Jane Kristen Marczewski, singing as her persona Nightbirde, caught my heart the first time I saw her AGT Golden Buzzer moment singing her original song, “It’s Ok.” Since then I’ve played that song every morning to remind myself that not only what she sang, but even more incredibly what she said hit me like an infinite, glowing bear hug. During her America’s Got Talent appearance in 2021 she told the judges, “I want people to know that I’m so much more than the bad things that happened to me.” She followed up with, “you can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy.”
Her stage name, Nightbirde, was born out of a dream I’d mark as divine intervention. Her own divine spark was front and center the moment she stepped on stage. Jane described her inspiration for performing as Nightbirde to the America’s Got Talent judges when she “woke up in the night three times, dreaming of birds singing in the dark. The third time, [she] went to the window and they were there singing morning songs at 3am. [She] wanted to be one of them singing as if it was morning, though [she] couldn’t see it yet.”
Jane fought cancer three times until it took her far too soon on February 19, 2022. Even near the end of her life she remained steadfast sharing with her AGT family and the world at the end of her 2021 audition, “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.” It’s this kind of hope that everyone needs right now and always. I watch her AGT performance every morning bringing tears to my eyes, but leaves me with an intense love that’s indescribable. The full performance version is below for you to enjoy.
I truly believe that she wasn’t only human even though it was a human health condition that took her life. The birds that woke her up three times at 3am that inspired her stagename, Nightbirde, were members of her spirit family calling her home.
A foundation was created in her memory to give hope to women, especially those with breast cancer. Visit and support The Nightbirde Foundation here.
“Jane Kristen Marczewski, who forever flies as Nightbirde (1990–2022), is an angel. As a singer-songwriter gifted beyond measure, she embodies a deep love that we all needed in 2021 and need now more than ever. Her resilience and careful attention to her own self care continues inspiring the world years later one heart string at a time.
Even in the face of incredible odds she expresses a hope like no other. At the end of her 2021 performance singing her original song ‘It’s OK’ on America’s Got Talent she said, ‘I have a 2% chance of survival, but 2% is not 0%. 2% is something, and I wish people knew how amazing it is.’
I refer to Jane here in the present tense because she forever alters reality itself. Her gift of hope to the world changes everything. It’s soul-shifting us in ways we all share now in unison. It is the collective divine spark within everyone. It is eternal, and so are we.”
Jane performing her Golden Buzzer song “It’s OK” on AGT in 2021.
Jane’s song “Fly” is in The King of Kings trailer from Angel Studios, 2025.