America's Got Talent 'fan favorite' Jane 'Nightbirde' Marczweski will release her debut album posthumously one year after she died of cancer.
Marczewski, died aged 31, last February six months after her battle with breast cancer led her to withdraw from the singing competition.
Her loved ones will now release It's OK - a collection of 10 songs - in her memory. Proceeds will go to a breast cancer foundation set up in Marczewski's name.
The Ohio singer passed away following months of treatment after the disease had spread to her lungs, spine, and liver, a source told TMZ at the time.
The 31-year-old, who earned the coveted Golden Buzzer from an emotional Simon Cowell during the season, will be remembered through the album which is hoped to show that 'joy can come from sorrow.
America's Got Talent 'fan favorite' Jane 'Nightbirde' Marczweski will release her debut album posthumously with the help of her family one year after she died of cancer
The 31-year-old, who earned the coveted Golden Buzzer from an emotional Simon Cowell during the season, will be remembered through the album which is hoped to show that 'joy can come from sorrow'
'We are thrilled to announce that @_nightbirde debut album, It's OK, is available for pre-order today,' The Nightbirde Foundation, who help women battling cancer, said in a statement.
'This album doesn't pit emotions against one another, but rather it shows joy can come through sorrow.
'Jane would be so proud of this album, but more than that, she'd be proud of the work that the Nightbirde Foundation is doing to help others find hope and healing in the midst of tragedy.'
The album was recorded with the help of Marczewski's older brother Mitch, during her journey with cancer and is a 'reflection of her strength and the battle she was fighting' in her own words.
The album is split between an A and B side, with the first being a pop album and the second side featuring the same songs in a stripped-back version.
It will commemorate the singer's angelic vocals and endless optimism across 10-tracks.
'We miss Jane terribly, but are so glad her work to bring hope and healing to others continues, even with her being in Heaven,' the statement continues.
Proceeds from album sales will go to The Nightbirde Foundation, an organization she and her brother, Mitch, launched to help raise funds for breast cancer treatment.
Marczewski is Cowell's all-time favorite Golden Buzzer Audition.
'What was so special about Jane, in my opinion, was she was always optimistic. She recently passed away, which makes this tough, but all she kept talking about was her music,' revealed Cowell after her passing.
'You know what? It's difficult, I haven't been able to watch [her Audition video] since she passed.
'You know, she typifies, I think, what the Golden Buzzer, like you said, is all about. She knew how sick she was and she couldn't make the Finals, but I think watching it back, it makes you feel hopeful.
'Her Golden Buzzer will live on forever. No one else, in my opinion, could be number one.
Marczewski amazed the AGTjudges and viewers alike when she performed a poignant original song, 'It's OK,' for her audition, earning a Golden Buzzer from Cowell.
Less than two months later, she stunned everyone again by announcing that she had to quit because her cancer had 'taken a turn for the worse.'
AGT judge Howie Mandel paid tribute to the late Marczewski on Twitter and said she was 'such a bright inspirational light in all our lives.'
'We must continue to live and learn from her words and lyrics,' he added. 'As much as I feel horribly about her passing I feel lucky to to have met, heard and known her.
Host Terry Crews offered his condolences on Instagram.
'We are saddened to learn about @_nightbirde's Passing,' he captioned a photo of Marczewski on the show. 'Our Condolences goes to her Closest Family & Friends in such of This difficult time. We Love you, Nightbirde.'
The album was recorded with the help of Marczewski's older brother Mitch, during her journey with cancer and was named after her AGT audition debut
The album is split between an A and B side, with the first being a pop album and the second side featuring the same songs in a stripped-back version
Marczewski, who went by the stage name Nightbirde, amazed the AGT judges and viewers alike when she performed a poignant original song on the competition show in June
She earned effusive praise from the judges, with the infamously tough Simon Cowell hitting the Golden Buzzer to send her directly to the live show's quarterfinals.
AGT judges Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, and Sofia Vergara gave Marczewski a standing ovation after her audition
Judge Heidi Klum also shared a picture of Marczewski on her Instagram Stories, writing: 'We love you. Rest in peace @_nightbirde.'
Her sentiments were echoed by fellow judge Sofia Vergara, who wrote on her own Instagram: 'Rest in power @_nightbirde.
'You were a true inspiration to all. Sending so much love to Nightbirde's family and friends.
'She was something special.'
Marczewski was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017. She was in remission when it returned in a metastatic state.
In 2019, a doctor gave her a two percent chance of survival, estimating she only had three to six months to live.
She once again beat the odds and was in remission when the cancer returned in 2021 for the third and final time.
Marczewski had previously opened up about her cancer battle during an interview with former CNN host Chris Cuomo in August after she dropped out of the show.
She revealed that her liver was 'more cancer than liver' at that point, admitting that she had a 'bad, bad month' since she got the news.
But just as she charmed viewers with her remarkably upbeat attitude on AGT, she also demonstrated an admirably positive mindset on CNN, explaining how she managed to avoid feeling 'bitter' thanks to her 'rebellious hope.'
Marczewski became an instant fan favorite when she appeared on AGT last summer, sharing the story of her cancer battle and singing an original song about being OK while feeling lost.
She earned effusive praise from the judges, with the infamously tough Cowell appearing to tear up before hitting the Golden Buzzer, sending her directly to the live show's quarterfinals.
But weeks later, she announced that she was leaving the competition because her cancer battle had become too 'demanding.'
Though she kept a brave face, she admitted on CNN that she's was having a hard time.
'I have been curled up in a ball like a little cocktail shrimp having an A-plus pity party for myself, cause it's just been a bad, bad month,' she said.
'It's been really pretty devastating.
'I'm not a quitter, so it was really really hard for me to say that I couldn't finish the show,' she added.
Marczewski shared that about a week before she had received the 'shocking news' that her cancer regrowth had taken over her lungs and liver.
While she admitted that it was difficult, she continued to cling to optimism.
'But, like I said, I'm planning my future, not my legacy. And some people would call that blind denial but I prefer to call that rebellious hope. And I'm not stopping any time soon,' she said.
'When we're going through stuff like this where, really, the pain is too much to bear sometimes, it makes no sense at all. If we can hold onto a dream for the future, sometimes that's all we need to get through.
The Ohio native was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017 and was in remission when it returned a few years later
Marczewski was given just a two percent chance of survival in 2019, but she beat the odds and was cancer-free until the disease returned for the third time in 2021
She explained in her Instagram post that her 'fight with cancer is demanding all of my energy and attention'
'And I believe in dreams for all of our lives that originated in the imagination of God. And just think about, 'Don't you wanna see what happens if you don't give up? Don't you wanna see what happens?' That's what I keep saying to myself,' she went on.
'When you're faced with so many blows to the gut in a row — like I have over the past several years — you find out what you're made of, in a sense. And you're given the opportunity to choose what you want to become.
When asked if she ever 'wallowed or asked, 'Why me?' Marczewski said she doesn't bother.
'I try not to occupy myself with questions that are too big for myself to answer,' she explained. It's a waste of time. Just because it's a mystery doesn't mean it's the absence of meaning.
'Sometimes the mystery means there's more meaning there than we can even understand. And so I accept that and I let go of the questions because it's too heavy,' she added.
'When you go through something that is so devastating, makes no sense, there's no answers, you kind of have the choice: Am I gonna become bitter? Or am I not? You do have a choice. You do get to decide what becomes of you, in a sense.
