Screenshot from One Voice music video
A group of Oak Mountain seniors wrote the song "One Voice" to give a message of hope to their community.
A group of Oak Mountain High School students have come together to support their peers and community through music.
OMHS senior Eric Latham, along with fellow seniors Chandler Garman, Ernesto Moreno, Jadon Bailey, Alonso Moreno and Kai Edwards, released the song “One Voice” and an accompanying music video on Sept. 19, and it has already garnered more than 10,000 views.
The group was inspired by the recent, accidental deaths of OMHS students Madison McManus and Michael Luu, and the pain they saw around their school, Latham said.
“It was just a month ago that we heard one of our fellow students passed away,” said Latham, who goes by the name “ErBeeko,” a childhood nickname, professionally. “His name was Michael Luu. It was a really crazy day, and everybody was affected by it in some shape or form.”
While Latham was not a close friend of Luu’s, he saw the pain among his peers, who he passed by crying in the hallways, and felt drawn to do something. He reached out to his friends to try and set a plan in motion.
“We got together at my house, and we just talked about what we could do about it,” Latham said. “Things like that have been happening too much, and we didn’t want to just sit there and watch.”
They met in Latham’s at-home studio and started working on a song.
“It was really just hope and love,” Latham said, regarding the message they wanted the song to convey, “and we wanted to include as many people as possible. Alonso [Moreno], one of my best friends, he immediately had lyrics for the chorus. He started singing it, and it was just really uplifting and all about coming together.”
It took just under a week to write and record the song, and then the group turned toward a music video. Latham had made music videos before, but this project was different, as it centered around his school and aimed to convey a specific message.
“We intentionally started the video with darkness,” Latham said. “The opening clip is Chandler [Garman], the vocalist, in pitch black with just one light.”
In subsequent scenes, all of the performers start off alone. But as the music video progresses, they find their way together in the hallways of Oak Mountain High School.
“By the end of the video, walking down the hallway, it’s all of us, and we’re walking together, arms around each other,” Latham said. “That was really the theme — darkness to light, from being along to being together.”
They have received nothing but positive responses since releasing the video, Latham said, including from Luu’s family. Having the support from Luu’s friends and family means a lot, Latham said, because the song started out for them.
“Before it became an Oak Mountain thing, it was really for them. It was for his family and friends,” he said.
As more people hear the song and see the video, Latham said he hopes they take away a feeling of hope and are able to see the light in the world, and that everyone is encouraged to connect with others.
“If you share that [personal struggle] with people, if you try to connect with others and make that team effort to try and get a little help, it will make a difference,” Latham said.
The song was also released in September, which is Suicide Prevention Month, and Latham said he hopes the song reaches those who need to hear it.
“The world is beautiful, if you can just see it. There’s light in the world, if you can just see it,” Latham said. “And you’re loved, whatever is going on, you’re going to get through it if you just decide to.”
The music video for One Voice can be found on YouTube and Latham's website, ErBeeko.com.