In an unprecedented turn of events, Archer’s historic courtyard has become L.A.’s newest concert venue — albeit for one lunch period, and one lunch period only.
Yes, you read that correctly. As it turns out, the iconic star fountain, which acts as the heart of campus, is no longer the only star to grace the courtyard.
Complete with a DJ booth, American Idol contestant Stefan Benz and boyband FULL CIRCLE in tow, representatives from 102.7 KIIS FM visited campus during lunch Wednesday, Oct. 25. According to Student Services Administrative Assistant Cori Morris, the visit was an extension of a series of school “lunchtime takeovers” iHeart Radio offers.
While the DJ setlist and Benz respectively garnered cheers and applause from the crowd, FULL CIRCLE remained the talk of the community. Nearly a month after their campus performance, the Los Angeles-based boyband, composed of four members — Jason Pieters, Sean Garrity, Jagger Moon and James Herron — continue to be woven into campus-wide inside jokes and hallway chatter alike.
Morris said iHeart Radio had initially contacted the Archer administration about a potential lunchtime visit, and after sorting out scheduling logistics, the event eventually fell into place. She added that, amidst the potential stress this time of the school year can stimulate, administration members thought it may be beneficial to host an event on campus to alleviate pressures students could be facing.
“We thought it’d be a great lunchtime activity for the students, [and] that … this time of year would be a great time to bring some joy and energy to the campus,” Morris said.
When asked to describe her reaction to FULL CIRCLE’s visit in three words, seventh grader Samaira Modgil chose “shocked, crazy [and] lucky.” She said the initial energy of the crowd combined with that of the performance caused her to be taken aback, though only temporarily.
“[I’m] like, ‘Oh my god, someone famous came to Archer,'” Modgil said. “[I was] just shocked there for a minute. [I was] like, ‘What is going on?’ for about 15 minutes.”
During their visit, the band performed selections from their discography — accompanied by choreographed dance breaks — including their latest single, “Vegas,” which was released Friday, Sept. 22. Following their performance came a photo-op with band members snapping selfies with excited Archer students.
Students posted some of the photos taken with FULL CIRCLE to social media platforms, many of whom tagged band members in hopes of being noticed. And noticed they were.
Multiple Instagram stories with photos and videos from the performance that Archer students posted were reposted to FULL CIRCLE’s official Instagram account. In some cases, the official band account, as well as specific band members themselves, commented on posts, too.
In the case of senior Megan Kelley, three out of the four FULL CIRCLE members interacted with her Instagram story post of the band, reposting it to their personal Instagram stories. Kelley said she specifically made her Instagram account temporarily public just so the band could see her post. She added that the band’s engagement with their fans via social media had an inherent hilarity to it, but could also be both a cause and harbinger of their greater success.
“I just got reposted a lot, and then some fan account viewed my story. One [fan account] started following me,” Kelley said. “It’s just crazy. What I’m thinking is: what if they go big one day, and you know that they came to our school?”
Junior Emma Winkler said while she thought FULL CIRCLE’s tendency to perform at all-girls schools played into archaic gender stereotypes, it doubled as a brilliant marketing tactic. She added that, had FULL CIRCLE decided to perform at coed schools, their branding and profile may not have received as much engagement as they have when going to all-girls schools.
“I’m friends with a lot of guys outside of school. They would not have the same reaction,” Winkler said. “I remember even talking to them about it and they were like, ‘What is going on? It’s so ridiculous,’ and kind of laughing, but in a different sense than our community was. And so I just don’t think it would’ve … had the same [impact].”
Kelley said FULL CIRCLE’s “Justin Bieber-style” performance has become, in her opinion, a collective inside joke amongst the community. However, she added that the inherent silliness of it all sparked joy as much as it did laughter.
“I think, genuinely, we all kind of enjoyed it. It’s a great pause to our day,” Kelley said. “I’m not going to lie — it kind of made my week.”
Similarly to Kelley, Winkler said she, too, picked up on the hilarity of the performance. Though she said she found it to be a bit extravagant for a school setting, Winkler said that is what sold FULL CIRCLE’s performance: after their lunchtime concert, the band’s Instagram following saw an influx of Archer students — Winkler included — and some students continue to stream their songs today, even if jokingly.
“It was hilarious: we have a boy band come, and they were just advertising to all these 12-year-old girls … and they were doing these weird, kind of cringy dances — to be quite transparent,” Winkler said. “I just think it was funny, but I also think they knew that in a sense. This is a job and they’re taking it seriously, but I think they also felt a little ridiculous in the situation … and it worked out for them.”
Gabby Kaplan • Nov 27, 2023 at 9:17 am
This is amazing Siena! Great job!