The social experiment took place in the UK by the national nonprofit Charity Crisis. They wanted to see how people would react to a talented piano player who was also homeless.
With his disguise complete, the pianist heads to the local mall with a trash bag full of belongings and a cardboard sign.
As soon as he touches the keys, magical melodies arise from the piano. Shoppers at the mall immediately stop to listen, wondering who this mysterious homeless man is.
One little girl becomes transfixed on the music he’s playing. The longer he sits, the better he gets —and man, is he good! Before long, surprised people start to walk over and put money in his tip jar.
No one can believe a homeless man is playing the complex music. Gradually, people begin to take their phones out to document the unique musicians’ talent.
By now, many viewers have stopped to listen. One special fan in particular doesn’t leave the pianist’s side the whole entire time.
In disbelief, the little girl’s attention is fully concentrated on the “homeless” pianist. His fingers manipulate the keys fantastically as he sits with his huge mop of hair and unkempt beard. The entire time, he continues to wow his audience.
By the end of the show, people are so blown away they’re actually lining up to donate money to the pianist.
Social media went nuts for “The Piano Phantom,” and the video reeled in close to 7.5 million views on YouTube.
On top of the millions of views, the video had 66,000 people like it and almost 6,000 who left comments. Many pointed out that there are a lot of actual homeless people with great talents, which is so true!
This pianist is stellar! I loved how he completely captivated the young girl, as this will be a moment she surely remembers forever. To see the brilliant disguise performance, watch the video below!
