Students from Eastview High School's Chamber Choir are trading their usual auditorium stage for one built to hold 19,000 people. The Apple Valley ensemble will join classic rock band Foreigner on stage at Mystic Lake Amphitheater in Shakopee next Sunday, August 16, singing backing vocals on the band's signature power ballad, “I Want to Know What Love Is.”
The Eastview High School Chamber Choir, based in Apple Valley, won the spot by beating out other contenders in a contest run by radio station WDGY and Foreigner, according to CBS Minnesota. The competition required a recorded audition of the students singing the song, part of a nationwide setup in which Foreigner's nationwide “Foreigner 4 Education” initiative partners with local classic rock stations in each tour market, according to NJ 101.5. Contest rules cap the number of student singers allowed on stage at 25, per 105.7 The Hawk, which reported on a similar contest run in a different market.
A Song Built for Choir Voices
“I Want to Know What Love Is” isn't just any Foreigner song to slot a choir into. Written by guitarist Mick Jones and released in November 1984, the track became the band's biggest hit, spending two weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1985 and also topping the UK Singles Chart, according to Dave's Music Database. The original studio recording featured backing vocals from the New Jersey Mass Choir, meaning the gospel-inspired choral arrangement Foreigner brings to life with local student singers on tour is baked into the song's DNA rather than a one-off gimmick.
That history is part of why Foreigner keeps returning to the same formula city after city. The band's outreach traces back to a partnership with the GRAMMY Foundation, now part of the GRAMMY Museum, which has helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for public school music programs across North America. For its Mystic Lake stop, Foreigner will donate $500 to the Eastview choir program, per CBS Minnesota's report.
Students Prepare for a Once-in-a-Lifetime Set
For senior choir members, the stakes feel personal. Aurora Nelsen, a recent Eastview High School graduate, told CBS Minnesota she's a little nervous but takes comfort in performing as part of a group rather than as a soloist. She sees the performance as a fitting finale to her time with the choir before moving on from Eastview.
Choir director Greg Douma expects the moment to stick with his students for decades, telling the outlet he believes they'll remember both the performance and Foreigner's music long after they've graduated. Eastview's performing arts program has a track record to back up that confidence: the school, part of Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan Independent School District 196, regularly sends student musicians to Minnesota Music Educators Association All-State honors, and its music department stages an annual multidisciplinary showcase called BRAVO! that blends choir, jazz band and dance into a full theatrical production.
A Family Connection to the Music
The song carries weight beyond the choir room for at least one Twin Cities fan. Mathew Sadler, who owns Foreigner vinyl along with a 45 of “I Want to Know What Love Is,” told CBS Minnesota the song brings back good childhood memories and means a lot to his family.
Foreigner's own relationship with the track has only deepened in recent years. The band was formally inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in October 2024 at a ceremony in Cleveland, where singer Kelly Clarkson joined the group on stage to perform the same song alongside original frontman Lou Gramm and other former members who reunited for the occasion.
Inside a Brand-New Twin Cities Venue
The August 16 show places the choir inside one of the newest large-scale venues in the Twin Cities market. Mystic Lake Amphitheater, a 19,000-capacity outdoor venue operated by Live Nation near Canterbury Park in Shakopee, opened for its first summer concert season in June, as Hoodline previously reported when the venue was staffing up ahead of its debut.
The Eastview choir's performance is one stop on Foreigner's larger co-headlining run with Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd and guest act Six Gun Sally, part of the Double Trouble, Double Vision Tour moving through major outdoor amphitheaters across North America this summer, according to Live Nation's tour listing. Foreigner, now a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band, has framed the choir partnerships as central to its support of music education and the children who sing in these programs.
