Pop star Tom Grennan paid a beautiful tribute to one of his biggest fans during his concert at York Racecourse this weekend.
An emotional evening became an unforgettable tribute to 17-year-old Mariella Rose when chart-topping singer Tom dedicated his entire concert to her in front of thousands of fans.
Mariella’s father, Chris Rose, and around ten of her closest friends attended the concert, unsure whether a heartfelt request submitted through YorkMix asking Tom to acknowledge Mariella would ever reach him.
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Mariella, from a village a few miles east of York, died in March when the car she was driving was in collision with a tractor near Everingham, between Pocklington and Holme-on-Spalding-Moor.
A huge fan of Tom Grennan, she had met him on several occasions. And Mariella was due to attend his Music Showcase concert this Saturday with father Chris.
Before the concert, Chris wasn’t sure if the message had got through.
But as soon as Tom walked onto the stage, he immediately dedicated the evening’s performance to Mariella, asking the audience to “place her in their hearts” before inviting thousands of concertgoers to applaud her memory.
The tribute continued throughout the evening and reached an emotional climax as Tom closed the show with Mariella’s favourite song, A Little Bit of Love.
Before performing the song, he once again dedicated it to Mariella before walking into the crowd to embrace her father, Chris, in a deeply moving moment witnessed by thousands.
Chris told YorkMix said the dedication at the start of the show “absolutely floored me. That was just so beautiful and so heartfelt.
“And all the way through, he kept looking at me – because we’ve met several times – and touching his heart.
“I was just in tears all the way through. I can’t lie, I was in absolute floods of tears.”
He was invited backstage at the end of the concert and spent an hour talking to Tom and the band.
“He said we’ve all had some tears over the last couple of days. So I knew, you know, genuinely, I think this had affected them,” Chris said.
“I won’t go into details what we said because I don’t think that’s right. But we had a good chat together and a good heart to heart. All the band were lovely with me.
“The only thing that was really sad about this is that my daughter wasn’t there. Everything else was beautiful.”
Earlier, they had met the band Monotones who were playing at York Races. “They played Mariella’s celebration after after the funeral. So it was great to see them.”
‘Be More Mariella’
Mariella had many friends, and the concert was very important to them too.
Poppy Green, one of Mariella’s school and work friends from Market Weighton, said: “Tom Grennan dedicating not only the whole concert but also the final song to Mariella meant so much to so many people.
“In those moments, thousands of people came together to remember a beautiful soul, and it became so much more than just a performance.
“What made it even more special was seeing complete strangers come over to ask about the fund for Mariella, share their condolences, or simply tell us how touched they were.
“The message was spreading, and so was Mariella’s legacy.
“The quote on the back of our shirts read, ‘Be More Mariella’. The people who stopped to ask, who showed kindness, compassion and genuine care, may never have known Mariella personally, but in those moments they were doing exactly that, they were being more Mariella.
“Thank you, Tom, for using your platform to honour her in such a meaningful way. It created conversations, raised awareness, and reminded everyone that kindness can have a lasting impact.”
Will Turner, from Barmby Moor, added: “Mariella truly was the best person I have ever met, she was kind, smart and cared about every little thing.
“Even though she struggled with her dyslexia I never once heard her complain or give up, she always tried and tried again and I think that’s something we should all admire and strive to be like.
“Tom Grennan was her absolute idol, as he struggled with dyslexia too and they met several times, which Mariella always boasted about, it was so beautiful for him to dedicate his York races show to our friend and it means so much to us.”
Helping others
The tribute also helped raise awareness of the newly established Mariella Rose Foundation.
Mariella had dyslexia – as does Tom Grennan, which was a shared bond between them. The foundation aims to improve opportunities for young people with dyslexia by helping to remove barriers to assessment, support and opportunity, ensuring more young people can fulfil their dreams.
Throughout the day, many concertgoers approached Mariella’s family and friends to learn more about her story, offer their condolences and ask how they could support the foundation’s work.
Several people made donations after hearing about the foundation’s mission to improve opportunities for young people with dyslexia.
Chris said: “Seeing thousands of people applauding her and holding her in their hearts is something our family and friends will never forget. We can’t thank Tom enough for helping keep Mariella’s spirit and legacy alive.”
