A California woman’s video of her group singing along with an entertainer performing at an empty New York City restaurant has gone viral.
Mishelle Ferro shared her TikTok video one week ago and it’s already picked up nearly 7 million views.
"Saw a man performing to an empty restaurant in NYC … So we … started cheering him up and singing along and then… [he] performed for us with his whole heart and soul,” Ferro wrote on text overlaid on her video clip.
The 27-year-old substitute teacher aide told ABC News she was on a trip to the Big Apple with her husband, sister, brother-in-law and a friend earlier this month when they stumbled on 63-year-old Tom Riccobono, singing and playing guitar at a restaurant in Times Square.
“He's singing towards the restaurant but the doors behind him are completely open and he was singing so passionately,” Ferro told ABC News of the Oct. 4 encounter.
“And then we realized that [from] what we can see, there was no one inside. Maybe there's people further in but the tables near him -- empty,” Ferro continued. “So he was giving this passionate performance to no one.”
Riccobono, the veteran Times Square performer who stars in the video, said going viral has been a “surreal feeling.”
“I got a lot going on but the meat and potatoes of who I am is what you saw in that video. That's really what I do for my living,” Riccobono told ABC News.
Riccobono and Ferro’s group were singing along to the late Avicii’s 2013 hit song, “Wake Me Up,” as revealed in another follow-up TikTok video post from Ferro.
“We enjoyed it so much, we must have been there, and all in all, maybe eight to 10 minutes. But in those eight to 10 minutes, we had a blast,” said Ferro.
Riccobono, who plays the guitar, harmonica, ukulele, and piano, said their rousing singalong took place during a typical lull in the evening.
“All those bars in Times Square, during the theater hour on a Saturday night, are going to be dead,” he explained. “What happens is at 10:15 [p.m.], the theaters get out, people start moving around, the place is full by 11, and that's what happened that night.”
Both Ferro and Riccobono said they’re surprised by how much the video has struck a chord with social media users.
“It just honestly makes me happy that this little video reached so many people and gave him more exposure,” said Ferro.
“A lot of exciting stuff, little stuff has happened along the way. But I'm 63 now, and, you know, magical stuff doesn't happen like that,” Riccobono added about going viral. “I'm working my heart out no matter. But to get a little bit of love in this way, it's too much.”
Ferro said she hopes her viral video can remind people to slow down and soak in the smaller moments in life.
“We live such busy lives, but sometimes, just taking a moment and stop and look around, one little thing that you do that maybe I think, won't mean much, can have a huge impact,” she said.
Riccobono, meanwhile, said he hopes to keep “rockin’” for another 15 to 20 years as he offered some hard-earned advice for young performers coming up.
“Focus on the act. You got to work on the act. And all that [other] stuff will come easily,” he said.
