Charlotte Awbery, the Viral Subway Singer, Sang ‘Shallow’ on ‘Ellen’—And Crushed It

“Shallow”—Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s Oscar-winning song from A Star Is Born—is still out here changing lives. Just last week the world became obsessed with British singer Charlotte Awbery, who went viral after she was filmed belting the song while commuting in a London subway station.

The video has been viewed more than 60 million times and even helped propel the song back into the top 40 on iTunes. She’s also racked up more than 400,000 followers on Instagram, including one Miss Ariana Grande.

Now she’s performed “Shallow” live on The Ellen DeGeneres Show—and sounded equally amazing. Awbery sat down with host Ellen DeGeneres on Wednesday, February 26, to explain what this whirlwind has been like. While some people thought the initial video must have been staged, she insists it was not. She was simply taking the tube to go meet some friends. She is, however, a professional singer who’s been doing weddings and performing in pubs and restaurants for 15 years.

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“I’m absolutely overwhelmed by all of this,” she said, before revealing some advice her father gave her. “My dad always said to me, ‘Wherever you are, just sing. Never ever give up.’ And he was right.” Kevin Freshwater, who recorded the video, was also in the crowd at Ellen. He said he’d been recording people around London for two weeks when he came across Awbery. “She just blew me away,” he said. “I was just in shock.” He added, "She deserves this. I was come to tears then, watching you sing. You deserve this.”