BEAT SHAZAM — A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME THRILL

Columbia residents, Annie and Josh Belcher, made a thriller of an appearance on FOX’s Beat Shazam this past July and what a nail-biter it was! If you are not familiar with the television show hosted by Jamie Foxx where his daughter Corinne Foxx deejays, it is an interactive game show where three teams of two compete against the clock and each other as they try to identify hit songs. In the end, the team with the most money banked will battle against Shazam, an app that can identify most songs in under four seconds, for the chance to win up to $1 million in the final round.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FOX AND THE BELCHERS

Josh Belcher, a musician and music lover connoisseur, has always been a big fan of Jamie Foxx and has watched Beat Shazam for quite some time. He said, “I listen to all varieties of music, and ever since this game show came on, where you test your wits about songs, I've been in love with it.” So what’s the next move? Audition to be a contestant, of course. Belcher auditioned for the show with two friends, but for various reasons they weren’t selected. Unbeknownst to Belcher, FOX had eyes on him as they liked his spunky personality and musical knowledge.

Belcher had completely given up on Beat Shazam when he received an email from FOX asking if he had found another person to audition with because they wanted him to audition again. It was perfect timing because Josh had recently married and thought his wife Annie would be the ideal partner. He replied to FOX saying, “I have my wife and she'd be the only one I select to partner with me, and we would make a great team for the show.” After a zoom interview and numerous other qualifying interviews, Jeff Apploff, the creator of the show, wanted the newlyweds to be on the show.

Josh, a huge Nirvana and Kurt Cobain fan, poses with Annie in front of Cobain's sweater on display in Ireland

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FOX AND THE BELCHERS

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FOX AND THE BELCHERS

FOX loved the high energy of the duo and Josh’s music knowledge, but Annie’s story is what solidified the audition. FOX was intrigued by the fact that both of Annie’s parents were deaf. Sharing more about her story with the producers, Annie explained, “Because both my parents were deaf, music was never a priority in our house and I never really had a connection to music until I was 10 years old when my neighbors, who were avid music lovers, gave me a radio. With my parent’s permission, they also took me to my first concert to see Boy George as a birthday present.”

In May 2022, contestants Annie and Josh were on their way to Ireland, all expenses paid, where filming for Beat Shazam took place at the Ardmore Studios in Bray — notably known for housing projects including Braveheart, My Left Foot, The Tudors, and Penny Dreadful. The newly married couple did not have a honeymoon and were elated to have this opportunity to compete on Beat Shazam as well as extend the trip to explore Ireland taking the honeymoon they never had.

The filming for the television show takes a couple of days as contestants spend a lot of time prepping and filming. During the show, Annie signed for her parents so they would know what was going on and spoiler alert, Annie and Josh made it to the final round after being down by $15,000 going into the last question — told you it was a nail-biter! However, what was truly remarkable about the story is how Annie had plans to give back to a single mom if they won. “I was a single mom for 14 years, and divorced to get out of an abusive marriage. I had a huge community rally around me to help. Whether it was making sure my kids had Christmas presents, groceries, or that I had a car that ran, so I could get back and forth to work,” Annie said. “I want to pay this forward and decided to fund a single mom for a year. Paying for rent and utilities, and anything extra can go towards gas or groceries.”

Another spoiler alert, Annie and Josh walked away with $108,000 making Annie’s dream to pay it forward come to fruition. Annie said, “I've wanted to return the favor and now my dream to fund a single mom for a year where she could just breathe and be a mom came true.” Josh laughed and added, “All I wanted was a bigger bed.”

HONEYMOON IN IRELAND

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FOX AND THE BELCHERS

HONEYMOON IN IRELAND

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FOX AND THE BELCHERS

HONEYMOON IN IRELAND

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FOX AND THE BELCHERS

After returning home, Annie partnered with the Pregnancy Center of Middle Tennessee to find a single mother to help. She also hosted the first Anne’s Arbor For Single Moms in late July and raised an additional $3,000. Those proceeds, plus $10,000 from Josh and Annie, are going to a deserving single mother of two who is putting herself through nursing school. Josh and Annie couldn’t be happier to help and pay it forward.

To watch the episode where Annie and Josh competed on Beat Shazam July 18, 2022, visit FOX.com and search for Season 5, Episode 7.