Inside The Chart: KeShun’s Got Talent

The calls bombarded KeShun Freeman’s phone last Monday afternoon, one after another, from an unknown number, until finally the former Georgia Tech defensive end picked it up.

How’d you like to join the team? the caller asked.

Freeman dropped everything and sprang into action. Less than 24 hours later, he landed in Los Angeles, dropped his bags at the hotel, and rushed to meet his new teammates. He’s spent the last several days assimilating with the veterans, learning his role, getting in reps and preparing for a performance that will be coldly and clinically evaluated.

He may not make the cut. Or, if all goes well, he could find himself on a path to stardom.

This being August, it’d be easy to assume the call came from an NFL team, the invitation to join a training camp.

This being KeShun Freeman, the answer is far more unexpected.

Tonight (Tues., Aug. 9), the 26-year-old will trade the bright lights of a stadium for the stage of America’s Got Talent, NBC’s popular competition show (8 p.m. ET). Freeman will perform in front of a live television audience as the newest member of Players Choir, a 16-member vocal group composed of current and former professional football players.

Freeman has only been with Players Choir for a week. His first performance with them will come on national television, in primetime, for a show that recently drew 6.2 million viewers. Even for the endlessly affable Freeman, it’s a lot to wrap his head around.

“It’s sinking in, but it’s still surreal to me. I wake up every morning looking out at these mountains in Pasadena and I’m like, “I’m here,’” said the Lagrange, Ga., native, who played at Tech from 2014-17.

Players Choir has been around since 2008 and describes its mission as sharing faith through song and inspiring people with its “joyful noise.” Its core group included Bryant McKinnie, a 12-year NFL defensive tackle who played collegiately at the University of Miami. The troupe is best known for performing every year at the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration, a concert held over Super Bowl weekend. Their roster has featured more than 60 active or retired pro players since its founding.

Freeman had known about Players Choir from watching them at the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration. He had also known McKinnie for several years through mutual friends; McKinnie got involved in the music business during his NFL days, and the two bonded over their shared passion for it.

“When I first met him I said, ‘Hey man, I’m a singer’ – kind of joking,” said Freeman, even though he had extensive singing experience.

“But he took that seriously. One thing about Bryant, he’s a really giving person.”

Players Choir had already performed for the AGT judges in June, with their rendition of Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me” advancing them to the live show on Tuesday. But between those dates, some members of the group had to report for NFL training camps. The choir decided they needed some additional voices to balance out their sound.

True to their football background, Players Choir hit the recruiting trail. McKinnie remembered Freeman talking about his singing abilities. He pulled up his Instagram page. To his delight, he learned that he already had experience performing on national television. In April 2021, Freeman appeared on an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, the nationally syndicated daytime talk show. A producer invited him after seeing an Instagram video of him singing Stevie Wonder’s “Lately.” Freeman suggested to the producer that Clarkson perform it to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its release.

Freeman expected to talk to Clarkson about “Lately” and why it was his favorite song. She instead put “KeShun from Atlanta, Georgia” on the spot, asking him to perform a snippet of it live.

“I was shaking under the table, but I had to keep my composure,” he said.

Freeman’s performance only lasted two verses (“Well I’m a man of many wishes / I hope my premonition misses”). But like a can’t-miss prospect at a scouting combine, McKinnie was sold. He called Freeman last Monday and asked if he had heard of Players Choir. Freeman had actually watched their AGT audition in June, and he remembered thinking wistfully that he would have loved to audition had he made it to the NFL. He presumed that since he hadn’t made a final roster, he’d be ineligible to join.

“I didn’t think anything of it. But within five minutes, the manager of the group called me and was like, ‘Hey KeShun, I want to hear you sing. Can you send me some videos?’” Freeman recalled.

“I sent her some videos, and literally within 16 hours I was on a flight from Atlanta here to L.A. to be in the group.”

**

The call may have taken him by surprise, but Freeman showcasing his musical ability should surprise no one.

In addition to playing football growing up, Freeman sang in church choir and acted in plays. At age 11, he and his cousins formed a gospel group called “Children of Worship,” overseen by his mom and aunt, that performed at church functions throughout west Georgia and as far away as Valdosta and Savannah. As a 12-year-old he played the role of Schroeder in a community production of the Peanuts musical “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown.”

“I had a big solo called ‘Beethoven Day.’ I remember people in my hometown were like, that’s the moment we found out that KeShun Freeman was a dancer, singer, actor, and all of the above,” he joked.

Freeman brought those musical talents to Tech, where he burst into song at practice or took requests from teammates in the locker room. Surprisingly, crooning the Georgia Tech fight song after games was never an issue.

“Sometimes the most random songs would pop up in my head. I’m a big Stevie Wonder fan. I would be in the locker room and start singing, ‘Very superstitious…’ And they would be like, “Yeah Ke!  Yeah Ke!’” Freeman recalled.

Georgia Tech fans sang his praises too. The 6-1,” 236-pounder earned freshman all-America honors in 2014 after leading the Yellow Jackets with 4.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss. He became a model of consistency, starting 46 of 50 games and recording a career-high nine tackles in Tech’s win over Georgia in 2016. He was also a model of selflessness off the field: in 2016 Freeman was named to the prestigious Allstate AFCA Good Works team for his volunteering and community service work.

After graduating with a degree in business administration in December 2017, Freeman attended a minicamp with the Baltimore Ravens, then went through preseason camp with the New Orleans Saints.  Short-lived stints in the American Alliance of Football and the XFL followed (both leagues ended their inaugural seasons prematurely).

In between those gigs, Freeman started rekindling his love for acting and performing. He landed a role in the short film “Crooked Trees Gon Give Me Wings,” which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June and will soon be available on Amazon Prime Video. He has a lead role in an upcoming independent movie that begins shooting in September. Freeman was in the middle of a table read for the film when he got the call to join Players Choir.

Freeman hasn’t abandoned his pro football aspirations; he’s in talks about joining the newest iteration of the XFL when it starts play in 2023. As for his new teammates in The Players Choir, he felt an immediate kinship. He compares the fellowship he’s experienced this week to a men’s retreat.

“I’m blessed to be around a group of guys who are so driven to make this something big. Because our passion and our goal behind this is to really inspire a lot of kids and a lot of people who are playing sports, to show them hey, it’s okay to be artistic. It’s okay to explore other things,” he said. Among his fellow vocalists are a three-time Pro Bowler (Tommie Harris), a two-time Super Bowl champion (Tully Banta-Cain) and a former first-round draft pick (Prince Amukamura).

Freeman has also felt the presence of a former Tech teammate in L.A.: the late Brandon Adams, who passed away in March 2019.

“We kind of bonded over the fact that we were both music lovers and both theatre kids. The other day, I was performing and I was talking to the guys. I actually thought about him and said, “Man, look at me Brandon,’” he explained.

Freeman had just wrapped up a two-hour rehearsal with Players Choir on the America’s Got Talent stage Sunday night, their last before Tuesday’s live show. In addition to learning the lyrics and harmonies of the song they’re performing, Freeman also had to memorize the dance routine that goes with it. He’ll keep their song choice a secret – just like his Georgia Tech days, no revealing the game plan ahead of time – but he promises viewers will be in for a “shock.”

Only two acts from the show will advance to the AGT finale based on fan votes. The rest will be eliminated. Freeman knows the stakes that lie ahead. For as energized as he feels, he admits the last week has been a whirlwind.

It begs the question: does KeShun Freeman feel more pressure for this performance than he did before a big game at Tech?

Stage or stadium, he reminds you, he’s still in his element.

“It’s kind of just like football. You have that anxious feeling where you’re not really nervous, but you’re anxious to go on and get things rolling,” he said.

Forget game time. Come Tuesday night, it’s show time.