If you don’t remember Nightbirde, she was one of America’s Got Talent’s greatest contestants. Her personality, talent, her ability to captivate a room are just a few of the things Nightbirde was known for.
If you need a reminder, here is one of Nightbirde’s most beautiful performances.
As Nightbirde, who is also known as Jane, revealed during her AGT audition that she had been battling cancer for several years. At the time of her audition, she mentioned that the cancer had spread to her lungs, spine, and liver.
She also revealed that she was given only a 2-percent chance of survival. Her audition song was an original called, ‘It’s Ok.’
“You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore until you decide to be happy,” Nightbirde told the audience just before judge Simone Cowell gave her his Golden Buzzer.
On January 11, Nightbirde made her last Instagram post. She admitted to things being hard for her in that moment, but also managed to offer an incredibly poignant message.
“Honestly, things have been pretty brutal. But this is a photo of myself from last week where I felt pretty, and alive, and awake, and human, and real. I needed that,” Jane wrote before quoting her original song from her AGT performance. “We’re all a little lost and it’s alright.”
According to TMZ, Jane passed away on February 20. She was just 31 years old.
Six months ago, in August 2021, Jane revealed that her health, since her run on AGT, took a turn for the worse. “Sharing my heart with the world on AGT has been an honor and a dream come true. My point of view this summer has been astounding. What a miracle that the pain I’ve walked through can be reworked into beauty that makes people all over the world open their eyes wider,” she wrote at the time.
“Since my audition, my health has taken a turn for the worse and the fight with cancer is demanding all of my energy and attention. I am so sad to announce that I won’t be able to continue forward on this season of AGT. Life doesn’t always give breaks to those that deserve it—but we knew that already. Thank you for all your support, it means the world to me. Stay with me, I’ll be better soon. I’m planning my future, not my legacy. Pretty beat up, but I’ve still got dreams.”
And during that time, Jane—as Nightbirde—was still able to make her mark in the music industry. Just before the New Year, Nightbirde released a song that flew to the top of the charts in hours.
You can listen to her song here:
As TMZ reports, Jane was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017, she was only 27.
“(She) was such a bright inspirational light in all our lives. We must continue to live and learn from her words and lyrics,” AGT judge Howie Mandel wrote. “As much as I feel horribly about her passing I feel lucky to have met, heard, and known her.”