The Northwell HealthNurse Choir returned to America's Got Talent with an inspiring song, this time with spiritual overtones. Their rendition of "You Will Be Found" earned a standing ovation from the audience and judges—again.
"You would be crazy if you didn't vote them for one of the seven tonight," said Howie Mandell.
"America needs you right now. The world needs you right now," said Simon Cowell.
The choir is made up of eighteen nurses from Northwell Health, a New York-based healthcare provider. They showed up at auditions in full scrubs, ready to take their shot on America's Got Talent stage.
"What makes this choir so special is we're all frontline nurses," said nurse Winnie Mele. "We're not professional singers. We take care of patients."
When Covid broke out in New York last year, the nurses were there on the front lines.
"Back in March, when New York was the epicenter of COVID, we were so scared," said choir-member Christian Montanez. "One patient became 10, 100, 1,000. Nobody knew how many people COVID would kill."
"Patients were dying left and right. We were getting sick. Our families were getting sick. We learned that as long as we stand together, we can do anything," he added.
But on audition night, instead of patients, the nurses took care of business, performing a medley of Ben E. King's "Stand by Me" and Bill Withers' "Lean on Me" to roaring applause from the crowd and a standing ovation from the judges' table.
"We need you," said Simon Cowell. "The world needs you. It's going to touch a lot of people. People are going to remember this audition, and I'm going to remember this audition."
"I had chills when all of you were singing," added Heidi Klum. "It was so beautiful to watch, especially the words to the song, you know, that we all have to lean on each other. I loved it."
But the judge most affected by the performance was Howie Mandell.
"You stand by people you don't know. You watch horror, and you watch strength. And I thought, I just want to stand by you. And I want to stand by you over here," he said, moving to the center of the table. "You know why I want to stand for you? So that I can do... This!"
And with that, Howie Mandell dropped his hand on the Golden Buzzer, sending the Northwell Health Nurses Choir into the quarterfinals and AGT history.
Watch the nurses' latest AGT performance. Their rendition of "You Will Be Found" earned a standing ovation from the audience and judges—again.
