The Athens Drive Chorus is the heart of the school this Valentine’s day with singing Valentines. These valentines have been around the Drive for many years now, as well as other schools around Wake County. On February 14th, groups of students from the chorus went around singing to classes and spread the love. Sharing love this valentines day for your friends or your favorite teachers has lifted everyone’s spirits at the Drive.

“It’s really fun being able to go around and share what chorus is to all of us,” said Priscilla Palazzo, senior chorus student at Athens Drive High School. 

From February 8-10, students from any grade went to the chorus table during A or B lunch and purchased their friends these gifts. The valentines are sold for $5 by chorus students. The choice of add-ons made these even more unique for students to receive. Then, the singing students brought the surprises to the classroom and presented their talent February 14. 

“My goal is to make it their fundraiser,” said Erin Santa-Croce, choral director. 

The chorus students put a lot of work into these Valentines. They take about 20 minutes everyday in class to join with their group and practice. As they practice, they also have to work on mapping out their route for performances. They had a lot of classes they had to go to. 

“It’s nice to be able to apply the skills we have been working on all semester and all year long in chorus class. It takes a lot of preparation, a lot of work, and a lot of everybody giving it their all, all of the time,” said Palazzo. 

They spent the whole year learning music and singing valentines are an opportunity to show off what they’ve learned. Each group chose their song, except for the groups that sang the traditional songs like “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King, “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis, and “Somebody to Love” by Queen. Every other song was chosen by their groups. 

“We are creating our own arrangements of the songs,” said Alex Davis, senior chorus student. 

The groups put their own spin on the songs that they sang and they used the original songs as a guideline. They were allowed to put their own harmonies into the songs for people to enjoy. For example, Alex Davis’s group chose to do a Rickroll, which is a popular meme using Rick Astley’s song, “Never Gonna Give You Up”. This internet meme started back in 2007 and the point of this meme is to catch a person off guard with the song. If you are to get Rickrolled, it is meant to be a funny, embarrassing prank. 

As Davis says, “You got to embarrass someone every now and then.” 

Although some students may be embarrassed, for many others it is their favorite day of the year. 

“I really love performing for people and I think it’s really fun to walk into classes and see people’s faces of absolute fear,” Palazzo said.