Jane Kristen Marczewski (December 29, 1990 – February 19, 2022), known professionally as Nightbirde, was an American singer-songwriter. Previously having released two EPs and several singles, Nightbirde auditioned on ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribut ...

'' in 2021, where she received a Golden Buzzer for her original song "It's OK". However, she decided to withdraw from ''AGT'' before the quarterfinals, because of worsening health due to cancer. Marczewski died on February 19, 2022. She was 31 years old.

Early life and education

Marczewski was born on December 29, 1990. She was originally from Zanesville, Ohio, and had three siblings. Marczewski started songwriting at age six, when she helped her mother finish the lyrics for a song. As a young Christian, she volunteered and participated in various church ministries. Marczewski was a 2009 graduate of

Licking County Licking County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. At the 2020 census, the population was 178,519. Its county seat is Newark. The county was formed on January 30, 1808, from portions of Fairfield County. It is ...

Christian Academy, and graduated from

Liberty University Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Liberty i ...

(in

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch (1740–1820), John Lynch, the city's populati ...

) with a

marketing communications Marketing Communications (MC, marcom(s), marcomm(s) or just simply communications) refers to the use of different marketing channels and tools in combination.Tomse, & Snoj, 2014 Marketing communication channels focus on how businesses communicate ...

degree.

Music career

Marczewski uploaded her first songs, and gave her first live performance in 2011, while a student at

. She released a three-song EP in 2012, called ''Lines'', on which she sang and played acoustic guitar. In 2013, she released ''Ocean & Sky'', a six-song EP that she funded on

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

. Remaining in Lynchburg after graduating, Marczewski was a popular performer locally. She returned to Ohio in 2014, and following her marriage, moved in 2015 to

Nashville, Ohio Nashville is a village in Holmes County, Ohio, United States. The population was 183 at the 2020 census. History In 1833, Nashville contained six houses and one tavern. Geography Nashville is located at (40.596018, -82.113175). According to ...

(where she later resumed performing under her married name, Jane Claudio, with her husband acting as her producer). Credited as Jane Marczewski-Claudio, she contributed music for the 2015 documentary film, '' Leonard Knight: A Man & His Mountain''. Nightbirde adopted her professional stage name based on a recurring dream, in which birds sang outside her window at night in anticipation of the morning. She explained: "It felt so poetic that these birds were singing as if it were morning, and yet there was no sign of it yet, and that’s what I want to embody." When asked the meaning behind her name by a fan on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

, Nightbirde responded: Nightbirde's style, a mix of

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

and pop, evolved into

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

. Her first single as Nightbirde was "Girl in a Bubble", released in March 2019, along with a music video. In April 2019, she opened for

Tori Kelly Victoria Loren Kelly (born December 14, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter, and voice actress. She first gained recognition after posting videos on YouTube as a teenager, and made it through to Hollywood week on the ninth season of ''Americ ...

at Liberty University. In August 2020, following her second

cancer diagnosis Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

and

remission Remission often refers to: *Forgiveness Remission may also refer to: Healthcare and science *Remission (medicine), the state of absence of disease activity in patients with a chronic illness, with the possibility of return of disease activity *R ...

, she released "It's OK" (her most popular song). Nightbirde peaked at No. 3 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' "Emerging Artists" chart in June 2021. Her song "New Year's Eve (The Remix)" peaked at No. 14 on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

in December 2021. It also charted in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. In March 2022, Nightbirde's song "It's OK" appeared during an episode of ''

Good Trouble ''Good Trouble'' is the tenth studio album by REO Speedwagon, released in 1982 as a follow-up to ''Hi Infidelity''. It peaked at #7 on the ''Billboard'' charts. The single " Keep the Fire Burnin'" gave the band a #7 hit on ''Billboard''s Pop S ...

''. Her 2021 song "Brave" was officially released posthumously as a single in April 2022. Her 2019 song "Fly" was officially released as a single by her family on July 4, 2022.

''America's Got Talent''

In June 2021, Nightbirde performed during the 16th season auditions on ''

''. During her appearance, she offered two inspirational statements: Nightbirde subsequently received a Golden Buzzer from Simon Cowell for her performance of her original song "It's OK". The song became No. 1 on

and No. 2 trending on YouTube. In August 2021, before she could compete in the show's quarterfinal round, Nightbirde withdrew from the competition because of worsening health. Cowell encouraged her not to return to the competition, saying "You don't need the stress right now." She appeared via remote broadcast during the live quarterfinals of ''AGT'' to express gratitude, and gave an update about her health on August 11, 2021. In an interview with ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Para ...

'', Cowell said Nightbirde could have gone all the way and been crowned champion, if it had been possible. In July 2022, Cowell ranked his favorite Top 15 Golden Buzzer moments in ''AGT'' history during

season 17 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...

, and Nightbirde placed first.

Personal life

Marczewski was married to musician Jeremy Claudio. The couple separated and divorced in 2020, after which she moved from

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

to Huntington Beach, California (where she was

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

). Nightbirde sold merchandise on social media, and raised money for medical expenses via GoFundMe. She also wrote poetry and painted prior to her death. Frequently posting, the singer's final message and

selfie A selfie () is a self-portrait photograph, typically taken with a digital camera or smartphone, which may be held in the hand or supported by a selfie stick. Selfies are often shared on social media, via social networking services such as F ...

to social media was on January 11, 2022.

Health and death

Marczewski was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017, and declared cancer-free in July 2018. Her cancer recurred in 2019, and she was given three to six months to live, but she was again declared cancer-free in 2020. Prior to her ''

'' audition, Marczewski was told that the cancer had

metastasized Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spread from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, then, ...

to her lungs, spine and liver. With only a 2% chance of survival, she gave health updates on

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

and social media. According to Nightbirde: "I have a two percent chance of survival, but two percent is not zero percent. Two percent is something, and I wish people knew how amazing it is." At the age of 31, Marczewski died from the disease on February 19, 2022. She was surrounded by family in her San Clemente residence. The ''AGT'' judges and host released condolences on social media. A

celebration of life ''Celebration of Life'' is a one-hour English play written and directed by Sachin Gupta Sachin Gupta (born 9 March 1978) is an Indian film producer, writer and director. He produces films under Chilsag Motion Pictures and is also an artis ...

, which was livestreamed, was held at Cornerstone Church in Ohio on March 4, 2022.

Legacy and honors

The Marczewski family created the Nightbirde Foundation
nightbirdefoundation.org
, a 501c3

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

that helps encourage and support young women with breast cancer. '' America's Got Talent: Extreme'' honored Nightbirde at the end of the "Auditions 2" episode on February 28, 2022. A title card with a photo of her read: "In Memory of Jane 'Nightbirde' Marczewski". Inspired by Nightbirde, the Lebanese dance group Mayyas (who received a Golden Buzzer from Sofía Vergara) honored her during the audition episode of '' AGT's season 17'' on June 21, 2022. Nightbirde's song "It's OK" also played in the background, during the beginning and ending of their performance. An emotional tribute to Nightbirde was highlighted during an America's Got Talent special on July 5, 2022. Judge Simon Cowell and host

Terry Crews Terry Alan Crews (born July 30, 1968) is an American actor, television host, and former American footballer. He played Julius Rock in the UPN/ CW sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris'', which aired from 2005 to 2009, and portrayed Terry Jeffords in ...

featured their favorite Golden Buzzer winners, with Nightbirde being ranked the best moment (No. 1), on the

retrospective A retrospective (from Latin ''retrospectare'', "look back"), generally, is a look back at events that took place, or works that were produced, in the past. As a noun, ''retrospective'' has specific meanings in medicine, software development, popu ...

episode. Nightbirde's music was featured again during the ''America's Got Talent'' season 18 auditions in 2023, when the Mzansi Youth Choir from Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, auditioned with a cover of her song "It's OK" and received, for the first time in the show's history; a Golden Buzzer from the audience.

Discography

EPs

As Jane Marczewski: *''Lines'' (2012) *''Ocean & Sky'' (2013)

Singles

As Nightbirde: Note: "Fly" and "Brave" were officially released as singles posthumously in 2022.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nightbirde 1990 births 2022 deaths 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers American women singer-songwriters America's Got Talent contestants Deaths from breast cancer People from Zanesville, Ohio Liberty University alumni Singer-songwriters from Ohio Deaths from cancer in California