Stuart Middle School chorus sings '80s hit I Want to Know What Love Is with the and Foreigner

FORT PIERCE, Fla. - It was a time to sparkle. A chance to shine. An opportunity of a lifetime. An all-girls chorus got the chance to rock out with Foreigner at the Sunrise Theatre in Fort Pierce Friday night.

Let's rewind. It's just after 6:00 p.m. Friday evening. 25 Stuart Middle School students file out of a school bus in front of the Sunrise Theatre in Fort Pierce, bringing the girl power.

"This is an amazing opportunity," Renee Page, the Sunrise Theatre marketing director tells them, as they stand in a semi-circle around her in the lobby. They're dressed in black from head to toe, and they're feeling, "Really nervous and excited. Just anxious," said Brooke DeSantis, with a smile.

In just a few hours, they're singing a song with the legendary British/American rock band Foreigner. The band formed in 1976 and found success with hits like "Cold as Ice" and "Feels Like the First Time" 

"You guys don't have to be so loud. Quiet now," Stuart Middle School choral director Bridget Glass told her students, as they clapped and stepped side to side backstage. Their claps quieted. "There you go," Glass said.

The girls are 12, 13 and 14 years old, and they're pumped.

"It's just really life changing because I've never had this opportunity before, and it's just ... I'm really happy," said Bethany Castro, of the Stuart Middle School advanced chorus.

The girls have been getting ready for their Foreigner performance for two weeks. They're singing Foreigner's biggest song. The one that topped the charts in 1985.

"It's a song that's kind of in the cultural lexicon everywhere in the world," said bassist Jeff P ilson .

The chorus performed at the Sunrise Theatre once before, and were so well received they were invited back for this.

"They have been putting in a tremendous amount of work," said Bridget Glass, the choral director. "I am so proud of them."

There's a pep talk right before the show, and then their moment arrives.

"You see the looks on their faces, and I know that for most of them, they've never been on a stage in front of this many people, and so it's a real thrill for us," said lead singer Kelly Hansen.

The song is probably fitting for the girls. They may not know what love is quite yet, but now they do know what it's like to perform with a famous rock band. And that's more than most of us can say.