In May 2015, BYU Vocal Point featured the All-American Boys Chorus in its powerful and emotional music video “Homeward Bound.” The video depicts the feelings and emotions that a person experiences when they have to say goodbye and leave behind something or someone that is perhaps very special to them, knowing that they will return home again someday. The result of combining the mature voices of BYU Vocal Point with the young voices of the All-American Boys Chorus is indeed magnificent. A person watching the video and listening to the words of the song can sense the passion and emotion that went into the production.
In August 2016, BYU Vocal Point once again joined with the All-American Boys Chorus; a group made up of boys from Santa Ana, California, to create a new music video. The two groups blend their voices in a serene rendition of “Go the Distance” from the 1997 Disney animated feature film, “Hercules.” The song speaks of the courage and determination that a person needs to “go the distance” when trying to discover their identity and find their place in the world. The video was published on BYU Vocal Point’s YouTube channel on 30 August 2016 and has already garnered over 27,000 views in just a day.
The song “Go the Distance” was written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist David Zippel and originally recorded by American actor Roger Bart in his film role of the singing voice of Hercules. Singer-songwriter, Michael Bolton, recorded a pop version of the song for the movie’s end credits. Ricky Martin, the Hercules voice in both the movie and end credits, wrote a Spanish version of the song (“No Importa la Distancia” (English: “No Matter the Distance”)) which he included on his album Vuelve.
In the film, “Go the Distance” is performed by Hercules (age 15) who possesses god-like strength and finds it increasingly hard to fit in with his peers. The song serves as Hercules’ prayer to the gods to help him find where he belongs. His prayers are answered, as he is revealed to be the long-lost son of Zeus, king of the gods. Hercules is also told that he must become a real hero to rejoin his father on Mount Olympus. The number is later reprised when Hercules sets off on his quest to become a true hero, proclaiming that he wants to “go the distance” to prove himself.
The video was shot on location on the shore of Dana Point beach in Southern California. Speaking about the making of the video in a press release, McKay Crocket, BYU Vocal Point Director, commented, “In the final moments of the music video, you see the talented All-American Boys Chorus join us on the shore of a beautiful Dana Point beach in Southern California. What you don’t see is the tide getting higher and higher and, by the final takes, actually getting all of us pretty wet. When the director of the video yelled, ‘That’s a wrap,’ everyone quickly ran to higher ground! After watching the video, we think it was worth it.”
