Schoolgirl was in the audience with her mum when the singer singled her out
An 11-year-old girl from Hull was thrilled to be plucked from an audience of thousands to appear on stage with one of her idols. Katy Perry fan Matilda – Tilly – Johnson could not believe it when the star pointed her out and invited her to share the spotlight.
Tilly, of Anlaby, had been bought tickets for Katy’s concert at the Utilita Arena, Sheffield, last Christmas, by her parents Melissa and Steve. The long wait to see the superstar perform culminated in a show that Tilly could never have imagined in her wildest dreams.
The concert, on Friday, October 10, was part of Katy Perry’s The Lifetimes Tour, and performed in front of thousands of fans. Tilly said: “I was actually terrified – excited but terrified – when Katy pointed to me to ask me to go up on stage.
“I couldn’t see everybody else in the audience, apart from the couple of rows in front, because of all the lights. I feel really lucky.
“It was my best friend’s birthday a few days before and she got tickets to go on the same day and stuff. She was on the same row as us and she was cheering and shouting for me.”
Melissa said: “We already had really good seats – we could see the entire stage. We were a couple of rows off it.
“Katy had just landed in front of us doing somersaults and all sorts of stuff. Me and Tilly had had a conversation about our outfits for the show – people do go dressed up really wacky – and Tilly was coming out with all sorts.
“I said, wouldn’t it be better if you were a plastic bag, referencing [a line in] Katy’s song Firework? I made her a dress out of three Iceland carriers.
“Everyone else was probably spending loads and for 45p, I’d got her outfit for her.” The dress, with “I feel like a plastic bag” written on the front, obviously caught the eye of the star.
“She pointed to Tilly, saying ‘you, in the carrier bag’, and Tilly said, ‘who, me?’ and she said, ‘yes’. On stage, Tilly sang with Katy and was quizzed about where she was from.
“When Tilly said she was from Hull, Katy said, ‘where’s that?’ and Tilly said ‘about an hour up the road’. It sounded like half of Hull was there, they all started cheering.”
Asked by Katy who helped her with her dress, Tilly pointed out her mum. “Katy said to me, ‘you are a cool mum’.”
Melissa and Tilly spent the rest of the show in the VIP area, where Katy Perry’s PA came up and took photos and they enjoyed free drinks from the bar. Melissa said Tilly told Katy she wanted to be an actor when she was older.
“She said to her, ‘I’ll see you on the screen, you are going to be fab’. It’s just an experience Tilly is never going to forget – she’s not recovered yet.
“From being a little girl she liked Katy Perry. I used to play her Raw.
“She’s at that age where she likes Taylor Swift – she saw her last year. The next concert is Yungblud.
“We like to give her these experiences. She has a couple of insecurities and I think something like this is going to help make her feel good about herself.”