Beyoncé Passes Joe McElderry Mic At Gig

Joe McElderry and praised him for his "beautiful" voice at a gig this week, without realising who he was.

The 2009 winner of The X Factor had gone with pals to see Bey perform in Manchester on Thursday - and jumped at the chance to sing along with her as she held out the microphone to fans in the front row during the opening bars of Love On Top.

YouTube footage shows that the pop megastar is visibly impressed with Joe's performance on the melody at the start of the song - and she can be heard telling him: "You sound beautiful!"

She then tells the crowd: "Alright, I don't know if you all can beat that."

And Joe shared the moment with his followers on Twitter, using lots of exclamation marks.

"SO I HAVE ACTUALLY JUST SANG WITH BEYONCE!! she kept passing the mic back to me!!!!!! i can die a happy man now!!!!!!! she bent down and past the mic during love on top and we had a little sing!!! i am buzzing!!!!

"now im gunna try and sleep haha!! my cousin has my beyonce moment on camera will try get it uploaded tomoz!!"

Joe won reality TV show Popstar To Operastar in 2011, but has been keeping a low profile since - and is currently working on a fifth studio album.

Beyoncé is currently taking her Mrs Carter Show world tour around Britain.