Columbia County Recognizes Locals from the TV Show “Beat Shazam”

Emily Barker and Carisa Owen, both from Magnolia, Arkansas gather together as star contestants on the game show, Beat Shazam, hosted by America’s favorite, Jamie Fox. The two contestants weaved their way to the top of the season’s two-night finale at a chance to win thousands of dollars.

Full Episodes of Beat Shazam anytime on FOX

Carisa Owen, a school counselor at Central Elementary school flaunts her love for television game shows while her co-worker and best friend, Emily Barker had no way of denying her love for music. Barker is not only a math teacher at the Magnolia Kindergarten Center but a successful choreographer and owner of Kathy's Dance Art's Studio. Believe it or not, the pair actually became close friends through the relationship of their daughters Sade, Anna, and Claire, who all take part in dance classes taught by Barker at Kathy's; jazz, hip-hop, musical theatre, contemporary, and lyrical.

Adding to this from a personal perspective, Emily Barker was also my competitive dancer teacher for 10 years at Kathy's, where she lifted me, as well as, other young girls towards our utmost dance forte, performance skills, and most importantly, unforgettable memories. Alongside Barker's grit, determination, and technique there was no doubt in my mind she didn't have what it took to master this game show. In fact, I had no idea she or Owen were participants on the show until it finally aired this past year. Words from Owen explained, "a show lawyer had 'terrified them into silence,'" and they were not to speak about the show for a year and a half.

Emily and Carisa stated that their application for the show was submitted long ago in 2017, but because the team never heard back from the television production they both had honestly forgotten about it.

No word had been spoken upon the game show until January 2020, when a show producer contacted Owen on Facebook revealing the news. Barker believed it was a scam, "Oh a dream come true."

Not long after, show executives were chatting on Skype, while playing the game with Owen and Barker to unfold if the team had what it took for the show that season.

The game show, Beat Shazam, is an intense production between two teams with two contestants in each and a clock, for a chance to recall the name of some of the most well-known songs of all time. The team with the most money in the bank at the end will proceed to the final round against Shazam, "the world's most popular song identification app, for the chance to win $1 million dollars." The show is hosted by Jamie Foxx, along with his daughter, Corinne Foxx, known as Deejay.