8YearOld Swiftie Sent Neighbor a Paper Airplane Asking Him to Play Her a Song. Then Taylor Swift Got Involved (Exclusive) David ChiuTue, May 26, 2026 at 9:52 PM UTC 0 (LR) Ethan Hayes, WKYC reporter Lindsay Buckingham, and 8yearold Madeline; a letter from Taylor Swift to MadelineCredit: WKYC Back in April, an 8yearold girl named Madeline tossed a paper airplane over the fence into her neighbor&x27;s yard, requesting he play Taylor Swift His performance of "Love Story," which was recorded by the girl&x27;s mom, was later shared on TikTok The clip has since been seen by millions of people, inclu...
8-Year-Old Swiftie Sent Neighbor a Paper Airplane Asking Him to Play Her a Song. Then Taylor Swift Got Involved (Exclusive)
David ChiuTue, May 26, 2026 at 9:52 PM UTC
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(L-R) Ethan Hayes, WKYC reporter Lindsay Buckingham, and 8-year-old Madeline; a letter from Taylor Swift to Madeline
Credit: WKYC -
Back in April, an 8-year-old girl named Madeline tossed a paper airplane over the fence into her neighbor's yard, requesting he play Taylor Swift
His performance of "Love Story," which was recorded by the girl's mom, was later shared on TikTok
The clip has since been seen by millions of people, including Swift
A young girl's paper airplane song request to her musician neighbor went viral — and her family was completely shocked when it ended up catching Taylor Swift's attention in the process!
It all began back on April 21, when an 8-year-old girl from Ohio named Madeline overheard her neighbor singing and playing guitar on his porch.
“We had the windows open, we're making dinner and even Russell [my husband] shouted out a little 'Woo!' " Natalie Hulec, Madeline's mother, 35, tells PEOPLE.
Madeline liked his playing so much that she wanted to ask him if he'd sing a song by one of her favorite artists: Swift. But, feeling shy and not wanting to trespass, she came up with a creative way to make her request: sending it via a paper airplane she quietly tossed over the fence with her mom's help.
At the time, Ethan Hayes, 26, a full-time musician, didn't really know the family all that well. Although he and his roommate moved in last September, outside of a wave here and there, the neighbors had never met.
That all began to change when Hayes — who totally missed the paper airplane landing in his yard — got a friendly earful from Madeline's stepfather Russell, 35, who opened the family's kitchen window and shouted to him about the note.
“I was probably looking at lyrics or something on my phone,” says Hayes. “I was playing and then he's like, 'Hey, man. My daughter just threw an airplane.' So I went over and looked."
Madeline seen in this video filmed by her mother of trying to toss the paper airplane over her neighbor's fence
Credit: nattdoeshair/TikTok
When he did find the note, Hayes says he panicked a little since he wasn't a die-hard Swiftie, but thankfully, he was familiar with her hit song “Love Story.”
“I'm a musician, so I get requests all the time,” he says. "That's one I always usually keep in my back pocket."
To Madeline's delight, even though Hayes didn't know all the words, he began to perform the song.
Her mother Natalie, who documented the entire sweet saga on video, tells PEOPLE that her daughter "does a lot of cute stuff" — but as soon as Madeline asked for some computer paper so she could write to her neighbor, she felt like this was maybe "the cutest idea" her daughter ever had.
“I took a picture of the note," the proud mom continues, "and of course I'm going to watch her attempt to get this over the fence. I was like, 'Let me record this.' "
Natalie later posted the clip on TikTok and was blown away by the response.
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“We woke up [the next morning] to get her ready for school. It was about 7:30 and there were already 20,000 views,” she remembers. “And then it was going up by the thousands and I'm like, 'I got to talk to my neighbor and let him know I posted him.' ”
“There was really no expectation at all going into it,” adds her husband. “It was just a cute moment she just wanted to share with her friends. Next thing you know, we wake up in the morning and there's like 10,000, 15,000, 20,000 [views]. And we're like, ‘Oh wow.' ”
Hayes says even his mom heard about what had happened. “My mom sent the clip to me. She's like, ‘Is that you?' I was like, ‘Yeah, that's me,' " he says.
As of Tuesday, May 26, Natalie's TikTok video has gotten over 3 million views — and the viral success has boosted Ethan's profile as well.
“I've gained thousands of followers, which is always really great," says Hayes. "We haven't seen one single negative comment, which I think is really, really rare, just a really wholesome situation that I'm really grateful to be a part of.”
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While speaking with PEOPLE, the family revealed that outside of both neighbors getting to know each other better, another happy outcome came out of the viral porch performance: a response from Swift herself!
Hayes confirms that out of nowhere, he got a message from Swift's camp on TikTok.
“They're like, 'Hey, Taylor saw your video. We want to send you something. Don't tell anyone until it gets there,' ” he shares. “I was expecting maybe a signed poster or something. And then she sent us guitars, which is insane.”
Asked what she would like to say to Swift, Madeline — who got her own note and signed guitar — simply says, “Thank you.”
Madeline with an autographed guitar sent to her by Taylor Swift
Credit: WKYC
There's a positive message from the whole experience, according to the 8-year-old girl's mom. “Negativity can be super contagious,” she says. “Ethan came through for her and I think a lot of people saw. He's such a genuine, sweet guy, so we really lucked out.”
Meanwhile, Madeline hopes that people will feel inspired —"to make more videos about paper airplanes.”
on People
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: May 27, 2026 at 01:46AM on Source: MANUEL MAG
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