Woman’s Impromptu Retail Store Karaoke Quickly Turns Into an Epic Viral Video

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Not many people are into department store background music. Often, shoppers are subjected to tinny renditions of outdated pop songs, but a Sam’s Club in New York played host to an unexpected musical talent after one shopper decided to test out a bluetooth karaoke machine in store.

Christina Kokonis-Viggers, or “Stina Marie” to her friends, is a 33-year-old singer from Staten Island. She was out at Sam’s with her bestie Amanda Lasher when Christina was seized by the moment; she saw a karaoke machine and couldn’t resist hooking it up to her mobile phone.

The singer’s song of choice turned heads immediately. Cranking the volume, she belted out an ebullient, pitch-perfect rendition of Liza Minelli’s “Maybe This Time” from the 1972 musical Cabaret. As shoppers passed her by, Christina looked down shyly but soon realized that the whole store was absolutely loving her performance.

As the last note faded in the wake of Christina’s perfect vibrato, shoppers and staff broke into delighted applause. The impromptu mini-concert was caught on camera, and Lasher quickly shared it on Facebook. Nobody, especially not the modest singer herself, could have predicted the wild response.

“My friend posted it that night when we were leaving the store,” Christina told the Hudson Valley News Network. “She said, ‘Christina, you know this is going to go somewhere.'” Christina, however, was dubious, but she couldn’t deny the numbers as the views mounted up.

“We were just sitting there, watching TV,“ the singer continued. ”We both looked at our phones and went, ‘Oh, my God. It’s already at 2,000 tonight!’” And those numbers just kept on climbing. To date, the epic karaoke outburst has been watched over 15 million times.

Christina had to adjust to overnight internet fame. Her awesome Sam’s performance even caught the attention of some pretty impressive figures in the entertainment industry. “It has been a whirlwind,” Christina admitted. “I’m overwhelmed because there are so many women messaging me left and right, saying, ‘We love you,’ and ‘This is amazing.’”