Popular Band, The Wanted, to Visit BHS

If you don’t know who The Wanted is, Ariana Baldassano can fill you in on the award-winning band.

Baldassano will be interviewing band members Max George, Nathan Sykes, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness and Tom Parker when they make an appearance at Barrington High School on October 23.

The Wanted is doing a question and answer session and playing a few songs during their visit, which came about thanks to a 238-Studio video produced in 2011.

BHS’s 238-Studios class made a video of The Wanted’s song, Glad You Came, featuring BHS Orchesiss performing an originally choreographed dance. Students Peter Chung and Sam Powell produced it.

The video was posted on YouTube, where it has 1,577 views to date, caught the band’s attention. The Wanted saw it and Tweeted about it, expressing how much they liked it, said Baldassano, a junior and vice president of BHS-TV, also produced by 238-Studios.

The Wanted’s song, Glad You Came, went platinum and the band has a new album _ Word of Mouth _ coming out in November. The band is promoting that album with a performance next week in Chicago.

“They wanted to visit us two years ago, but couldn’t get the chance,” Baldassano said. The timing for their visit next week just worked out, she said.

BHS students got confirmation about the visit on Wednesday and have been spreading the word on social media.

“It’s not everyday you get a platinum selling band coming to your high school,” Baldassano said.

Baldassano is working on developing the questions for the band. She wants to ask how the band got into music and who their inspiration was, she said. Baldassano also wants to learn about the Wanted’s reality show on E!. 

238-Studios has made numerous videos, including one that was recently entered in the Roar with Katy Perry contest Good Morning America sponsored.  

The Roar video’s theme was on domestic violence in high school relationships and while it was not named as a finalist in the GMA contest, it helped raise awareness about a serious issue.

BHS’s videos gain attention due to the effort students put into all the productions, Baldassano said. “We put our hearts and souls into it, especially when we are trying to raise awareness and fundraise,” she said.