Teen serenaded by Florence & The Machine dies of cancer months after their duet

 Posted on April 30, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  467 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

The 15-year-old cancer patient who dueted with Florence & The Machine in a viral video earlier this year has died. 

Karinya Chen, who battled bone cancer for five years, passed away in Austin, Texas, on Saturday.

She touched millions of people around the world when she perfectly harmonized with the British Grammy-winning band while lying in her hospice ward in May. 

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 In harmony: Florence + The Machine gave the patient their undivided attention

Making her day:  Florence Welch held the hand of the 15-year-old patient at Hospice Austin's Christopher House in May as she and the girl sang Shake It Out and Dog Days Are Over while backed by the frontwoman's bandmate Rob Ackroyd on guitar

Making her day:  Florence Welch held the hand of the 15-year-old patient at Hospice Austin's Christopher House in May as she and the girl sang Shake It Out and Dog Days Are Over while backed by the frontwoman's bandmate Rob Ackroyd on guitar

Days before her death last week she gave a moving interview urging people to be grateful

Days before her death last week she gave a moving interview urging people to be grateful

Karinya had bought tickets to see the band in Austin. But as her bone cancer advanced, doctors said she was too sick to go.

However, staff at Hospice Austin's Christopher House brought the concert to Karinya.

They contacted Florence Welch, the 29-year-old lead singer, who dropped all her travel plans to hold an impromptu private gig at Karinya's side. 

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A video of the scene, posted on YouTube, went viral, with millions of viewers in just a few minutes. 

Florence held Karinya's hand as they both sang Shake It Out and Dog Days Are Over backed by bandmate Rob Ackroyd on guitar.  

Karinya's mother, Jennifer took to Instagram to express her gratitude towards Welch, writing, '@florence of #Florence&TheMachine is such a beautiful and kind soul!. She brought so much joy to all of us today. What a blessing!' 

She added: 'Florence is not only an awesome artist but an even more amazing human being! She made my sweet pear so happy today.'

Last week, just five days before her death, Karinya spoke to NBC News with remarkable strength as she contemplated her disease.

'Honestly, I think the biggest thing is to not worry and fear,' Karinya said. 

'I tear up a little bit when I say that because it's hard fighting and it's a difficult thing every single day and just to get past every single day.

'But you just have to remember that there's always tomorrow and if you take it one day at a time and just tell yourself don't worry and don't take things for granted and tell yourself that you are loved and you are blessed then it makes it a lot easier to fight.'  

Making her smile: The teen smiled during her private concert with the star

Sing along: The teen joined Florence in on the song as well 

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