A Watford woman got the shock of her life when what she thought was a live-streamed performance of her hero Mary J Blige from New York turned out to be the singer performing live in front of her.

Rana Otemro, of Westbury Road, was led to believe she was one of 30 fans invited to attend the streaming event in London, after Blige identified her as a superfan through social media.

As part of the ruse, the 29-year-old received a direct video message from Blige apparently from New York to congratulate her on being chosen to attend the show.

But Blige had secretly flown over to London to surprise the 29-year-old in person.

As Rana watched the screen, Mary stepped out from behind it and performed her song Nobody But You in person before inviting her up on stage and singing to her personally.

Rana, who works as an actor, said the surprise was the best moment of her life.

She said: "Mary J Blige is my icon – her music is so honest and real.

"When she appeared in front of my eyes, I had to turn around and check that my friends were seeing the same thing as me - I really couldn’t believe it.

"The moment that she asked me to come up on stage as she sang was incredible."

Rana, who was able to take two friends to the performance, said she had followed Blige on Twitter for several years but never even expected a retweet from the singer.

She continued: "I am going to remember this for the rest of my life.

"I was crying and emotional but she was so down to earth. I walked around with her, she was very encouraging and really nice.

"For someone of her level to be involved in something like this for her fans, it shows how humble she is."

Blige, who performed as part of MasterCard’s Priceless Surprises campaign in support of the 2015 BRIT Awards, said: "My fans inspire me to make music, they are the reason I do what I do.

"It was amazing to be part of this experience and surprise someone who has dedicated so much support to me – I have never surprised a fan on this scale before.

"It was also great to be back in London after recording my most recent album here."