragedy.
One member of the Choir, and their spokesperson for the Britain’s Got Talent performance, Steve Boxell, gives his story. He mentions that his son went missing in 1988 from his home in Sutton at the young age of 15. Such an event in a parent’s life must be heartbreaking, and Boxell mentions that while he wants to find his son, he recognizes that there are many other people in his situation. And so, the Missing People Choir was born to help grieving families spread awareness and a message of hope
The Choir’s performance was of an original song entitled “I Miss You”, which was written by Boxell. Its lyrics are striking and tear-bringing, with consistent references to missing loved ones and hoping to see them again one day in any way they can. It truly drives home the issue of missing persons, which deserves much more recognition than it typically does. During the Choir’s performance, images of missing people appear on the screen behind them, with some disappearances spanning over 30 years.
There is a deep sadness to the Missing People Choir’s performance; each note is meant from the heart and its message is driven to the audience with every bar. In fact, audience members and Britain’s Got Talent judges alike shed several tears during their touching performance, which was as beautiful as it was an important awareness effort. The Choir went on to the final of the British talent show and continues to this day.
Not only is their message striking, but it is also effective. In 2017, one of the young boys whose image was shown during the Missing People Choir’s performance was found safe and well and reunited with his family. Police also discovered new information about Tom Moore, one of the missing individuals who hadn’t been seen in over 14 years. If you would like to see more from The Missing People Choir, you can follow them on Facebook or Instagram.