A busker ended up unknowingly performing a Coldplay classic with Chris Martin himself, after the band’s front man spontaneously joined in with the rendition while roaming the streets of London.
As the BBC reports, South Korean singer-guitarist Hanny Junee was performing for passers-by when he began a cover of Viva La Vida, the title track from Coldplay’s 2008 record.
However, it turned into an impromptu duet when Junee was joined by an unassuming onlooker. That onlooker – inconspicuously decked out in a baseball cap – sounded good. Almost too good.
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That’s because it was the real Chris Martin. The Coldplay frontman happened to be wandering the capital’s streets that night and stumbled upon Junee’s busking spot in Trafalgar Square.
Nonetheless, it took Junee a moment to realize what was happening. Before he caught on, it was already too late. Martin had disappeared into the night.
“I thought: ‘This guy has amazing energy, nice vibe and a really good voice, he sounds really similar to Chris Martin,’” Junee told the BBC.
“But I thought: ‘Come on, Hanny, don’t be ridiculous, of course it’s not him, Chris Martin doesn’t roam the streets of London.’ Then he finished a verse and the next thing I know he’s gone. It was magical.”
To make it even more special, it was literally the last song in Junee’s setlist. Had he played a song by The Script – which could’ve happened, had the crowd not voted for a Coldplay song – Martin might have passed by without a word.
“I was playing Viva La Vida as my last song at Trafalgar Square, and Chris Martin literally walked up and sang with me?!” Junee wrote on Instagram after. “Still can‘t believe this happened. Thank you Chris for the most unforgettable moment of my life!”
Perhaps Viva La Vida acts like a proverbial Bat Signal. Play those opening chords and sing that melody, and Martin will appear. Or maybe Joe Satriani. After all, he has a song that allegedly sounds quite familiar…
