Fan offered meeting and welcome after singer’s no-show

A teenage pop fan who was disappointed when a long-awaited date with her idol fell through at the last minute has been given a second chance.

Lilly, 14, from Warwickshire, had tickets to American singer Melanie Martinez’s concert in Cardiff last month and was hoping to meet her idol afterwards.

Her mother, with whom she arranged the meet and greet for Lilly, said the disappointment “really shook” her daughter.

But the management of Martinez – whose songs include Teacher’s Pet and Play Date – have now offered Lilly a new meet and greet as well as VIP merchandise.

The charity Emmett’s Genies, which supports families of children with critical or life-limiting conditions, last year bought Lilly some Melanie Martinez products.

Emmett’s Genies were working with Lilly’s brother, George, who has a congenital heart defect.

The 10-year-old wanted to make a dream come true for his sister, Emmett’s Genies said, and the charity tried to give her a VIP experience.

“I bought (some) merchandise from Lilly Melanie Martinez at full price and this was her gift. Unfortunately, I was unable to carry out a larger trial,” said a spokeswoman for the small charity.

After purchasing tickets for the Cardiff show, Rachel said she organized the meet and greet with the singer’s manager through a contact who had had a successful meeting before.

On the show, Lilly received four products from the star’s manager.

But the singer unexpectedly appeared on stage 10 minutes early and the manager never returned, Lilly’s mother said.

Lilly, who struggles with anxiety, is currently homeschooling after being bullied.

Rachel said of the canceled meet-and-greet: “It was terrible because she sat there, waiting, waiting for it.

Lilly was excited to meet someone she had admired for years, she said, and the disappointment made her more worried that things wouldn’t go the way she wanted.

After writing to Martinez’s manager, Rachel was promised a new meet and greet when the singer is in the UK.

She will also receive some new VIP products.

The new meet-and-greet offering “helped Lilly enormously,” Rachel said.

“It especially helped her understand that this time it was a small accident,” she said.

“She is a big fan. She collects anything and everything Melanie brings,” Rachel said.

The singer was bullied for having a gap between her front teeth, and some of her lyrics really resonate with Lilly, she added.

“In a way, it gives you comfort to know that even though Melanie was bullied and humiliated, there is a kind of ‘look at her now,’” Rachel said.

Despite the experience, she said Lilly remains a huge fan.