Jane Marczewski, a Liberty University graduate who goes by Nightbirde onstage, recently wowed the judges of America’s Got Talent and all of America with her audition performance of “It’s OK,” a vulnerable and honest song Marczewski wrote about her ongoing journey with cancer. The performance was so good, she snagged one of the show’s rarest gifts: a “golden buzzer” that will catapult her through the rest of the audition process.
Shortly before her 30th birthday, Marczewski found out she had cancer again for a third time. This time, the doctors explained that it was in her lungs, spine and liver, and she had roughly a two percent chance of survival.
“But two percent isn’t zero,” Marczewski said. Her hopeful attitude is evident in her stage name, Nightbirde. Marczewski explained to the alma mater that she chose the name from a recurring dream she had before her diagnosis: for three straight nights, she dreamed about birds singing in darkness. On the third night, she woke up and could hear birds singing outside her window.
“I want to be that way, even when I am in the middle of a dark time and there are no signs that it will end,” Marczewski explained to the Liberty Journal. “I want to be the bird that sings in anticipation of the good things that I trust are coming.”
The Liberty University graduate has been outspoken about the emotional and physical journey on her blog. She decided to share her journey on stage at her audition.
“It’s important that everyone knows I’m so much more important than the bad things that happen to me,” said Marczewski. “You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy.”
With a bright and glowing smile on her face, Marczewski sang about the feeling we all know too well: feeling lost in the midst of difficulty.
Her performance moved everyone to tears, including Simon Cowell, the TV show’s toughest judge, who gave her the coveted Golden Buzzer, meaning she will skip the rest of the audition process and proceed straight to live show performances.
