'It Gave Me Goosebumps': School Shooting Survivor Sparks Rousing Standing Ovation After Performing Lauren Daigle Song on 'America's Got Talent'

Billy Hallowell
08-02-2022

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A school shooting survivor wowed “America’s Got Talent” judges and the entire studio audience, sparking a standing ovation and cheers after she performed Lauren Daigle’s song “Remember.”

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Singer Ava Swiss, 18, of Oxford, Michigan, appeared on the show last week and explained her motivation for choosing the Christian song.

“I chose this song because, back on Nov. 30, my brother and I were a part of the Oxford school shooting,” she said, with chatter and shocked reactions immediately coming from the audience. “We’ve lost four of our students, and seven others were injured.”

Swiss added, “It’s been hard.”

But despite her challenges overcoming the shooting, she said “things are getting better” and that she and her brother have been back in school for the past two months.

Music has been a solace during this challenging time, she told the judges. Here’s a song Swiss recorded last year in tribute to those lost:

“When I sing [Daigle’s song], I remember the good, I remember my community, my family, just the love,” Swiss said. “And I remember that it’s all there for me.”

Simon Cowell, who has often been known for harsh rebukes of some entertainers, told Swiss before the performance she is a “very special person.” And the reactions after the powerful performance were even more glowing.

Watch Swiss sing and tell her story:

“Wow,” judge Heidi Klum said.

And fellow judge Howie Mandel pointed out Swiss’ perseverance.

“In life, it’s tough to show up, especially after going through incredible trauma,” he said. “The fact that you can break through that and shine the way you did today is so inspirational for every human being.”

As for judge Sofía Vergara, she added, “It gave me goosebumps.”

Continue to pray for Swiss and the Oxford community as they navigate such profound loss.

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About The Author

Billy Hallowell writes for CBN's Faithwire.com. He has been working in journalism and media for more than a decade. His writings have appeared in CBN News, Faithwire, Deseret News, TheBlaze, Human Events, Mediaite, PureFlix, and Fox News, among other outlets. He is the author of several books, including Playing with Fire: A Modern Investigation Into Demons, Exorcism, and Ghosts Hallowell has a B.A. in journalism and broadcasting from the College of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale, New York and an M.S. in social research from Hunter College in Manhattan, New York.
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