Pippa was brought on stage by the pop superstar at his Wellington show. Video / kels800 via YouTube
A 10-year-old Palmerston North girl got to live “just about everybody’s dream” after being pulled up on stage to sing with Ed Sheeran at his concert in Wellington last night.
The “special moment”, witnessed by Pippa Guerin’s whole family - and tens of thousands of excited fans -happened when the pop star admitted he’d forgotten the lyrics to his hit song Galway Girl.
Sheeran asked concert-goers if anyone knew the words and could help him sing the song - at which point Pippa put her hand up and was plucked from the crowd, said dad Tim Guerin.
“I’m a very, very proud dad,” he told the Herald today.
“It’s a pretty special moment when your daughter’s in the spotlight. When you’ve got 48,000 people cheering Pippa’s name it’s a pretty surreal feeling.”
Pippa had travelled for the concert with several members of her extended family, and they were seated about three rows back from the stage. It was Pippa’s first concert, Guerin said.
Ed Sheeran pulled Palmerston North 10-year-old Pippa Guerin up on stage to help him sing Galway Girl during his concert at Sky Stadium, Wellington, on February 2, 2023. Photos / Supplied
“[Sheeran] said he forgot the lyrics. Whether he did or not I still don’t know. He sort of just said ‘hey, is there anyone in the crowd that can help me out.’
“Pippa just sort of put her hand up and said ‘yep, I can do it.’ He said ‘do you know all the words to the song?’”
She told him she did, but after getting up on stage, sheepishly admitted she might not remember all the lyrics, at which point Sheeran told her he would help her out.
The pair then began singing together, with Sheeran dancing around the stage as he played the guitar.
Guerin was in awe at the experience.
“There’s not really any words for it,” he said.
Sheeran put his arm around Pippa and kissed her on the head before sending her back to her seat and calling for the crowd to applaud her.
She was “absolutely buzzing” as she came back to her family.
“She couldn’t believe it. She said ‘Ed Sheeran kissed me on the head!’
“We had people coming up to Pippa afterwards asking for photos to be taken with her, saying how well she had done.”
Ed Sheeran and Pippa Guerin sing Galway Girl together at Sky Stadium. Photo / Supplied
Pippa told her dad when she got up on stage she was “very nervous” but as she starting singing, “it all just went away”.
She is taking singing lessons at the moment and is now itching to get back on stage, he said.
It couldn’t have happened to a better person, he said.
“She’s one of the kindest, sweetest girls you would ever meet. She’s got a heart of gold.”
Personal circumstances meant the family had been through a “rough year”, but Pippa’s moment in the sun had been a great mood booster for the whole family, he said.
“She’s just loving it. To be picked out of 48,000 people to jump on stage with Ed Sheeran, it’s just about everybody’s dream, and for Pippa that came true.”
