It started at the kitchen table.
In late February, 15-year-old Savanna Shaw and her dad, Mat Shaw, recorded their rendition of “The Prayer” — a duet made famous by Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion, according to the Daily Signal.
Savanna wasn’t active on social media. But with choir rehearsals being canceled, she wanted to keep in touch with her friends. So she created an Instagram account and posted the video. She didn’t think the video would reach beyond her close friends and family.
On YouTube, that video has reached almost 6 million views.
Since that first video, the Shaws, who are from Kaysville, Utah, have done a number of duets — everything from “Beauty and the Beast” to “The Phantom of the Opera” to “The Greatest Showman.”
And now, the viral daddy-daughter duo has appeared on national outlets like “Good Morning America” and “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”
“It’s a really hard time for a lot of people right now, and music has such a unique way of communicating hope, especially,” Mat Shaw said during an interview last month with “Good Morning America.” “Savanna chose ‘The Prayer’ because of the message that it shares. It’s just a simple prayer from a father and a daughter, for life to be kind.”
During a recent Zoom interview with Clarkson, Savanna said she was inspired to sing because of her dad, who always sings around the house.
“Man it is so beautiful,” Clarkson said. “Personally because I didn’t grow up with a father, to see that connection is so beautiful.”
Mat Shaw told Clarkson he and his daughter record their duets in a “quarantine recording studio” — aka his closet. They prop up a mic with his pajama pants.
“We plug into the iPad and we just make do with what we’ve got in our closet,” Mat Shaw said.
The Shaws launched a YouTube channel a month ago and have more than 350,000 subscribers. A handful of their duets each have more than 1 million views.
“The only thing more contagious than a virus is hope,” Mat Shaw told “Good Morning America.” “We’re just trying to do our small part in the world to help spread some hope.”