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Homeless subway singer reunites with officer who helped launch her viral fame

A video of Emily Zamourka singing opera in the subway has captivated the world and led to an outpouring of support.

A homeless woman whose angelic singing voice mesmerized the nation has reunited with the Los Angeles police officer who helped her gain national attention.

An LAPD officer recorded a video of Emily Zamourka singing and the department's twitter account shared it on Sep. 26 with the caption "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."

The video has more than 5,000 retweets and 15,800 likes. 

On Wednesday night, the LAPD posted another video of Zamourka hugging Officer Frazer, the man who took the video. 

"We saw with our brains, but we listened with our hearts," the tweet read. "Her voice continues to captivate our city, and as the offers for help pour in, we asked: “Emily, what can we do for you?” Her answer: “I want to thank Officer Frazier for taking the video.” Her wish was granted tonight."

Almost $100,000 has been raised on GoFundme sites for Zamourka since the video was first posted. People have also offered to buy her a new violin, which was stolen and broken several years ago. The violin was worth thousands of dollars, according to Zamourka. 

"It was my income," Zamourka told KNBC-TV. "It was everything to me."

On Thursday, Joel Diamond, head of record company Silver Blue Records told "Good Morning America" he had reached out to Zamourka about the possibility of a record deal.

Still others are trying to help her find long-term housing.

City Councilman Joe Buscaino's office is paying Zamourka to perform Saturday evening at the opening of Little Italy, an area in San Pedro celebrating Italian heritage.

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People also have been stopping in the subway to photograph her or give her kind words.

The support and recognition are "a miracle," Zamourka said.

Zamourka, 52, told the Los Angeles Times that she came to the United States at age 24 from Russia, where she learned violin and piano. She lived and worked in Missouri and in Washington state, where she offered piano lessons.

Zamourka said in 2005, she suffered serious health problems from a failing pancreas and liver and had to be hospitalized. She eventually returned to teaching music in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale and played violin on the streets for extra money.

If you want to help Emily, you can support one of two GoFundMe fundraisers, here and here.

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