Brad Paisley makes surprise appearance at Barrington High School graduation

Country music star Brad Paisley surprised Barrington High School graduates with a speech and performance Friday night at the school's commencement ceremony at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington.

Paisley announced a video contest for high schoolers May 15 on his website, asking entrants to tell him what they'll miss most about high school.

The entry tweeted by Barrington High's BHS-TV on May 24 was indeed the winning video, with Paisley's performance as the prize.

Footage from the graduation broadcast on Paisley's Facebook page shows the church auditorium full of graduates watching the video on giant screens, followed by this introduction from principal Stephen A. McWilliams: “So I watched this video, and I couldn't help but wonder: What would Brad Paisley say if he were giving this speech?”

With that, Paisley took the stage to screams and cheers from the crowd.

“Can I have a tassel now?” Paisley joked.

“That video that you guys made is amazing. I'm jealous,” he said. “We had a VCR at my school -- you don't even know what that is. That was the extent of our video department.”

Paisley performed “Letter To Me,” a song in which the narrator imagines giving advice to his younger self, as well as “Today” and “Last Time for Everything.”