Watch: Subway singer Mike Yung got his TV debut with James Corden

Mike Yung went from singing in the subway to singing on an Emmy-nominated TV show. Photo / Youtube

A New York man who was filmed singing in the subway has just made his first television appearance on the Late Late Show with James Corden.

Mike Yung has been singing in the subway for 30 years, but went viral just days ago when this video of him singing the Righteous Brothers' Unchained Melody appeared on Twitter.

life ain't easy. music ain't easy. but I wake up blessed havin anothr day to do what I love pic.twitter.com/uKtzBrb5R2

— MIKE YUNG (@MIKEYUNG) September 8, 2016

It totally exploded online, so much so that James Corden saw it and loved it so much he invited the unknown singer on to his show which has previously hosted performances by the likes of The Kills, One Direction and Sting.

As if he'd been singing on TV his whole life, Yung smashed his performance out of the park and even made house band leader Reggie Watts cry.

On his Twitter account, Yung tells of his struggle to get noticed.

He has "been in the subway for 30 years, stabbed nine times, jumped by an entire project and still chasing my dream," he says.

He says in the decades he's been singing in the subway, he's only received a US$100 note four times, and one of those came from a homeless man who slept on 42nd Street.

Now, he's working on an album, saying: "Got some great people helping me out. Fingers crossed this time. Gonna get me out the subways."

out of the subway and into the studio today. bless 🙏🏾 thank you for the support. pic.twitter.com/oScDEDi0ae

— MIKE YUNG (@MIKEYUNG) September 13, 2016