Christopher Warner, a Maroon 5 superfan with Down syndrome, saw his dreams come true in 2015 when his favorite musicians reached out to invite him to a live show.
What would you rather be remembered and known for? Being rich and famous or kind and empathetic? While the former might win you a lot of clout-chasing worshippers, the latter is what will leave a lasting impression on those who cross your path. We saw one example of this a few years ago when the uber-popular American band, Maroon 5, did the sweetest thing for an adorable superfan who came to see them. Christopher Warner, a young Maryland resident with Down syndrome, saw his dreams come true in 2015 when his favorite musicians reached out to invite him to a live show.
According to TODAY, the meet-and-greet came about as a result of a YouTube video of Christopher gushing about Maroon 5’s lead vocalist, Adam Levine, and singing the band’s hits. The video, which was created by one of his teachers at West Friendship Elementary School, went viral on the platform and was eventually picked up by some local news stations. This caught the attention of the radio hosts at Hot 99.5’s The Kane Show a few days before the band was set to play nearby in Washington, D.C., and they decided to arrange an extra-special surprise for Christopher, who was 10 years old at the time.
“He has just been fascinated with Maroon 5 and especially Adam Levine,” said Avery Stanert, a special education teacher at Christopher’s school and who was responsible for making the video. “He loves to listen to their music during work breaks. He draws pictures of them. He just absolutely loves them. He’s a typical 10-year-old boy. He loves music, he loves drawing, he loves his friends. He’s just a very caring, really amazing boy. And so is his twin brother. His whole family is really great.” Speaking of how things took an unexpected turn once The Kane Show got involved, she added: “They arranged for backstage passes and tickets. They immediately called the record label and worked it all out.”
Maroon 5 & Christopher Warner (penderita Down Syndrome). He is also a huge fan of Maroon 5!
Christopher and his mom, Cecilia Warner, along with Stanert and three other teachers, had the time of their lives on the day of the Maroon 5 concert at Verizon Center. According to ELLE, the young fan did a press interview before the concert and even got a picture he’d drawn of himself with the group autographed by Adam Levine. He also got to take home a pair of band drumsticks which left him smiling from ear to ear. “He was real excited,” Warner told ABC News. “They told us that we would be last because Adam wanted to talk with Christopher and spend a little more time with him.”
Christopher was so overwhelmed he had a panic attack so @adamlevine @maroon5 @internjohnradio laid down to take a pic pic.twitter.com/lGP5SIeZNX
— Kane (@Kaneshow) March 3, 2015
“He stayed awake for the whole thing. I was impressed. He was just so excited,” Stanert said of how Christopher enjoyed the evening. However, meeting his idol in real life proved a bit overwhelming for the youngster. When he was finally face-to-face with Levine backstage after the show, the young boy’s nervous excitement turned into a bit of a panic attack and he hid behind his mom, crouching down on the floor. Fortunately, Levine handled the situation in the best possible way and suggested that everyone else get on the floor too.
“When he [Christopher] realized it was his turn, he was very shy at first. I kind of got down on the floor and he was hiding behind me,” said Warner. “Then Adam said ‘That’s ok, we’ll all get down on the floor.’ It wasn’t beneath him to lay down on a locker room floor with Christopher.” Speaking of meeting the young superfan, Maroon 5 keyboardist, PJ Morton, said: “He’s an awesome kid. He was a little shy from all of the attention. He didn’t want to stand up to take a picture so we all got on the floor with him to take it that way. I got a high five!”