12 "Fan And Celeb" Facts That Are Hard To Believe Actually Happened, But Totally Did
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1.In 1968, 15-year-old Beatles' fans Lizzie Bravo and Gayleen Pease were among a sea of fans hanging outside Abbey Road studios when Paul McCartney appeared and asked the girls to sing on a song with them!!!
In a 2010 interview with Lizzie and Gayleen, Gayleen recounted, “Paul came out and said, 'Can any of you girls hold a high note?' Straightaway Lizzie and I said, ‘Yes! Yes we can!'” Next thing the girls knew, they were in the studio working with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Beatles producer George Martin.
Lizzie says the thing that kept her and Gayleen from passing out was that it wasn't the first time they'd met the Beatles. As regulars outside the studio, they’d exchanged hellos and goodbyes with the lads on numerous occasions.
According to Gayleen, when it came time to add their high harmonies to "Across the Universe," she and Lizzie weren't nervous but excited…especially since the Beatles went out of their way to make them feel relaxed. The most stressful moment of the night for Gayleen came when she had to call home and tell her strict parents, "I won't be back by curfew. I'm singing with the Beatles."
Lizzie admits her nerves did kick in when she was asked to sing on the same mic as John. “My heart was beating so hard I thought it would come out on the mic,” she said. Looking back, Gayleen said, “When you think at the time the millions of girls and women who wouldn’t believe we’d be invited into the studio. But it was real.”
You can hear Lizzie and Gayleen singing (listen for the chorus of "Nothing's gonna change my world") here:
2.Taylor Swift has a long history of being awesome to her fans, but in 2015 she did something extra amazing even for her — she invited a young fan and her family over to her home on Valentine's Day to hang out!
The fan (named Sophie) wrote on her Tumblr (very 2015) "I just spent the past three and a half hours hanging out with the world’s greatest musician, inspiration, and friend. And her cat. Taylor, thank you so much for everything. I will never be able to put into worlds [sic] how grateful and thankful my family and I are that you welcomed us into your home, made us lunch, baked cookies with us, SANG WILDEST DREAMS, took selfies, and spent your time talking to us… ON VALENTINE’S DAY. I love you more that [sic] words could ever describe and this was by far the best day of my life."
Making cookies in Taylor's kitchen and singing "Wildest Dreams" together? How cool is that? You can see some photos from their afternoon here.
3.After 14-year-old Spider-Man fan, Preston Mutanga, made a shot-for-shot version of the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse trailer with Lego characters, it impressed the writer/producers of the film, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, so much that they hired him to create a scene for the ACTUAL movie!
Miller told the New York Times, “We found out that it was a 14-year-old kid who made it and we were like, ‘This looks incredibly sophisticated for a nonadult, nonprofessional to have made. It blew us all away, including some of the best animators in the world.”
Mutanga's father was initially skeptical when producer Christina Steinberg reached out to his son and assumed it was a scam. But after the dad confirmed the offer was indeed legit (by reaching out to the film's production designer on LinkedIn), the very talented teenager got to work on his assignment — a short scene where Miles ends up in a Lego-like universe.
Mutanga worked on his project over spring break and after finishing his homework on school nights. He also took weekly meetings with Lord who offered notes and suggestions. In the end, Preston earned his place as an animator on a massive worldwide hit.
“I adored the first movie and was so hyped for the second one, so getting to work with the people who actually made this masterpiece was honestly like a dream,” Mutanga told The New York Times.
You can watch Mutanga's Lego trailer here.
4.Another fan — this time an unnamed one of the Jonas Brothers — had her own "how is this actually happening to me?!" moment when Joe Jonas invited her to a movie and then proceeded to make out with her.
In a 2013 interview with Vulture, Jonas said, "I definitely took advantage of the opportunities I had. I remember I invited a fan to a movie, and we just made out the entire time. I don't even remember what the movie was about. I must have been about 16 or so."
It sounds like it was a one-time thing, since he went on to say that he worried she would go public afterward, but she never did. "I think because she assumed there'd be another meet-up down the road," he told Vulture.
5.In 1980, teen siblings Steve and Lisa Satanovsky were at the movies in St. Louis when they spotted rock legend Bruce Springsteen all by himself in the lobby (it was an off night on his tour). Steve worked up the courage to ask "The Boss" if he'd like to sit with them...and he agreed, pleasantly sitting between the two during the movie!
Afterward, Steve saw Springsteen trying to get a cab, so the kid offered him a ride back to his hotel. Springsteen again accepted, but on the ride home, Steve asked him if it'd be OK if they stopped by their home first so he could meet their mom. Would you believe Springsteen again said...yes?
At around 11 p.m., Steve and Terry ran into their home, excited, and yelled, "Mom! We have Bruce Springsteen!" She replied, "Who?"
Awkward? A little. But once Steve showed his mom an album cover of Springsteen's, she decided to give him the royal treatment...and made him some eggs. The group then sat around chatting for an hour or so before Terry finally dropped Springsteen off at his hotel.
Perhaps the most amazing part of this story? Springsteen recently told Graham Norton: "I saw them for decades after that every time we passed through St. Louis."
6.When the Phillies won the World Series in 2009, superfan Lionel Rodia found himself in the middle of the celebration...on the field AND in the locker room.
Rodia — a fearless sort known to scheme his way into better seats than he actually had — did just that during the deciding game five of the Series. Leaving his seat far down the third base line, he sneaked into the ritzy Diamond Club behind home plate.
When the game ended and the stadium erupted in applause for their World Champion Phillies, Rodia noticed a well-dressed 6'8" man walking toward the visiting team's dugout. Assuming the man was someone important, Rodia trailed closely behind him into the dugout, then strolled onto the field where the Phillies were celebrating. Before you know it he was tossed a "World Series Champions" T-shirt and jumping around with the players like he was on the roster himself!
Even crazier than all that, Rodia followed the team into the locker room where he kept celebrating — and confusing/amazing his friends watching at home as he poured champagne over slugger Ryan Howard's head and exchanged a jubilant head butt with Matt Stairs.
Amazing, right? If you ask me, every World Series victor should be required to let one fan represent the other fans at the celebration, don't you think?
7.As part of a promotion for his new album, Autumn Variations, Ed Sheeran showed up at the homes of some of his biggest fans and played them songs off of it in their living rooms!
Above Sheeran plays "Blue" in the living room of a fan named Sarom. You can watch the performance here.
Another lucky fan named Kari Conaway also got the shock of her life when Sheeran surprised her at her door.
Kari told WTAP how this came to be: “I just never shut up about him and I got noticed for it. So, I got reached out to on Twitter I had a DM and they had basically said, ‘Ed is planning something for his fans in the L.A. area, are you available at this time... They told me it was going to be a merch unboxing, so they had my address and instead of merch coming, he came in and recorded one of the songs, hung out, and it was the best day of my life.”
You can watch Ed's performance in Keri's living room here:
8.One of the most iconic scenes in the hit '90s horror film I Know What You Did Last Summer wasn't devised by the writer or director...but by a fan who was on set that day!
Jennifer Love-Hewitt told US Weekly that the moment — when her character Julie spins around with her arms outstretched screaming "What are you waiting for?!" — "was actually directed by a kid who won a contest to come on set and create a moment for the movie, and it became the biggest part of the movie." She added, “I have no idea where he is but he was like 'I want her to stand in the street and turn around and just scream' ‘What are you waiting for, huh?’ I was literally like, ‘Are you kidding me right now? This is what I’m gonna do?"
As we know today, the fan's idea ended up being absolutely brilliant, and the scene has captivated viewers for decades.
9.At a 2017 concert in Germany, Coldplay lead singer/pianist Chris Martin spotted a fan holding up a sign reading "Can I play 'Everglow' for you?" Intrigued, Martin invited the fan onstage to play the song with him!
The 19-year-old fan — Ferdinand Schwartz — boldly bounded onstage and demonstrated that he did indeed know how to play the song. The fan played it so well, in fact, that Martin said with a laugh, "I might as well go home now!"
The two next began performing the song together — and after an initial instruction from Martin for Schwartz to slow down — the fan played his part expertly. Martin joined in enthusiastically, and the performance ended up being a major highlight
You can watch this fan/rock star collab here:
10.Thirty-four-year-old Jon Hetherington was thrilled to be going to see Beyoncé live in Seattle but ended up heartbroken when he wasn't able to board his flight to the concert due to issues with the height of his motorized wheelchair. A sad story...until you hear that Beyoncé stepped in!
After Hetherington told his story on TikTok and Beyoncé got wind of it, she not only made sure he had a floor seat at her next concert in Dallas but came out before the show to personally greet him and thank him for coming!
Later on social media, Hetherington thanked Beyoncé's mother Tina Knowles for her kindness, and then said he wanted to keep the details of his conversation with Beyoncé private, calling it a cherished moment for him alone.
Good on you, Beyoncé!
11.Adam Sandler — star of The Wedding Singer — gave some fans the thrill of a lifetime when he was filming the Netflix film, Murder Mystery, in Montreal.
Sandler, upon spotting a couple taking wedding photos at the Le Monte Stephen hotel, got up from his dinner and ran over to photobomb them. He then offered the stunned couple his best wishes on a happy life together.
You can see photos of the moment here.
12.And lastly, Evanna Lynch — who played Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter film series — has one heck of a wild fan story...her own!
Evanna first read the book series at age eight, and soon became a super fan, regularly visiting the Harry Potter website, MuggleNet, where she read and even wrote fan fiction. "I got utterly obsessed," she said on the Normal Not Normal podcast. "... It just took over my whole identity. I loved it so much." She, as you might imagine, also had Harry Potter posters splashed all over her bedroom walls.
Determined to play Luna, she sent a letter to the production asking for the part, but never heard back. So, she went to an open casting call with thousands of other 13–16-year-old girls, and after waiting many hours until it was her turn to see the casting director...would you believe she got the role?
So yes, Evanna was a super fan who ended up having quite the experience with her celebrity heroes...she became their costar!
