Charlotte Awbery viral subway 'Shallow' singer meets Ellen, sings the same song to prove she's the real deal
Last week, a video of a young British woman singing an impromptu rendition of the song 'Shallow' on the subway went viral. The internet went gaga over her perfectly executed version of Lady Gaga's Oscar-winning song from the 2019 movie 'A Star Is Born'. And all Charlotte Awbery had been trying to do was catch a train on the London Tube!
It all started when the comedian Kevin Freshwater started challenging random commuters in a London subway station to continue singing a song that he had started as part of his 'Finish The Lyrics' segment. But when Freshwater thrust his microphone in front of a 30-year-old Charlotte Awbery who was on her way to catch a train on the Tube, no one could have expected what came next. The young singer from Essex, who had been singing at weddings and local restaurants as a way to earn money for the last 15 years, gamely accepted the funnyman's proposed song choice and completed the lyrics to the song 'Shallow' by Lady Gaga.
Freshwater was blown away by her unexpected talent and unique vocal stylings, and urged her to keep going, saying she was really good. Encouraged to do so, Charlotte Awbery then took the track to the next level by nailing the powerful high notes of the song, without any warmup or prior preparation. She did such a great job that the comedian Freshwater actually burst out laughing in shock and awe and told Charlotte how brilliant she was.
And once the clip hit the internet, it immediately took the music-loving world by storm and went viral - talk about 'A star is born'. However, to some folks (like Perez Hilton), it seemed too good to be true - people actually started speculating that the clip had been staged or manufactured in order to showcase what a great voice Charlotte Awbery had.
But that wasn't the case, and to set matters straight, the daytime talk show host Ellen DeGeneres brought Charlotte Awbery onto 'The Ellen Show' to show that her amazing cover hadn't just been a flash in the pan. "All she was trying to do was catch a train on the London Tube and now she has one of the hottest videos on the internet," said DeGeneres before Awbery was invited to prove that she was actually the real deal.
And the young English singer did an amazing job, absolutely nailing her cover of 'Shallow', proving once and for all that, her viral video success hadn't been a fluke. That initial video has now been viewed over 60 million times, and even earned Awbery over half a million Instagram followers, among them the pop star Ariana Grande!
Afterward, the singer emphatically denied that her initial performance had been part of a promotional stunt. "I was literally on my way to meet my friend," she admitted, before confessing to Ellen, "I'm sorry, I'm so blown away that I'm actually sitting next to you. Honestly, I'm absolutely overwhelmed with all of this. Thank you so much for having me."
Ellen also lived up to her "The Generous" nickname by gifting Charlotte with a year-long pass to the London Tube and £10,000. Looks like having some talent can definitely pay off! The visibly-moved Awbery credited her father for being a major inspiration to her, saying "My dad always said to me, 'Wherever you are, always sing. Never give up.' He was right." We hope we get to see more of her fantastic singing chops in the future! Someone give her a record deal already!