America’s Got Talent Contestant Nightbirde Exits Show Amid Cancer Battle

America’s Got Talent contestant Nightbirde, who debuted her original song on the show in June, wowing the judges and winning over the heart of Simon Cowell, who used his season’s Golden Buzzer, is leaving the show amid her ongoing four-year battle with cancer.

Nightbirde, whose real name is Jane Marczewski, a native of Ohio, announced her departure from the show on Instagram saying, “AGT has been an honor and dream come true.”

“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,” the singer-songwriter wrote. “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.”

The 30-year-old singer concluded by thanking her fans for their support in following her dreams. “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.”

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The announcement comes a month after the world first saw Marczewski perform an original song titled “It’s Ok,” which told the story of the hardships of her life while battling cancer over the past year. The performance, which displayed her optimism, earned her a standing ovation from judges Cowell, Heidi Klum, Howie Mendel and Sofia Vergara, who arose with tears in their eyes.

When asked by Mendel how her cancer was before the performance the singer replied, “Last time they checked, I had some cancer in my lungs, my spine and my liver” before blowing the judges away with her performance of her song.

The audition went viral on YouTube, currently having over 30 million views, and the single received over three million streams on Spotify. Although Cowell’s usage of the Golden Buzzer sent the singer straight through to the live shows, she will not be participating in the live rounds that air on August 10 on NBC.

Watch Nightbirde’s emotional performance below.