School Shooting Survivor Ava Swiss Wows ‘AGT’ Judges: “This is One of Those Auditions I Will Never Forget”

An 18-year-old school shooting survivor stunned America’s Got Talent judges with her moving performance of “Remember” by Lauren Daigle on last night’s show (July 26). Ava Swiss, a senior at Oxford High School, explained to the judges why she chose the song for her audition prior to starting.

“Back on Nov. 30, my brother and I were a part of the Oxford school shooting,” Swiss said. “We’ve lost four of our students and seven others were injured, one of which was a teacher.”

When judge Simon Cowell asked how she was doing, she said “it’s been hard” and that she remembered talking with her brother about how they would never step foot in the school again. However, she said they’ve been back in person for two months now and that “things are getting better.”

She told the judges, “When I sing [‘Remember’], I remember the good, I remember my community, my family, just the love. And I remember that it’s all there for me and it’ll help me get to where I need to be.”

Following her compelling performance, she received a standing ovation from all four judges, as well as four yeses.

Howie Mandel was the first to give feedback saying, “In life, it’s tough to show up, especially after going through incredible trauma. The fact that you can break through that and shine the way you did today is so inspirational for every human being. So you really, really shine.”

Modern Family star Sofia Vergara said Swiss took her breath away and told the singer, “you were not just singing, you were showing us your feelings,” adding that she gave the actress “goosebumps,” while model Heidi Klum said she is “incredible.”

“For me, this is one of those auditions I will never forget,” Cowell said. “I really have so much respect for you.”

As Swiss moves on to the next round of the competition, she told People, “I’m just hoping that I can reach even more people and share my message and share my story and my voice. One of my favorite parts of this whole experience, even when I went to LA back in April, I loved all the new people I got to meet. Because again, even after everything on Nov. 30, I met some really amazing people and I had some really amazing people reach out to me and it just shows how much kindness there is in the world.”

America’s Got Talent airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Watch the full audition above.