You may have already heard the old saying, “never judge a book by its cover.” This saying perfectly fits the story about Emily Zamourka.
She is a homeless woman who has captured the hearts of people all over the internet with her incredibly beautiful operatic voice. While Zamourka sang in the LA subway, she got discovered and now, she’s on the road to becoming a star.
Winding up on the streets
Zamourka is a pianist and violinist from Russia who came to the US around 30 years ago. Once in the US, she started teaching music to pay her bills. Unfortunately, she developed a number of serious health issues and this caused her to rack up huge medical bills.
Naturally, this took a toll on her finances. Even though she worked multiple jobs to pay for everything, she always seemed to live from paycheck to paycheck. Then her violin got stolen.
This devastated her because she loved that instrument and she also used it to earn money. Sadly, the talented woman from Russia ended up on the streets only relying on the money she receives from the government to stay alive.
Incredible talent
Despite her situation, Zamourka used her talent – this time, her beautiful voice – to captivate the commuters on the subway while earning extra cash. Then one day, an officer of the LAPD whose last name was Frazier recorded Zamourka as she sang a well-known Puccini aria.
Then he posted the video on the Twitter account of the department where it quickly garnered a million views. Without Zamourka even knowing, her incredible voice already became famous and it was about to change her life.
A new opportunity
After Zamourka’s video went viral, new opportunities came knocking on her door. People had set up GoFundMe accounts in her name and these garnered donations more than $100,000. She even received an invitation to sing at the opening ceremony of Little Italy in San Pedro.
One particular opportunity took the cake as it came from Joel Diamond, the Grammy-nominated producer. After watching the viral video of Zamourka singing in the subway, Diamond offered her a contract to be part of his label, Silver Blue Records. Through Zamourka, Diamond hoped to create an innovative crossover record for the subway soprano.
Diamond always wants to think outside of the box. When he saw Zamourka video, his instinct told him that the woman didn’t just have a great story, but she also had a great career ahead of her. All she needed was for someone to give her a chance to reach her dreams.
However, there isn’t any news on whether Zamourka has declined or accepted this offer.
An encounter she will never forget
Just recently, Zamourka met Officer Frazier personally. She thanked him for recording her and posting the video for everyone to see. As they shared a warm hug, she burst into tears. Because of Officer Frazier’s video, she now has a brighter future.
Someday, she dreams of working in music again so she can get off the streets and live a better life.