Jane Marczewski, the singer known as Nightbirde who found fame last year on America’s Got Talent and chronicled her battle with breast cancer on social media, died of the disease yesterday. She was 31.
The Zanesville, Ohio, native earned a judges’ standing ovation and the NBC show’s sought-after Golden Buzzer with her audition performance of an original song, “It’s Okay,” last June. Just weeks later, in early August, she announced that she was dropping out of the competition, explaining that her “fight with cancer is demanding all of my energy and attention.”
Today, AGT judge Howie Mandel tweeted his condolences, writing, that Nightbirde “was such a bright inspirational light in all our lives.we must continue to live and learn from her words and lyrics. As much as I feel horribly about her passing I feel lucky to to have met, heard and known her.”
During her audition, Marczewski shared that she was dealing with cancer in her lungs, spine and liver. Her audition video, which can be viewed below, has been brought in nearly 30 million views on YouTube.
Last November, Marczewski spoke with CNN’s Chris Cuomo, and said her treatment had been going well but that her health was improving only slowly. “It’s happening slow little by little, day by day,” she said. “I’m getting a little better. I did get a scan result back and a bunch of stuff that was there disappeared. A bunch of the big stuff has gone down in size so we’re on the way.”
In her most recent Instagram post, on Jan. 11, she wrote, “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. We’re all a little lost and it’s alright.”
TMZ was first to report the death, citing a source with direct knowledge as saying the cancer had spread to her lungs, spine and liver.
Marczewski had first been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017. Following a remission, the cancer returned in a metastatic state.
Information on survivors was not immediately available.
@_nightbirde was such a bright inspirational light in all our lives.we must continue to live and learn from her words and lyrics. As much as I feel horribly about her passing I feel lucky to to have met, heard and known her.
— Howie Mandel (@howiemandel) February 21, 2022