The singer leads 25,000 people at his California concert to sing 'Happy Birthday' to the autistic boy, 8-year-old Julian Delan.
- Aug 18, 2014
AceShowbiz - Justin Timberlake gave a birthday boy at his recent concert an unforgettable present. Taking the stage at San Jose, California's SAP Center stadium, the singer stopped his performance and led 25,000 people who packed the venue to sing "Happy Birthday" to the 8-year-old boy named Julian Delan.
Delan is autistic. In a video, which his parents took during the concert and later shared on YouTube, he's seen wearing a fedora and a bow tie while excitedly telling people around him, "It's my birthday! This is my present!"
Delan's mother, Marika Rosenthal Delan, also shared the magical moment on The Manifest Station. In a post, the mom said his son was diagnosed with "high functioning autism in 2013," and he "wanted nothing but the JT 20/20 Experience for his birthday."
She added that fellow audience members who sat near Delan heard the boy kept yelling the concert was his "birthday present." They then helped him get Timberlake's attention.
"And at the perfect quiet moment, the group in front of us started yelling to get Justin's attention, because despite his loud volume, Julian's voice was not carrying. Only repeating. And then before we knew what was happening, the group in front of us that had turned out to be so incredibly kind all night to our birthday boy, and these gorgeous girls who I was convinced would be totally annoyed by Julian, had captured Justin's attention. And then it happened. Justin Timberlake was singing Happy Birthday. They all were," she added.
