Singing Sergeants perform with Carrie Underwood at HBO Concert for Valor Published Dec. 3, 2014 By Technical Sgt. Mandi Harper Washington, D.C. -- On Nov. 11, 2014, the Singing Sergeants were delighted to be a part of HBO's Concert for Valor, a live television event in honor of veterans and active duty members worldwide. Here's Technical Sgt. Mandi Harper's first-person account of that performance and the day of preparation preceding it. Nov. 10, 4 p.m. The Singing Sergeants are loading the bus to take us to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. When we're all settled on the bus, we do one more rehearsal of the piece we'll be singing with Carrie Underwood. Wait, we're singing with who? Yes, Carrie Underwood! 2005 winner of American Idol, 6-time Grammy Award winner, and recognized by Rolling Stone as the female vocalist of her generation in any genre. When we arrive at the Mall, we're escorted to the empty bleachers to watch various musical guests soundcheck before it's our turn. We watch Jennifer Hudson, Jessie J and Metallica run their sets for tomorrow's show. Metallica, no big deal. Okay, maybe we are all just a little star-struck! Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m. We're heading on stage to pre-record our vocals. Of course, we'll still be singing on the live show, but the producers at this sort of large-scale event prefer not to take any chances. So, we pre-record as a safety net. Our microphones are already set up for us, and we take our spots. Since we're used to setting up our own shows normally, we feel a bit like rock stars to have it all done for us! After a mere two takes, we've got our track ready to roll. We're escorted back to the bleachers to wait for Ms. Underwood. We take advantage of our down time to get some pictures to share with friends and on Facebook, watch the crew and engineers at work, and generally enjoy the experience. Nov. 10, 8:15 p.m. Finally, we're on stage again to rehearse with Carrie Underwood! We run through the song, "Something in the Water," twice to make sure we know when to walk on stage and to check that the balance is right with the choral backups. She shakes everyone's hand and thanks us all for our service, and we are on our way home. Nov. 11, 4:45 p.m. We're back on the bus to the Mall. We're escorted through security, which is very tight, and shown to our trailer. We have our own trailer! Again--rock stars. We now have an hour and a half to relax and eat a little dinner before show time, but what we really do is keep our eyes peeled for any stars passing by who may be willing to take a quick snapshot! Even though we're military, we're also musical guests for the show, so we have a military escort. Sgt. 1st Class Brody O'Farrell meets us at our trailer at 7:30 p.m. to direct us backstage. He clears the way, makes sure the producers know we're ready, and even helps coordinate a photo. Before we go on stage to sing, we line up for a photo op with Ms. Underwood. Our photographers get some great shots (which can now be found all over the Internet!), and she heads out on stage for her first number. Talk about getting the job done! During her second song, we line up in the wings, and it's go time! The stage manager gives us the cue, and we head to our marks on center stage, right behind Ms. Underwood. Our contribution to her song is the text of "Amazing Grace." While we are singing, it is a most glorious thing to witness more than 200,000 people joined together to honor our nation's veterans! We are all on cloud nine as we exit the stage and maybe just a bit sad that it's all over. A few stay behind to watch the rest of the show, as the others head home to catch the last of the televised performance. Relaxing at home, after all the busy-ness of these two days, I can appreciate that this is definitely one for the Singing Sergeants' history book! Check out the links below for coverage of the Singing Sergeants at the Concert for Valor! http://twitchy.com/2014/11/11/carrie-underwood-joins-air-force-singing-sergeants-at-concert-for-valor-and-tweets-fave-moment-video/ http://wyrk.com/carrie-underwood-performs-at-the-concert-for-valor-with-the-singing-sergeants-choir-video/ http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/223/Article/554246/air-force-singing-sergeants-dazzle-vets-global-audience-at-concert-for-valor.aspx http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2014/11/12/the-best-and-worst-of-the-concert-for-valor/ Highlights video! http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2014/11/11/concert-for-valor-national-mall/18865405/