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4th grader who went viral for 'Defying Gravity' talent show performance wows 'Wicked' star

"I've got goosebumps."

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4th grader wows 'Wicked' star with rendition of 'Defying Gravity'

Even if you've never seen the movie Wicked, you've heard Cynthia Erivo's rendition of the hit song, "Defying Gravity." When the first part of Wicked hit theaters in November 2024, the song quickly became the song of the season. Fans were blown away by Erivo's performance as Elphaba and her knockout vocals. Now, as the Wicked stars and fanbase celebrate the forthcoming release of part two, Wicked: For Good, one pint-sized fan decided to perform the song for her school talent show.

Ava Dargin, a fourth grader from Detroit, Michigan, went viral after her mom uploaded a video of the little girl singing "Defying Gravity" at her school talent show. It would seem Ava was channeling Cynthia Erivo, because such a big voice came from such a tiny body. To no one's surprise, the little girl won first place. Social media viewers were in awe of the little singer's talent, and so were various news outlets. It was The Today Show, thoughthat made Ava's dream come true. She got to meet the Wicked star in person before Erivo performed new music for the show's summer concert series.

@ravinlemar_ And Another One !!!!!! I’m so proud of my babygirl 💕🎶⭐️. #fyp#cynthiaerivo #daas #singing #explorepage #defyinggravity #viralvideo #talentshow ♬ original sound - Ravin Glass

It was clear that Ava was a little starstruck, as evidenced by her not really knowing what to say to the singer even when prompted with appropriate questions she could ask. She quietly smiled up at Erivo, but all the shyness went out the window when Carson Daly suggests she sing a little bit from the song. This suggestion prompted Erivo to go a bit into protective mode by saying the request was putting the young girl on the spot. But it seems that singing is where Ava feels most comfortable because it didn't take any further prompting for her to belt out a line from the song.

Such a powerful voice coming out of a child so small had everyone watching in awe, including Erivo who admits, "I've got goosebumps!" Imagine being the little girl who sings a song so well that you gave the actual singer of the song goosebumps. That had to be a surreal experience for Ava whose classmates wouldn't believe if it hadn't been recorded in front of a national audience.

People are blown away by the little girl's big voice, leaving comments of praise and admiration for the family to read. One said, "Girl. whew. I'm crying! she did so good! Bravo baby! you keep defying gravity!"

Another can't get over Ava's breath control, writing, "The control she has over her oxygen, and vocals is crazy at her age!!!!"

"Girl she has me BAWLING like I’m watching Cynthia Erivo herself… she’s FABULOUS!!!" someone says.

"Just saw her on someone’s page. She is absolutely talented!! Her voice is so amazing and strong! I just know u cried! lol she’s a star. I hope Cynthia sees this," another person chimes in.

"The stage presence isn't being talked about enough bc aside from that beautiful talent she is very composed and uses her facial expressions perfectly. She needs to be on a stage or set," one person admires.

"She is clearly such a sweet girl! I've never been more proud of a complete stranger. you go girl! following and cheering you on from Toledo OH sis," someone else says.

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Health

Brené Brown shares her heartfelt thoughts on how long grief should last

Some comfort for those dealing with loss.

via Wikimedia Commons

Author, researcher, and storyteller Brené Brown.

One of the most challenging things about dealing with grief is the feeling that it will never end. After losing a loved one or at the end of a relationship, we feel that something is missing in our lives and fear that hole could remain forever.

This feeling of sorrow can linger for months while we cycle through the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

In extreme cases, people may be diagnosed with prolonged grief disorder in which they have intense feelings of grief that last all day and go on for many months. People with prolonged grief disorder may also have trouble in their personal, educational or work lives.

Psychological researcher Brené Brown shared her thoughts on the grieving process on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna in 2022 and they may be of comfort to anyone dealing with loss. Brown is known in particular for her research on shame, vulnerability, and leadership, and gained worldwide attention for her 2010 TEDx talk, "The Power of Vulnerability."

“How long does true grief last in the heart?” a fan asked Brown.

“As long as it takes,” Brown replied. “We live in a culture where people need us to move through our grief for the sake of their own comfort and grief does not have a timeline. It takes as long as it takes.

"And the best thing that we can do when we’re trying to support someone in grief is—my favorite question when I’ve got someone close to me who’s really grieving a lot is to say, ‘What does love look like right now? What does support look like right now?’” she said. “And sometimes they’ll hear, ‘You know what, can you run my carpool for me on Wednesday? Can I cuss and scream at you on the phone twice a week?’”

Brown said that she loved the question because “I don’t have the answer because not having the answer is the answer. It takes as long as it takes.”

How can people best comfort those who are grieving? Brown believes it’s all about being compassionate by understanding that all people have the ability to feel prolonged pain.

“There’s a definition of compassion in Atlas of the Heart, from Pema Chödrön, the American Buddhist nun, that says, ‘Compassion is not a relationship between the wounded and the healed. It’s a relationship between equals.’ It’s knowing your darkness well enough that you can sit in the dark with others,” Brown said.

The grieving process is complicated and not everyone goes through the steps in the same order. After a long period of feeling better, some may also experience reawakened grief in which the pain crops up again.

The powerful point Brown makes is that people shouldn’t feel pressured to get over a significant loss in their life and that if the process may be taking longer than expected, they're still OK. In fact, avoiding grief may only make things worse.

If you are experiencing grief and feel it’s getting worse over time or interferes with your ability to function, consult a mental health provider.


This article originally appeared three years ago.

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Community

Texas pizza shop responds cleverly after thieves steal a tip jar but leave a cowboy hat behind

No one saw the big twist coming.

via Canva and Lebos

A cowboy hat and a tip jar.

A story out of Wichita Falls, Texas, is an excellent reminder that even though there are people who do wrong in this world, there are plenty more to step up and do good. On December 28, some teenagers entered Stone Oven Pizza and stole the employee tip jar. But they left behind a big clue the restaurant owners thought might leave them to the crooks: a tan-colored Justin Bent Rail cowboy hat.

“Last night, our crew ran into an incident where some teenagers stole the tips out of the tip jar,” Stone Oven wrote on Facebook. “However, luckily enough, they left this hat.” To help compensate the employees whose tips were stolen, the pizza joint reached out to the community on its Facebook page to recoup the losses by auctioning off the hat.

“We’re not a big fan of hats around here, however, we know the beautiful community of Wichita Falls is, and we would like to open up an auction,” the post said. “The highest bidder by Tuesday afternoon will win the prize of this authentic cowboy jicama-giga! All proceeds will be divided evenly between the three team members that lost out on Tips last night!”

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The kind folks of Wichita Falls got the bid up to $200, but some people thought the hat should be used to catch the crooks. “Yall seen Cinderella?” asked someone else. “Line up all the men in the kingdom. We’ll find that prince charming!” However, just before the pizza place would give the hat to the highest bidder, a man who was the hat’s original owner came forward.

“What this attention also did was allow us to find the original owner of the hat… not the teenager that dropped it, but the gentleman whose truck was broken into that those kids had stolen it from,” Stone Oven wrote. "While the owners of Stone Oven were prepared to meet this man in mutual combat to defend the wages of our team… It was the team members themselves that decided this man’s head was indeed looking cold… we will be returning the property to its’ rightful owner… do not worry the employees have been given $50 bonuses for altruism and compassion."

The beautiful thing was that even though they couldn’t auction off the hat to help the employees, some community members donated a couple hundred dollars for them to split. “Over the last couple of days we have gotten some amazing responses to this post, and the community has opened up their hearts to our employees,” Stone Oven wrote in a December 30 update.

In the end, the employees got their money back and the truck’s owner got his cowboy hat returned. The only loose end is that the thieves are still on the loose. However, Ryan Thomas, the co-owner of Stone Oven, doesn’t want them to go to jail, but maybe a little extra help in the kitchen will do. “I’d rather somebody make them come back and wash dishes for eight hours straight or something,” he told Today.com.

If you’re in the area of Wichita Falls, Texas and would like to help out the local community, Stone Oven is currently accepting donations for its sock drive. The drive was created to help people experiencing homelessness and those in need with socks, gloves, hats, beanies, or whatever else they may need to make it through the winter.

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Family

Four single moms 'burn the rulebook of life' and buy a home together

“We've unlocked the power of sharing."

via Pexels

Single moms break the mold with their living arrangements.

Our choices in life should only be limited by our imaginations. However, far too many of us limit our options because of what others may think or how we’ve been raised.

Four women in Washington, D.C., completely reimagined their concepts of family, friendship and child-rearing and have created an urban commune where they’re free to pursue happiness in a way most people never consider.

Holly Harper and Herrin Hopper always joked that one day they'd live together on a commune in Vermont. But after they both got divorced, they began to take their old joke seriously.

"Holly and I said, 'Why not do this?'" Harper recalled in an interview with Today. "Within a weekend we found this house."

The two friends found two other single women, Jen and Leandra, and they purchased a four-unit home. The arrangement allows the four women to save money but it also has countless advantages for all four families. “We've unlocked the power of sharing, and our baseline expenses decreased, allowing us to experience abundance,” Harper wrote in Insider.

“This living arrangement is a kid's paradise, complete with a giant trampoline, a parkour line, a garden, a gym, a big-screen TV, and a craft studio,” Harper wrote. “Our kids—who can use the buddy system for a walk to get gelato, and who have playmates during the quarantine and homeschool months—are thriving.”

The children, ages 9 to 14, relate to each other like cousins and their new living arrangement provides them with new perspectives on life that they wouldn’t have had otherwise. It gives them a great opportunity to learn more about dating, bullying, divorce, family, sexual orientation, creativity, death and finding joy.

They also have no shortage of playmates and things to do. The home is equipped with a 15-foot trampoline, parkour slackline, hammocks, sleds and an inflatable pool in the summer. Living at the home they’ve dubbed “The Siren House” is a lot like a permanent summer camp.

It has also taught the four mothers how to share. The women share expenses, cars, food, babysitting duties, dog-walking and hugs with each other. Harper says that their living arrangement saves her $30,000 a year.

“We don’t know whose socks are whose ... socks everywhere,” Harper said. “iPads, dishes, cups. There’s a lot of exchanging that occurs. Usually not planned.”

To keep everything in order they have routine “homeowners meetings” where they discuss repairs and yard work. The meetings often happen over a bottle of Champagne.

"There is almost a spiritual safety net every day here," Harper said. "I could be my worst self, I could be my best self, and they see me for who I am, and it's OK."

For Harper, the home isn’t a utopia, but the arrangement gives the four families the greatest chance to find happiness. “The goal of life is not to reach some plane of happiness but to create an environment where we are safe to pursue happiness in every moment,” Harper wrote.


This article originally appeared on 3.15.22


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