Watch the Late Brandon Rogers' Heartbreaking 'America's Got Talent' Audition
Last night, "America's Got Talent" aired the impressive -- and incredibly poignant -- audition video for Brandon Rogers, 29, a family practice doctor from Virginia who made headlines in June when he was involved in a car accident and died the next day.
Before airing the singer's rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Ribbon in The Sky," NBC posted a statement to viewers:
"On June 11th one of our contestants, Brandon Rogers, tragically passed away in a car accident. At the request of his family we would like to honor his memory by sharing his audition with you."
Rogers's audition started with the story of why he decided to become a doctor:
"My inspiration for becoming a doctor was kind of born out of a pretty tough experience when I was 6-years-old when I came home from school one day and found my mom laying in a pool of blood. We rushed her to the hospital, the doctors were like heroes. They saved her life and it made me want to be the doctor that I am today. I feel like I'm in a field where I'm actually making a difference, and there can be really tough days sometimes too. My way to cope with the stress has always been music. [...] If I could find a way to combine being a doctor and medicine with music and singing that would be a dream come true."
The video below actually starts with a phone call from the nervous singer to his mother, which just makes it even more heartbreaking to know what she'd soon lose her son:Rogers was discovered by AGT producers when they saw his cover for Boyz II Men's "On Bended Knee" on Instagram. The video ends with Boyz II Men singing "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday."
Rogers got four yeses from the judges, with Simon Cowell telling him he's one of the best singers they've had in the competition so far. He also told his fellow judges Brandon seemed like a very nice guy. Howie Mandel said he could be a star. Sadly, his life was cut short way too soon. But at least his talent remains, and the world got to hear it.
AGT airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on NBC.
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