Teenager Shaelyn was wandering through New York City’s Koreatown when she stumbled upon the YouTube-famous busker, Guitaro5000 (a.k.a. Reggie), asking passersby if they’d like to sing with him.
Shaelyn shook off her nerves and approached Reggie with a country anthem in mind: “Traveling Soldier” by The Chicks. But nobody expected Shaelyn to reveal the heartbreaking story behind why she picked this song…
Music Man readers can watch the moment unfold in the viral video above – it’s already topped 1.7 million views to date!
Shaelyn explains the lyrical meaning behind her song choice, following a soldier who sends love letters to a girl back home before he “totally dies.” But Reggie understands, “I imagine that anyone who has experienced pain and loss before can identify with what this song feels like,” before Shaelyn reveals her family’s tragic connection to its lyrics.
She tells Reggie, “[My mom and I] listen to it because my dad was in the military when we were kids so she really liked this song. We’d listen to it and then we’d all cry together like, ‘Oh my god, I hope he doesn’t die,’ but he never did so it’s okay.”
Reggie takes a minute to listen to the track before playing it live for the first time in his mic. Handing Shaelyn the mic, he wholesomely dedicates the track to “all the fallen soldiers” and, strumming his guitar, lets Shaelyn steal the limelight.
With warm tones and a classic country-pop twang to her voice, Shaelyn sings from her heart, her shaky voice spelling out her nerves but only adding to the raw magic behind this impromptu duet.
As they wrap up their performance, Shaelyn shocks Reggie when she admits, “I haven’t sung in public in a really long time,” adding, “I got really bad stage fright and I wanted to stop, so I stopped. Yeah, it just made me nervous, and it still makes me nervous now, but […] not like I’m gonna freak out and cry nervous.”
Shaelyn’s inspirational outlook and song choice has got YouTube viewers wrecked with emotion, as countless US veterans come across this clip and share their thoughts in the comments. As one fan wrote, “US Army veteran and retired law enforcement officer sitting here wiping tears and blowing my nose. What a song,” another commented, “As a disabled veteran wounded and sent home to permanent retirement in 1968, I feel it. I saw too many who did not come home. Thank you and much love to you.”
One top commenter spoke for hundreds of viewers when they wrote, “Young Lady, you said you were nervous, but what you did was make us proud in your tribute to the military.”