A star is born: Watch this UD student astound Michael Buble at Madison Square Garden

The moment clearly is unplanned. When dapper Michael Bublé hands the girl his microphone, she quickly looks back at her sister, almost in disbelief. She brings the microphone closer to her face, nervously tousles her hair, takes a breath — and a star is born.

University of Delaware junior Erin Belluci belted Etta James' "At Last" in front of thousands of Bublé fans at Madison Square Garden this week, resulting in a video of the moment going viral.

Billboard and ABC News have written stories about her. Ryan Seacrest called her "masterful" on "LIVE with Kelly and Ryan."

Bublé has been known to hand the mic to fans at his concerts. And Belluci did not fail to impress the crooner, who is known for songs "Haven't Met You Yet" and "Feeling Good.'"  

Belluci, a music education major and singer in the UD a capella group Golden Blues, told her West Hartford, Connecticut, hometown paper We-Ha.com that Bublé asked the audience Wednesday, Feb. 20, if they had a song they liked to sing in the shower. She and her sister started jumping up and down.

They were in the front row, and Bublé came over to them. He handed the UD student the microphone.

As Belluci sang, Bublé looked delighted as he sat on the edge of the stage. He mouthed "wow" during her performance. And the crowd ate it up. 

"Ladies and gentlemen," Bublé exclaimed, "your next American Idol." 

Yesterday, Belluci wrote on her Facebook page that she is "speechless" from all of the praise. 

"I am the luckiest girl in the world," she wrote. "Thank you Michael Bublé forever."

Contact Meredith Newman at (302) 324-2386 or mnewman@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @MereNewman. 

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