“What do you like to do?”

This six-word interrogative is the go-to for many people whilst learning about a new person they have met. One’s hobbies may hint to their intelligence, what kind of people they associate with, even clues about a person’s personality.

Jordan Davis (12) has fantastic answers to that question – he enjoys singing and playing “Super Smash Bros. Melee” at a competitive level.

“Super Smash Bros. Melee” is the second installment in the Nintendo’s household-name fighting game series Super Smash Bros. While immensely popular in the early to to late 2000’s, the casual play of Smash Brothers has declined over the years. However, Davis still plays “Super Smash Bros. Melee” religiously.

He is now a member of the competitive Super Smash Bros. community. Originally, he was a member of the casual community, which encompasses most of the people who have ever played Smash.

“I started playing Smash Brothers as early as I can remember with my brother on the Nintendo 64… I went to my first Super Smash Bros. tournament when I was 12 years old at Power Play Games on Germantown Parkway and man, I just couldn’t believe how good these guys were at the video game I played that I thought was so simple… It blew my mind. Someone taught me how to wavedash [an advanced move] and I was hooked, I started coming there every couple months and they would host tournaments,” Davis said.

Now, as a senior in high school, he excels at what was once merely a hobby.

“I’ve taken a couple [tournaments at] Otherlands when not a lot of people there,” Davis said.

Not many people can claim they have a hobby they truly love. However, Davis can.

“Smash is a cathartic part of my routine at this point… It’s just something like brushing your teeth or eating breakfast,” Davis said.

Like Smash Bros., Davis started singing at a young age – he was in third grade at Holy Rosary Catholic Church.

“I was recommended by my teachers to do it, cause they would always hear me singing in mass and they thought I sounded good,” Davis said.

Like Smash, choir is part of Davis’s daily routine. He sings in choir class every day, as well as with the Do-Re-He male a capella group.

“My favorite thing about singing is when I’m singing with other people and we’re just killing it together; more than anything, that makes me happy,” Davis said.

He enjoys singing, and understandably so – he’s very accomplished at it.

“I’ve been All-State the two years I auditioned. I’ve done senior high All-West all four years of high school. Our chorale for years has been doing amazing things – my sophomore year we went to Jacksonville and performed at the Southern Division American Acapella Directors conference, and I had a big solo for that,” Davis said.

Davis is clearly one of the top singers at the school – but is he the top Smash player in the school?

“I can say that with utmost confidence. If anyone wants to play me in Melee, they can challenge me,” Davis said.

While singing may be an innate talent, Smash is game anyone can learn and become skilled at. According to Davis, it is a hobby that is easier to start playing than ever before.

“There’s a lot of these kids that are getting insanely good so quick…it took me 5 years to get competent at Melee, and I’m seeing people now with all the resources you have like Twitch, Melee wasn’t always used to be like this, you couldn’t always just watch people stream, or watch tournaments, or get info… People are getting insanely good real quick”

While anyone can respond to “What do you like to do?” by saying they listen to music and enjoy playing video games, Davis, with his combination of vocal talent and competitive video game play, is sure to impress.