Ken Valiant Santiago just might be Coldplay’s number one fan. So when the native of the Philippines wasn’t able to attend his favorite group’s concert in Manila on account of his having stage 4 cancer, his friends and family stepped up to give him the surprise of a lifetime. 

And they got a little bit of help from Coldplay frontman Chris Martin himself.

Martin, who is also the Curator of the Global Citizen Festival, visited the young fan in the hospital after his older brother appealed to the band in a Facebook post

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“I am sending you this open letter to ask a little favor if the band could just say ‘hi’ or a short message for him to make him feel better,” Ken’s brother Kheil Vin Santiago said in the post. 

Of course, Coldplay did Santiago one better. 

Martin’s visit came just hours before the band went on stage for their concert at the Mall of Asia Concert Grounds, ABS-CBN reported. It was made possible in large part thanks to Rhiza Pascua, the head of Music Management International, who saw Kheil’s post and organized the visit. 

Martin and Ken exchanged few words, as Ken was unable to speak because of his condition, but the moment they shared went beyond that. 

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"I can't thank you enough," Ken wrote on a whiteboard that he used to communicate with the musician. 

Ken, a medical student at the University of the Philippines, also requested that the band play the song “Ink,” from Coldplay’s most recent album, at their concert in Manila — which is one of his favorite songs, according to his older brother.

After hearing this, Martin reportedly texted the band telling them start practicing the song.

For their part, Coldplay will be jetting off to Bangkok, Seoul, and Japan, as their “Head Full of Dreams” tour continues, but for at least one fan, the group made a powerful, lasting impression in Manila. 

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This Fan Just Got the Surprise of His Life, Thanks to Coldplay’s Chris Martin

By Phineas Rueckert