SYCAMORE – The halls of Sycamore High School were filled with chatty, excited girls – and a few guys – Friday afternoon as they waited for pop band Big Time Rush to take the stage.
The Nickelodeon band performed at the school after a group of high school girls spent several hours a day sending text messages with the hope of winning the Walgreens "Show Us Your School Spirit" contest. Sophomore Megan Moran sent about 1,300 text messages herself.
The contest was open for voting from Aug. 2-22 and asked participants to visit a website or send a text message to a special number to enter their school into the contest. The band will make 10 appearances across the U.S.
The high school had early dismissal Friday and the concert was held after school in the auditorium. Middle school and elementary students also got a chance to attend the concert. Interested students entered their names in a raffle for tickets.
When asked if she was a big fan of Big Time Rush, freshman Temple Duarte held her hand up and said, "Don't even ask me," adding that she had been looking forward to the concert for some time.
"The kids have been excited. I think it's a really neat experience for them," said teacher Kristin Hill, looking around at the auditorium filled with students. "It brings me back to my days with New Kids On The Block."
As they waited for the band to come on stage, students danced in their seats and sang along to songs that played. All students were given T-shirts to wear with a "Big Time Rush" logo; the concert streamed live on Chicago radio station B96's website.
Sophomores Megan Ericson, Jordan Burton and Amy Baldwin said they like Big Time Rush because of "the guys," who they called cute. The girls wore decorated T-shirts, spelling out "Big Time Rush."
Senior Sarah Stegle said she wasn't a major Big Time Rush fan, "but I figured, hey, I don't have anything else to do."
Girls screamed as the four band members sang and danced, giving high-fives to students in the front row. As they crowded the stage, many students pulled out cell phones to take photos. Between songs, Big Time Rush band members told the students they cheered louder than any other school group they had performed for.
"I loved it. It was my first time hearing them. They were awesome," said eighth-grader Jenee Carlson.
School Principal Tim Carlson said the effort the girls put into winning the contest was a good example of setting and achieving a goal.
After meeting the band and getting autographs, sophomore McKenzie Palm said she was sad the event was wrapping up but loved the concert.
"I didn't even believe it was real until they came out on the stage," Palm said.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/65LVXWEOGNC6MZGXNNUB37MFKU.jpg)