Lady Gaga Sang ‘Million Reasons’ To 12-Year-Old Fan With Autism In A Touching Concert Moment

Jan 25, 2023

Lady Gaga, born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, is an American pop star, songwriter and actress. The award-winning artist rose to fame in 2008 when she released her debut single, "Just Dance." The singer quickly garnered international fame due to her elaborate costumes, catchy lyrics, impressive dance movements and powerful vocal talents. Her debut album, "Fame," was released in 2008. Her subsequent hits in the following years included "Poker Face," "Bad Romance" and "Born This Way." 

While maintaining her highly successful music career, the singer ventured into acting. Gaga appeared in "Machete Kills" and "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For." In 2015, she joined the anthology series "American Horror Story." Lady Gaga received a Golden Globe Award for her dazzling performance in the series. Years later, Lady Gaga wowed critics with her remarkable performance in her first lead role in "A Star Is Born."

With her massive influence over her millions of fans across the globe comes the singer’s dedication to certain causes like mental health. In 2019, the pop star launched a new pilot program for a teen mental health first aid project with the National Council for Behavioral Health in coordination with her Born This Way Foundation. 

But way back before she launched the new initiative, Lady Gaga was really fond of the cause she was championing. In a 2018 concert of hers in Philadelphia, the singer invited one of her fans who has special needs up on a stage as she played her hit song “Million Reasons” to a stadium full of people – a testament to her pure heart for the causes she fights for. 

Read on to learn more about Lady Gaga, her advocacy and her incredible encounter with one of her fans. 

One of the biggest music artists of the past decade, Lady Gaga, has made sure to make use of her massive platform to push forward the causes and the ideas she believes in. Apart from championing LGBTQ rights, she is also a fierce activist for mental health awareness and eradicating the stigma around mental health. 

In 2012, Lady Gaga founded the non-profit organization Born This Way Foundation, which centered around mental health. They have launched several campaigns all over the United States and some parts of the globe, including the Teen Mental Health First Aid, Channel Kindness, Starbucks Cups of Kindness, and in 2022, the Making Kindness Cool mental health resources she co-launched with her mother.  

According to People Magazine, the Making Kindness Cool resources were launched to teach youth to start conversations around mental health in a “safe and kind” way.

“Sharing this resource with each of those young people and the world means everything to me, and I share it as a way to remind myself and everyone else that we each have a role to play in being there for each other,” she said in a statement. 

The campaign aims to give Be There Certificates as a completion reminder for finishing the course. 

"With the Be There Certificate and because of the work of Born This Way Foundation and Jack.org, you can learn how to be there for yourself and others confidently, safely, and kindly," she continued.

Apart from community activations and global campaigns, the Born This Way Foundation has also found a way to weave in Lady Gaga’s world tours to push forward the foundation’s goals. 

During her Joanne World Tour, the foundation joined the singer to reach local communities in each city her concert was held. 

In one of her stops on the Joanne World Tour in 2018 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Lady Gaga came across one of her dearest fans – 12-year-old Owen Zalenski. 

In the middle of her set in the packed stadium, Lady Gaga invited Owen on stage, as she went on to perform one of her biggest hits, “Million Reasons.”

Per the singer, Owen has a “rare form” of autism, but according to his mother, Jennifer Brendel Collins, he was also diagnosed with Dravet Syndrome, a rare, catastrophic, lifelong form of epilepsy.

According to Progress News, it was Owen’s mother, Jennifer Brendel Collins’ mission for over a year to fulfill her son’s dreams of watching Lady Gaga live. 

“I think initially the biggest reason was her voice. It would calm him. She is the last thing he listens to before bed and the very first thing he does in the morning,” Collins told the outlet of her son’s fascination with the multi-platinum singer. 

The 2018 performance was actually the second time Lady Gaga and Owen met; in 2017, Gaga also invited him for the first time onstage when she sang “Edge of Glory,” where he sat beside her on the piano.  

“We were just expecting a “shout out” to him. So my husband and I were video taping the beginning of every song so that we could video tape the dedication – never expecting she would want him on stage with her,” Collins revealed. 

At the end of her 2018 performance, Lady Gaga gave her cowgirl hat to Owen as a keepsake for the little kid. 

“Mental illness and invisible illness is (sic) something we cannot shy away from. We have to be very protective of one another and pay attention,” Lady Gaga said before belting out the last note of the song.  

Are you a fan of Lady Gaga? What can you say about her advocacies? Aren’t her encounters with Owen adorable and touching? Let us know, and pass this on to your family, friends and other Lady Gaga fans!