Nurse Choir Earns 'AGT' Golden Buzzer With Emotional 'Lean On Me' Performance

Jun 04, 2021 by apost team

The hit competition series “America’s Got Talent” is known for being the starting place for many undiscovered talent acts. People from all over the United States can audition for the show to show off their skills in a number of different categories, such as singing, dancing, magic tricks and a long list of other abilities.

For many contestants, the show can be life-changing, as they finally have a chance to show off their skills and find a spot in the packed world in the entertainment industry. On top of that, they are able to make fantastic connections with powerful people in the industry, especially with the judges, Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and Sofía Vergara. One of the biggest accomplishments contestants can achieve on the show — aside from winning — is to receive a golden buzzer from one of the judges. The golden buzzer is used when a judge is so blown away by an act that he or she presses it, instantly putting the act through to the live show round of the series, meaning the act gets to skip the next round of auditions.

On June 1, 2021, the audition of a group of 18 nurses was broadcast on national television for the world to see. They showed up strong with a powerful performance that they were ready to share with others. The Northwell Health Nurse Choir from Long Island, New York, performed an inspiring and heartwarming rendition of the classic song “Stand By Me” and “Lean on Me.” Their performance was so breathtaking that it left the judges and audience in complete awe, earning them a golden buzzer from one of the judges.

What makes the Northwell Health Nurse Choir so special is that everyone in the group is a frontline worker. They discovered a passion for singing together and bonded over that shared interest, which is what led them to audition for “America’s Got Talent.” During the pandemic, nurses saw an increase of difficult situations for themselves, and their already stressful job became much more challenging. With better times ahead, the choir decided to use their newfound strength to inspire others with a stunning rendition of “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King and “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers.

“We know that there’s a lot of us out there that are still hurting,” Winnie Mele, one of the choir members, said. “We’re hoping to just shoot out some joy and some love and to let them know that we found our resilience and we’re hoping that they do, as well.”

The Long Island Press reported that the choir members are part of the largest health system in the state of New York, as they belong to a team of 19,000 nurses that work for various Northwell Health hospitals and medical facilities. The choir was created to “spread positivity and forge bonds,” according to the Long Island Press.

When the group took the stage in front of the “America’s Got Talent” judges, it was obvious why they belonged there. The Northwell Health Nurse Choir had a look of passion and earnestness in their eyes as they performed “Stand By Me,” and they swayed beautifully along to the melody of the song. While they mostly sang together harmoniously, there were a few standout singers as well that got to show off their individual talents.

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Just when it seemed like the performance couldn’t get any better, one member of the choir began beat-boxing and the song switched to “Lean on Me.” The group changed up their positions a bit and swayed along to the new rhythm as their vocals stayed stable and strong. The choir did a stunning mash-up of the two songs and completed their mesmerizing performance with a gorgeous note full of harmonies. Completely blown away, all four judges gave the choir a standing ovation.

“One word comes to mind, and it’s heroic,” Mandel said, honoring the group for their unbelievable arrangement. “And what a perfect song.” Mandel was incredibly moved by the performance, so much so that he made his way to the middle of the judges’ table and smashed his hand against the golden buzzer, granting the choir a spot in the live shows.

Instantly a shower of golden confetti fell around the emotional nurses, who all joined together for a group hug while jumping and celebrating the good news. “My golden buzzer this year was more than a knee-jerk reaction to amazing talent,” Mandel explained. “It was also a knee-jerk reaction to amazing talent and heroism.” 

The Northwell Health Nurse Choir was just as blown away by the golden buzzer as the judges were with their performance.

“We are so excited because this is bigger than just us,” one of the members said. “This represents nursing, this represents the patients.” The golden buzzer guaranteed them a spot in the live rounds, bringing them one step closer to the finale with a chance to win a $1 million cash prize.

What did you think about this inspiring performance? Let us know, and be sure to send this to your family and friends so they can watch it, too!