Survivors Of Manchester Attack Will Sing With Ariana Grande At Benefit Concert

A school choir from Manchester has been asked to perform with Ariana Grande at this Sunday's One Love Manchester benefit concert after they recorded a cover of Grande's song, "My Everything," as a tribute/fundraiser for the victims of the attack.

Daily Mail reports 24 Parrs Wood High School's Harmony Choir students have been selected for the performance, some of which were actually at the Ariana Grande concert when the bomb went off, killing 22 people.

The choir recorded their cover of the song to go along with a Just Giving fundraising page for the victims and their families, a page that has now raised over $4,000 out of its original $2,000 goal.

You can watch a video of the choir's performance here:

The kids in the choir said they want to pay their respects to the victims and their families through music.

Their teacher, Daniel McDwyer, is "delighted" they've been chosen to perform, saying to The Times, "So so proud! Love you Manchester. Going to be such a beautiful tribute."

Shauna Burns, a 17-year-old member of the choir who was at the Grande concert, said to The Times, "It's so surreal. You do not think one second you are going to see a performer and then the next be on stage with her." She added,

We've had a different look on everything now because we fortunately did get out safe and unharmed and we want to do as much as we can for people that didn't. It's given more motivation just to help.

Burns had reportedly won tickets to the concert and took three of her friends, one of whom was fellow choir member Adam Khan, 17.

Some of the families of the injured victims still in the hospital, however, don't think the concert is a good idea. They're saying they think the concert itself is great, but the timing of it — just two weeks after the attack — is insensitive.

Freya Lewis, 14, was left with burns, fractures, and lacerations from shrapnel in the blast and is still in the hospital. Her father, Nick, said in a post on Freya's school's blog,

Freya caught a little bit of TV this morning, We've been making sure she doesn't see the news. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to stop her hearing mention of the [Ariana] charity concert on Sunday night, which she found very distressing. The concert is a great idea and the support of the artists is fantastic, but the timing so soon after the bombing, in our opinion, is insensitive at best.

The performers at the One Love Manchester concert will reportedly be Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Coldplay, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Pharrell Williams, Usher, Take That, and Niall Horan. All of the proceeds of the performance will go to the victims and their families.

Tickets went on sale this morning and reportedly sold out in just six minutes. People who were at the Ariana Grande on May 22, however, are receiving free tickets as long as they can verify their attendance at the original concert.

Some concertgoers have opted out of attending because their family members are still in the hospital following the blast, according to Daily Mail.

Citations: Children who survived the Manchester terror attack will sing alongside Ariana Grande at star-studded benefit gig as tickets sell out in just SIX minutes (Daily Mail)