TORONTO -- A homeless subway singer in Los Angeles was stunned to learn she became a viral sensation after a police officer captured her beautiful voice on camera and posted it to Twitter.
“I do it in the subway because it sounds so great,” Emily Zamourka told KABC-TV. “I feel like I’m already there.”
The 52-year-old said music has always been her love and a way to make ends meet following a serious health challenge.
She used to play her violin in downtown Los Angeles before it was stolen.
“That’s when I become homeless when I couldn’t pay any of my bills and couldn’t pay my rent,” she said. She was evicted and struggled to find a place to call home.
“I’m sleeping where I can sleep,” Zamourka said. “I have people who feel sorry for me, but I don’t want to be a burden to anybody.”
On Sept. 26, the Los Angeles Police Department posted a one-minute video of Zamourka belting out a Giacomo Puccini aria at a subway stop in Koreatown.
The social media post reads: “4 million people call LA home. 4 million stories. 4 million voices...sometimes you just have to stop and listen to one, to hear something beautiful.”
As of Tuesday, the tweet has garnered more than 3,000 shares and nearly 11,000 likes.
Zamourkahopes the viral post will turn things around for her.
“I will be so grateful to anyone who is trying to help me get off the streets and to have my own place and to have my instrument,” she told KABC-TV, fighting back tears.
