Lansing H.S. senior's mall performance goes viral

LANSING, Mich. (WJBK) - A self-taught pianist from Lansing is wowing people across the country with his piano skills. Monntel West is 18-years-old and is remarkable on the piano. Now people everywhere know how talented he is.

The piano was just sitting there, begging to be played. The colorful piano was beckoning someone to sit on its bench and give it a whirl. That someone was Monntel.

When the 18-year-old sat down, he started playing "River Flows In You" by Yiruma, much to the surprise of almost everyone in the center of the mall.

Monntel's skills impressed everyone at the mall but they're spreading online thanks to Sara Hadley. She was at the Lansing Mall when the self-taught teen sat down.

Hadley told FOX 2 that he's a senior at Everett High School in Lansing, he's completely self-taught, and doesn't even own a piano.

"He started teaching himself in 8th grade," she said. "He doesn't even have a piano at home."

The two-minute long video shot by Hadley has been seen by 200,000 people and she's still in shock by how many people have seen it.

"I can't believe how this has blown up! He's a really great kid," Hadley said.

All of this is amazing considering that he learns music by listening to it. According to the Lansing State Journal, he can't read music. 

Sit back and enjoy it all for yourself in the video above.