For Raquel Reigns, the spotlight is underneath the elevated 7 train tracks in Sunnyside, Queens.
Reigns discovered the incredible echoing acoustics underneath the train viaduct by accident — while commuting to her day job as a behavioral therapist.
What You Need To Know
- Raquel Reigns is a behavioral therapist by day
- She moved to the city three years ago with dreams of performing on Broadway
- She was cast in an off-Broadway production last March but it was cancelled due to the pandemic
- So, Reigns created a TikTok sharing videos of herself singing under the elevated subway tracks in Sunnyside, Queens
“I’m naturally just singing in public anyways — so I was singing under here and my sound just started to reverberate and echo. And I was like ‘whoa! Hold up…hello?’ And then I was like (sings) laaaaaaa! And it just took off from there,” said Reigns.
She posted her first 'subway sessions' video on TikTok last April.
Since then, she’s gained more than 900,000 followers and her videos have been viewed millions of times.
Reigns moved to the city from California three years ago, with dreams of performing on Broadway.
She says she was cast in an off-Broadway play last March but the pandemic forced all performances to come to a halt.
Since then, TikTok has been her creative outlet.
“I just started singing and uploading people’s request to my TikTok, and my following just grew and grew and grew. And I’m just so grateful to everyone supporting and believing in me,” said Reigns.
Reigns also gets a lot of love from the locals. Whether it’s a thumbs up from a passer-by or people who stop to listen.
“We heard this beautiful voice echoing under the subway system. And it stopped us in our tracks. We both put our hands on hearts and it literally brought us to tears,” said Angelique Mann, a Sunnyside resident.
“I’m glad she’s getting the recognition she deserves,” said Freddy Brown, a NYC DOT maintenance worker.
No small feat in-between the sounds of New York City.
Between the 7 train rumbling upstairs and traffic on the ground level — patience is key.
"If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere,” said Reigns.