YOUTH LEADER SPOTLIGHT: Luke Chacko | Musician & LGBTQ+ Leader

ANXIETY by Luke Chacko, 2021

The first time I heard this song, its catchy lyrics got stuck in my head for days and made me think: “What a true testament to what young people are experiencing right now in this intense and rapidly changing world: anxiety, pressure, worry, and yet they are finding ways to stand up and bloom.”

Luke Chacko (he/she/they) is a 16 year old musician from Arlington, Texas who went viral after Idina Menzel invited Luke and other young audience members on stage to sing "Let It Go" in July 2017.  Luke’s sudden internet fame landed them an appearance on The Ellen Show in September 2017. This provided Luke with a platform to shine a light on the effects of bullying, which they had endured and ultimately overcome.  

Luke joined their local Boys & Girls Club when they were 6 years old. Through the Club, they learned firsthand how to be a voice for kids and teens as they spoke out about mental health and bullying. At age 13, Luke was given the opportunity to be the Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s National Youth Talent Ambassador, serving as a youth leader and advisor for young artists across the country. Luke has performed and spoken around the country at special events and has been given the opportunity to hear from other young people about their experiences and advocate for youth, mental health awareness, and the importance of being your authentic self.

Luke came out to their family 3 years ago and found a new platform to advocate for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and people of color as a  Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Youth Ambassador, leading with a network of other youth. Luke has already used their voice to speak about issues facing 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and mental health awareness to organizations like the National Education Association and the Center for Disease Control.  

Lift Your Voice

Luke writes music from a very personal space, especially focusing on their own struggles with being an queer youth and overall mental health. Their new, recently released single ANXIETY is about their struggle with anxiety and depression. 

Luke has been experiencing anxiety since age 13 and was recently diagnosed with depression and anxiety. They wrote this song as a way to talk about the feelings and emotions they feel during an anxiety attack. Luke explains that ANXIETY is an upbeat song that reminds people to continue to “bloom” even while fighting a mental illness. 

Check out the lyrics here:

White covers me

Feelin dizzy

Fast breathing

Lots of crying

Honey can’t you see

What you’ve caused me

All the little things

Change in me

I can’t breathe

Fast heartbeat

Again

Oh yeah

Cause of

A.N.X.I.E.T.Y. (E T Y)

Oh why do you make me cry?

It do

But I still bloom

See this misery

Feeling tense and weak

All the little things

Build up in me

Trouble sleeping

Scrolling through my feed

Everybody

Seems happy

I can’t breathe

Fast heartbeat

Again

Oh yeah

Cause of

A.N.X.I.E.T.Y. (E T Y)

Oh why do you make me cry?

It do

But I still bloom


Hey, hey you right there

I do not even care

You don’t control me cause

I AM ME

Hey, hey you right there

I do not even care

You don’t control me cause 

I AM ME


A.N.X.I.E.T.Y. (E T Y)

Oh why do you make me cry?

It do, oh it do

But I still bloom

A.N.X.I.E.T.Y. (E T Y)

Oh why do you make me cry?

It do, oh it do

But I still bloom

Connecting With Others Through Your Art

I have known Luke since they were 12 years old, when I was a part of the selection team who decided to bring them as a performer to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s National Conference in 2018. Managing youth performers for other national events, I also engaged Luke to speak and perform at the 2019 National Keystone Teen Conference. 

Being thrust into peer leadership roles at such a young age both locally and nationally, I was always in awe of Luke’s humble nature, their ability to listen to others and use their platform to lift their voice about topics that matter to youth, even if they were scary or challenging personally. 

I recently re-connected with Luke one winter Sunday in 2022, and asked them about their new music and trajectory over the years:

“I want to use my music to address personal things that a lot of young people are also facing right now: love, anxiety, fear, battling mental health. Youth have been shamed into pushing all that away just to move forward, just to live.” 

They explained that music has always provided the space to respond to everything happening in life.

Next week, we’ll share the rest of my conversation with Luke, on the subject of Navigating, our quarterly blog topic.