Imagine you’re a professional musician. You’ve got talent and a lot of moxie. Even though you’ve had to take various jobs outside the music industry at one point or another, you feel pretty lucky because you’re able to do the thing you love doing the most: music.

Then one day on a dare, you email a YouTube video to some TV show in Hollywood, and soon after you get invited to California. Within a year, millions of people know your music.  

That’s exactly what happened to Beverly McClellan. Not only did she nab a spot on the TV talent competition The Voice, she made it all the way to the show’s final round.

On Saturday, McClellan will perform at the Chicago Red Dress Party to raise awareness and funds for HIV/AIDS. First, she’ll stop by this afternoon to talk with substitute host Jason Marck about her transition to the national stage after all these years.