In case you haven’t heard the story behind Royals, winner of Song of the Year at the Grammy Awards in January, here it is: The song was inspired by a 1976 photo of Kansas City Royals star George Brett. Brett was on the cover of the July 1976 issue of National Geographic, and it was the only time he appeared in the magazine, according to the Kansas City Star. 17-year-old New Zealander Lorde had a collection of old copies of National Geographic, and she happened to come across the issue featuring the photo of Brett. The rest is history.

Via VH1:

“I had this image from the National Geographic of this dude just signing baseballs,” Lorde said. “He was a baseball player and his shirt said, ‘Royals.’ It was just that word. It’s really cool.”

Brett was unable to attend Lorde’s concert in Kansas City Friday, but he did send a gift. Brett autographed a jersey for Lorde, and wrote the message “you are royal to me” inside his number.

.@lordemusic said the #Royals jersey she received from @GeorgeHBrett was one of the coolest things she owns! pic.twitter.com/QnjxfNnWPF — Kansas City Royals (@Royals) March 22, 2014