Valley’s Tucker among Lachey singers in ‘Clash’

Le Shawn Tucker is currently a senior at Wright State
University.

By GUY D’ASTOLFO

VINDICATOR ENTERTAINMENT WRITER

Le Shawn Tucker of Youngstown has earned a spot on one of the choirs in the NBC competition show “Clash of the Choirs.”

His selection was revealed Monday night on the first episode of the holiday miniseries.

In “Clash,” five celebrity singers — Nick Lachey, Patti LaBelle, Blake Shelton, Michael Bolton and Kelly Rowland — return to their hometowns to assemble a choir to compete in the four-day series. Tucker was one of about 600 to audition in Cincinnati for Lachey’s choir.

“He is cool and down to earth. We laugh and joke and have a lot of fun,” said Tucker of working with the 34-year-old Lachey.

The miniseries continues at 8 tonight, Wednesday and Thursday on WFMJ-TV 21. The winner will be announced on Thursday’s program.

The winning choir receives a $250,000 prize, which it will donate to charity. A panel of judges will critique each performance on the show, but the winner will be determined by viewer voting.

Tucker is a senior theater and mass communications major at Dayton’s Wright State University.

He must have made a strong impression on the show’s directors, as he landed one of the 20 choir slots from the pool of 600 who tried out in Cincinnati.

In an interview with The Vindicator before Monday night’s show, he described his audition.

“I sang ‘O, Holy Night’ and Stevie Wonder’s ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered.’ They liked me, so I got an interview with the producers and then another audition,” said Tucker. “They kept whittling down the number [of those auditioning]. Nick Lachey came in when it was down to 50.”

The interviewers ultimately chose 10 men and 10 women. Most are from the Cincinnati area, with Tucker being the only one from Northeast Ohio.

Lachey started his career in the ’90s as a member of the boy band 98 Degrees. He also starred in the MTV reality series “Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica” with his then-wife Jessica Simpson. The series ran from 2003 to 2005.

“Clash of the Choirs” is being taped this week before a live audience in New York. Tucker said his parents, Le Shawn Tucker Sr. and Beatrice Anderson Tucker of Youngstown, will be part of that audience.Tucker has nearly a lifetime of experience as a singer and entertainer. “I got all my training and discipline right here in Youngstown,” he said.

Before his 2002 graduation from Chaney High School, he acted in plays at the Youngstown Playhouse and danced with Archangel Dance Theater.

Tucker performed with Youngstown Connection for all four years of high school, and for two years before that with the junior Connection troupe. He said he owes a great deal to the troupe and its director, Carol Baird. “I love Dr. Baird,” he said. “I still come back to help her out.”

Tucker also was in the Temple Emanuel Seventh-day Adventist Church choir in Youngstown, and currently is a member of the Wright State University Gospel Choir.

In addition to being a singer, dancer and actor, Tucker is also a songwriter and musician who plays nine instruments. He is putting the finishing touches on his debut album, “Collection,” which he will release early next year. He said he hopes his appearance on “Clash of the Choirs” gives his musical career a boost.

For a sample of his music, go to myspace.com/shawntucker.