Benson Boone opened the Australian leg of his Wanted Man tour with a special guest. He brought a 13-year-old fan who is battling cancer onstage to sing “Beautiful Things” with him on her birthday.
The moment came at the end of Boone’s set at Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Friday (Nov. 6). The Music reported that the singer stopped to introduce the final song.
“I’ve had the opportunity of meeting a 13-year-old girl who is battling her second round of cancer,” Boone told the crowd, according to the outlet. “It’s her birthday today and her birthday wish was to come on stage and sing ‘Beautiful Things.’”
The fan, Kenzie Riddle, then rose from an upper platform and joined Boone on the song. According to The Music, roughly 10,000 people were in the arena.
Riddle has Ewing’s sarcoma. As reported by Nine’s Today, she believed she had beaten the illness after about two and a half years of treatment, but the cancer returned and she is now facing intensive chemotherapy. Her family said they bought tickets to the show in July as her 13th birthday present. Her campaign to meet Boone took off online after a local musician, Fergus Hogan, shared an Instagram video about her story.
“I love his energetic style and how he’s so over the top,” Riddle told Today before the concert. “He’s kinda crazy and I love it.”
Her family also told the program: “She’s such an unbelievable inspiration to so many people… But I think even bigger than that is the community behind her.”
“Beautiful Things” was Boone’s breakout single. Released in January 2024, it reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of the most-streamed songs in the world that year. Boone followed it with his debut album Fireworks & Rollerblades that April. His second album, American Heart, arrived in 2025 and included the single “Mystical Magical.”
The Brisbane show opened Boone’s Wanted Man tour of Australia. Boone has two additional Brisbane performances scheduled for Nov. 7 and 8 before the tour heads to Melbourne for three concerts at Rod Laver Arena beginning Nov. 12. The Australian leg concludes with three shows at Sydney’s Afterpay Arena from Nov. 17-19.
