Taxi driver Menzi Mngoma is riding high on popularity after a video of him singing opera while driving went viral. The clip shows the Uber driver from South Africa singing 'La donna è mobile' from Verdi's Rigoletto. The video was quick to go viral on Facebook and has more than 690,000 views and 2,500 reactions on Facebook. Menzi shot to fame after Kim Davey, a woman from Johannesburg,  who was in Durban for a business trip, recorded his singing. And now, Menzi has become so popular that he has started receiving offers for signing contracts. He will be soon recording a single! Shankar Mahadevan Discovers Kerala Daily Wager Singing His Song, Ready to Work with Him: Video Goes Viral.

The 27-year-old said that his passion for opera wasn't paying his bills as he has a fiancé, kids and parents to support. After the video, he successfully auditioned for Cape Town Opera. BBC quoted Menzi as saying, "I'm so excited with everything that's happening in my life right now – all the gigs I'm getting, people who recognise me, wanting to take photos with me. I feel special seeing my face on TV and in newspapers, as well as doing interviews on the radio." Menzi has been invited to compete in the Voices of South African International Opera Singing Competition in Cape Town.

Watch the video below:

Talking to BBC, Kim Davey said that during the ride, Menzi discovered that he was a self-taught opera singer. She said, "He was forced to take up a job as an Uber driver to support his young family due to a lack of opportunities for singers like himself in the country. I was completely bowled over. I couldn't believe that a man with such talent was unable to use it. After getting his permission to post on Facebook the video I recorded of him, I had no idea it would go viral. And things have just happened so quickly for him since then."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 14, 2019 11:38 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).