‘Subway Soprano’ Emily Zamourka, a homeless singer who became a viral sensation overnight, couldn’t hold back tears when talking to Ruptly after her first big stage performance. She said she’s starting a full-time music career.

Speaking to RT’s video agency Ruptly after her performance at the opening of the New Little Italy district in Los Angeles, the Russian-born Zamourka said she felt “like never before in her entire life.” She sang an aria from Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini.

I feel this is... my chance of teaching people the real me, who I was the whole time.

It all started with a tweet of Los Angeles Police Department that launched the miraculous transformation of Zamourka’s life from a homeless woman sleeping on the cardboard to a celebrity with an offer of a recording contract from Grammy-nominated producer. LAPD posted a video of Zamourka singing on the platform of Koreatown metro station, taken by one of the officers. More than 1.1 million of people watched her performance – and many were impressed by her singing skills.

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. pic.twitter.com/VzlmA0c6jX — LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) 27 September 2019

But before reaching this high point in her life, Zamourka did experience quite a few lows. Her prized $10,000 violin was grabbed and destroyed by a man after a street performance in 2016, depriving the woman of her main source of income. Someone then pushed her off a bus, causing her to fracture her wrist, and ending her playing career for good. She also suffered severe health problems, and was eventually unable to pay her rent.

I don’t deserve all those bad things that people did to me, I’ve never done anything bad to anybody, all I wanted was to touch people’s spirits with my music.

And touch the spirits she did, with hundreds of fans now donating to Emily via GoFundMe to help her out of her situation, with more than $67,000 raised since Tuesday.Emily is very thankful. The vocalist burst into tears, describing how hopeful she had previously been that some of the videos of her singing taken by passers-by would attract attention.

People recorded me a lot but I’ve never seen it. So I guess now they get to be revealed and it just touches me because... I just went back to how I was, and I want to go back to how it was, and this is going to help me.

Zamourka said she wanted to become a “working artist” and it was something “she is already doing today.” Music producer Joel Diamond, who made her a contract offer, earlier said that he’s already recorded some tracks, which feature “a classical crossover with EDM.” An album titled Paradise is now in the works.

Emily Zamourka was born in Russia, where she learned classical singing and the violin. She emigrated to the United States in 1992. Zamourka gave piano and violin classes to make a living until her health deteriorated. Friends from Russia and the US helped her get by, but after one American who aided with her bills died of a heart attack, she was left all on her own.

WATCH FULL INTERVIEW WITH EMILY ZAMOURKA:

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