Simon Cowell Chokes Up During Nightbirde’s Virtual Return to ‘AGT': ‘You Haven’t Let Anyone Down’ (Video)
Nightbirde may not be competing on “America’s Got Talent” this season, but on Wednesday night, she made a virtual appearance on the show once more, and her message of hope nearly brought judge Simon Cowell to tears.
Jane Marczewski, who performs under the stage name Nightbirde, went viral for scoring a Golden Buzzer from Cowell, but unfortunately had to drop out of the competition last week to focus on her health as she battles cancer. During an appearance on Chris Cuomo’s show on CNN on August 4, Nightbirde revealed that “my liver right now is mostly cancer. More cancer than liver in there right now.”
“But like I said, I’m planning my future, not my legacy. Some people would call that blind denial. I prefer to call it rebellious hope. And I’m not stopping anytime soon,” she added.
On Wednesday’s episode of “AGT,” Nightbirde appeared virtually to talk to the judges and audience, thanking everyone for their support of both her and her song “It’s Okay,” which host Terry Crews noted has been viewed more than 200 million times.
“It’s a song that I wrote for myself in the middle of the night, when I needed those words so bad,” Nightbirde said. “And it’s beautiful to see the world welcome that song into their own dark night, and I’m overwhelmed by it.”
The judges then each took a moment to speak to Nightbirde directly. When it came time for Simon Cowell to speak, he reiterated their support for the singer, before getting close to tears.
“You made the decision, rightly so, that your health is your priority right now and I know the last time we spoke you actually said that you feel like you let people down,” Cowell told her, holding back tears. “On behalf of all of us, you haven’t let anyone down. Even though you haven’t competed – you already won.”
You can watch the full video of Nightbirde’s return to “AGT” above.