Taylor Swift gives rare, emotional performance of 'Ronan'

GLENDALE, Ariz., Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Taylor Swift's 1989 tour took an emotional turn Monday as the singer gave a rare performance of her song 'Ronan', based on a blog from Maya Thompson, the mother of a little boy Ronan who died of cancer at age 4.

Performing live in front of a sold-out crowd in Glendale, Ariz., the 25-year-old gave a heartfelt speech about how Ronan's story affected her and gave a special shout-out to his mother present at the concert.

"In my opinion, one of the bravest things that a human being could do is go go through something absolutely unbearable and then share their experience with the world. And I think the braver you are, the more brutally honest you are,"Swift told the cheering crowd.

"There's a woman here tonight named Maya Thompson," she continued, strumming her guitar. "And she has lived in this area and brought her kids up in this area. And I wouldn't know half as much as I know about childhood cancer and childhood cancer research if she hadn't shared her story about her son Ronan."

Holding back tears, the star continued to talk about the blog and how she relates it to her own life since announcing back in April that her own mother had been diagnosed with cancer.

"I would read it every night," she recalled. "And in it was this account of what it's like to watch cancer take over your life. And since then, I've had cancer hit really close to me in my family."

Swift then performed the song 'Ronan' which was originally released as a charity to help support the Ronan Thompson Foundation and various other cancer charities.

Thompson posted pictures and videos from the concert to Instagram thanking the musician for the special moment.

Donantions to the Ronan Thompson Foundation can be made here.