Inside Rachel Platten’s Unlikely Friendship with 100-Year-Old Neighbor Who Influenced Her New Song (Exclusive)

“The thing I am most proud of right now wouldn’t exist without Gloria," Rachel Platten tells PEOPLE

The unconventional friendship between singer Rachel Platten and her elderly neighbor started with an embarrassing incident during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the star's dog relieved itself on Gloria Mikialian's lawn.

Finding herself without a bag, a masked Platten made her way to Mikialian’s front door in Studio City, Ca., to confess — and ask for a clean-up container.

“I knocked on the door and took a chance. She was so cute and clearly was just craving company as we all were and was so excited to have someone at her door,” Platten, 42, exclusively tells PEOPLE. “She reminded me of my Nana, and I felt this warm connection.”

The congenial Mikialian, then 97, gave her a bag, and the two struck up a conversation — and quickly discovered their shared passion for music.

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At that first meeting, Mikialian, a former concert pianist, told her new friend that her son had passed away and she missed playing the piano for others. She asked if the "Fight Song" singer would listen to her play.

“It struck me how incredible it is that music never leaves us,” Platten says. “Our facilities can go in other ways, but music doesn’t.”

Her new pal’s soulful music brought Platten to tears. And that was the birth of the first of many “Gloria” TikToks, which proved to be immensely popular with Platten’s followers.

“Strangers from all over were asking if they could send her things, if they could shower her with love, which was so sweet,” Platten says. “During COVID, we were so afraid to be with strangers, to be with each other, to meet new people and be friendly. This just hit a nerve.”

Platten, who initially thought Mikialian did not have a support system, says that when their friendship first went viral, she was contacted by Mikialian’s daughter, who told her that her mom was, in fact, well cared for and often visited by her and her two surviving sons.

Mikialian laments to PEOPLE, “I forget things. I’m an old lady.”

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Daughter Mara says her mom is better at remembering the past than the present. But she frequently hops on her Steinway to make beautiful music.

“Her memory is starting to go, and she does have to be reminded now about who I am and what I'm doing there,” Platten says. “But even with that, her joy and delight [are] so at the core of her being that it doesn't really matter. She welcomes me with open arms. It's a really special friendship and one that is completely unique in my life right now.”

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Platten now regularly drops by to see Mikialian, sometimes bringing along a camera to film TikToks.

“We talk about pianos and music and classical music and who we loved and our inspiration and the way that music made us feel,” Platten says. “And so that's another reason that we connect so much.”

Recently, Platten even helped celebrate Mikialian’s 100th birthday. Their visit ended with the two of them at the piano playing Platten’s latest single, “Girls.” 

“You know what? We had fun that day,” Mikialian, who was born on Aug. 30, 1923, recalls. “She brought cake, flowers. She brought all kinds of perfume. Yes. I enjoyed all of it.”

And as they sat down together at the piano, Mikialian couldn’t help but start playing a “doodling” she created on the fly.

“That’s just my doodling,” says Mikialian. “I can still do my doodling, and I’m good at it.”

Platten gives credit to Mikialian for the creation of her song "Girls," which Platten will be performing during an appearance on Good Morning America at 8 a.m. on Thursday.

At the time they met in 2020, Platten — who has been open with fans about her journey with postpartum depression — was working on a new album and eager to get back into the swing of things.

“I told her I wanted to get back to my life, and she said, ‘Forget all that! Have a baby. If you have it in your heart that you want a second child, do it now.’ And it did land in some part of my heart,” says Platten, who went on to welcome her second child, daughter Sophie, the following year. “And sure enough, she was right. A flood of emotions opened up. She had so much wisdom. I had the second baby, and the second half of the record came.”

“I would not have that song in the world if Gloria hadn’t encouraged me to have a second baby,” Platten says. “The thing I am most proud of right now wouldn’t exist without Gloria.”

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Her friend and neighbor “delights” her, says Platten.

“Life isn’t so long. If we’re lucky, we’ll be 100 one day and have the capacity to still do doodling on the piano,” Platten says. “She reminds me to lighten up a little and have more fun and laugh a lot more.”

Platten says that people tell her that they would like a Gloria in their lives, and she encourages them to find their own Gloria.

“As incredible as she is, I know that there are millions of Glorias around the world, probably next door to you,” Platten says. “So I would just encourage everyone to be brave, be vulnerable and meet a neighbor or visit an elderly home. They have so much wisdom and beauty to share with us.”

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