I'VE STILL GOT DREAMS

Nightbirde blew the judges away on America’s Got Talent then withdrew because of cancer but her positive spirit continues to inspire

- ROBYN LUCAS

SHE found fame as a young woman with a bright smile who sang her way into the h ear t s of audi enc e s around the world, capti­ vating even notoriously acerbic judge Simon Co­ well with her velvet voice and unique style. But it wasn’t only her voice that moved the America’s Got Talent (AGT) judges – it was her inspiring tale of courage that brought them to tears and helped the video of her audition go viral around the world.

Nightbirde sang Okay, a song she wrote about her gruelling cancer battle and how she seeks joy in the face of ex­ treme adversity. “It’s important that everyone knows that I’m so much more than the bad things that happen to me,” she said.

“You can’t wait until life isn’t hard any­ more before you decide to be happy.”

Simon was so moved he gave her the golden buzzer, which automatically sent her into the next round of the competi­tion.

But Nightbirde has had to withdraw from the talent search. Her metastatic breast cancer has spread to many parts of her body, including her bones, and she’s become so frail she now weighs just 38,5 kg.

“Since my audition, my health has tak­ en a turn for the worse and the fight with cancer is demanding all of my energy and attention,” she says.

“I bet you never saw someone win so hard and lose so hard at the same time. This isn’t how the story was supposed to go.”

She’s not letting her advanced cancer diagnosis stop her from living, though. The 30­year­old has been going for cancer treatment and is getting back to doing what she loves: singing.