SINGAPORE — Last Saturday (Jan 27), three migrant workers jammed to Coldplay alongside tens of thousands of fans after receiving free tickets from Singapore soup kitchen Krsna's Free Meals.

Despite the initiative receiving widespread support, some netizens expressed doubts on whether the migrant workers would enjoy the concert as they might not be familiar with the British rock band. 

In response, the soup kitchen said on TikTok that it offered free Coldplay tickets to migrant workers “to inspire them, help them to dream” and “teach them that there is kindness in this world, despite what it may seem”.

Krsna's Free Meals is a soup kitchen in Singapore that serves free breakfast and lunch daily to migrant workers.

The soup kitchen had collaborated with Coldplay and international non-profit Love Button to host the giveaway, getting eight free tickets for the British band's concert.

Love Button had selected Krsna's Free Meals as one of three beneficiaries to receive Coldplay concert tickets as part of a joint outreach initiative with Coldplay during the band's world tour, a representative from Krsna’s Free Meals told TODAY.

The tickets were distributed to winners via a shiny golden ticket attached to a packet of nuts which winners drew, à la “Willy Wonka” style, Krsna’s Free Meals divulged in a vlog on TikTok. 

Detailing the process of hosting the giveaway in a vlog series titled “Super secret sponsor project”, volunteers gave viewers a behind-the-scenes look of how the ticket was designed and how the packing of the nuts with the eight “golden” tickets was done. 

The packet nuts were given out during the Pongal celebrations alongside food distribution, where eight lucky winners drew a bag of nuts with tickets attached to them.

Pongal is a multi-day harvest festival celebrating prosperity and abundance by Hindus in Singapore.

A follow-up vlog showed the winners smiling and grooving to the music on the concert day.  

“The migrant workers, who didn’t know the music at all, were rocking to the beats and enjoying the spectacle,” the Krsna's Free Meals spokesperson told TODAY. 

The spokesperson revealed that one of the migrant workers, Mr Aung from Myanmar, was a huge Coldplay fan and that being able to attend the concert in Singapore was "beyond his wildest dream".

"His family was super excited that he got a chance to attend one," the spokesperson added.

The soup kitchen explained that only three out of the eight winners attended the concert as some unfortunately had last minute work, while others were not contactable via the phone numbers they gave.

MUSIC KNOWS NO LANGUAGE?

The video of the Coldplay ticket giveaway posted last Wednesday received over 10,000 views as of Tuesday. 

However, some netizens felt that giving migrant workers tickets to a concert featuring music familiar to them might resonate better than offering tickets to a band they may not know.

“But do they know who Coldplay is? Should be more of Anirudh or a Rehman concert,” said one TikTok user, referring to popular Indian musicians Anirudh Ravichander and Allah Rakha Rahman.

Another said: “Great thought but I feel they would enjoy Tamil concerts more!”

TikTok user “Retrorider” offered a different perspective, saying: “Music is universal. Sure they might walk in the concert not knowing who they are but who knows they might walk out a fan. That's a really nice gesture.”

Another online user replied to “Retrorider”: “I understand it’s a rare experience but wouldn’t it be better that they go to a Tamil one and they sing along and enjoy with their pals rather than being blur in an English concert?”

In a video response, Krsna’s Free Meals explained that the concert was meant to inspire the migrant workers, and thanked Coldplay for the donation of tickets. 

“We thought that this would be a rare and valuable experience for them which would reap returns — opening minds and outlooks. And also show them some unexpected kindness," the representative told TODAY.

"They are at the core of what we do and we value them as human beings, and as people who help our country."

This particular video, posted on Saturday, received overwhelming support, gaining more than 140,000 views and over 13,000 likes within three days.

Some TikTok users lauded the initiative and thanked the group for its efforts.

“Kindness need not be explained,” one wrote.

Another said: “I’m sure they enjoyed the love from Coldplay and the atmosphere and fell in love with their songs!”

Another user commented: “This is the most wholesome thing I’ve ever come across.” 

However, some raised concerns about the tickets being potentially sold for profit instead. 

“Hopefully they don't sell it? But if they do and use the money to treat themselves by all means,” one wrote.

Another commented: “You gave (the tickets) to them but they will resell it for profit. (If you) want to give, at least give to those that are fans.”

In response, Krsna's Free Meals replied in the comments section that volunteers will be chaperoning the migrant workers to the concert after dinner together, and that the workers will only receive the tickets at the concert venue.

Last Friday (Jan 26), one lucky man also got to attend a Coldplay concert when a National Stadium staff member presented him with a free ticket while he was sitting outside the concert venue listening to the music. 

When he was approached by the National Stadium staff, many cheered him on to accept the tickets. The cute interaction was uploaded on TikTok last Saturday morning and went viral online.