That weekend was unforgettable for so many reasons.
I headed out to support Emmanuel Kelly’s non-profit organization, Virtuoso, which champions and supports differently-abled artists. The first time I ever read about Emmanuel’s story, I was deeply inspired by his personal journey and his relentless drive to help others. I have always believed that when things are going well in life, you should never pull up the ladder behind you. If everyone just does a little more to lift up the next person, the whole world benefits. So the second I heard Emmanuel was hosting a fundraiser, I knew I wanted to be there to support it.
Chris Martin was also scheduled to perform a short acoustic set at the event. It was originally supposed to be an absolute whirlwind trip for me: fly in during the morning and head back home that same night. At least, that was the plan.
The event brought out an incredible mix of people. At one point, I looked around and realized I was having completely normal, everyday conversations with Heidi Klum and later Snoop Dogg.
The setting itself was wild, too. Apparently, there had been a last-minute venue change when the original location fell through, landing the event at an unbelievably gorgeous private estate in Bel Air. The house was so over-the-top that there was literally a classic Porsche 356 sitting inside the living room!
A Vault of Secrets
Leading up to that week, the online rumor mill had been going crazy regarding the upcoming Everyday Life album. What people did not know was that over a month prior, I had been visiting a friend at her office up in the Bay Area, working in a completely unrelated field, when someone casually let a few album details slip in passing. I played it completely cool, pretending like I had not just heard top-secret information, and kept it strictly to myself. I am a total vault when it comes to secrets, and I would never do anything to jeopardize an official release plan or spoil a surprise. I would not want someone doing that to me, so I take that trust very seriously.
However, right around the time of the event, a small technical glitch on Coldplay.com briefly exposed a few unreleased song titles to the public. At the time, I genuinely assumed it was just another clever, cryptic marketing move. The band is famous for finding exceptionally creative ways to roll out new eras, so I did not think twice about it.
Turns out, it was actually an accidental leak.
During Chris’s set at the fundraiser, he paused and asked the small crowd what song we wanted to hear. Thinking it was public knowledge, I casually called out, “Play Trouble in Town!”
Chris did a total double take. He looked at me like he had misheard and asked me to repeat myself.
I called out again, “Trouble in Town!”
He stared back at me and said, “How the f*** do you know that song? That’s alarming, no one’s supposed to know that one!”
For a second, panic set in and he thought the entire track had leaked online. I reassured him that no one had actually heard the music. The whole interaction was hilariously awkward, but to be completely safe, I waited until the following week, after the official tracklist was formally announced to the world, before posting a video or story from that weekend so I would not mess up their launch.
Playing the Piano and Crossing Off Bucket List Items
The night held another massive full-circle moment for me. I managed to cross off a major bucket list item: playing Chris’s actual piano. After he finished his set, I asked if I could sit down at it for a minute, and I got the go-ahead gesture. Getting to play on that instrument that Chris had just played, was incredible.
I also got to meet Emmanuel in person. He was the man of the hour, constantly surrounded by guests wanting to talk to him, so our conversation was brief, but seeing what he managed to pull together for such a great cause was incredible to witness.
After the event wrapped up, I ended up making a bunch of new friends, and we all went out dancing into the early morning hours, which pushed my flight home back to the next day. It started as a quick trip, but it turned into a completely surreal experience for so many great reasons.
