The 18-year-old Lansing Everett student was meeting up with friends at the Lansing Mall on an average Friday, when he made a decision to sit down at a piano in the middle of the mall.
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West was simply killing time as he waited for a friend when he spotted the piano outside a sports apparel shop.
Still, he certainly grabbed the attention of visitors as he played a rendition of “River Flows in You”, a piece by Yiruma, a South Korean pianist, the Journal notes. “It was just wonderful, and I figured he just deserved some sort of recognition”.
And here’s the thing, he says he doesn’t even know how to read music.
The Lansing teen lives with his father and 16-year-old brother said his family couldn’t afford lesson.
Since the video went viral, West has received numerous offers for music lessons and even a free piano.
The video can be viewed below. He wants to attend Lansing Community College and study music management, but viral stardom has a amusing way of changing things. He would then like to transfer to Michigan State University to pursue that major.
“I like how different instruments sound”, he said in an interview with Buzzfeed.
West hopes that his Internet stardom encourages others who may have a hidden talent. Hadley posted the video on her Facebook page. “It was nice to hear somebody who knew what they were doing, and he wasn’t really trying to show off by any means”.
“My phone is just ringing”, says West, “ringing, ringing, ringing”. West reflected on the energy and motivation he receives from having an actual audience. YouTube videos also helped out a lot.
“Everybody has those hidden talents and hidden abilities”, West said, according to the Lansing State Journal.
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Eric Lacy is a reporter for the Lansing State Journal.
