COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Musical artist Nightbirde, who went viral this past summer during her shining audition for “America’s Got Talent,” said she still feels incredibly lucky to be singing and writing while battling cancer.

Nightbirde, from Ohio, made headlines back in June after earning a golden buzzer from Simon Cowell for her performance of an original song. 

“You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy,” she said after she finished her performance.

Earlier this week, Nightbirde appeared on CNN with Chris Cuomo to talk about her health, the holidays, and how she maintains a positive attitude. Cuomo also introduced her appearance with the very same quote, adding that she walks “the walk” when it comes to being happy in the face of adversity.

Nightbirde has kept a low profile in recent months, stepping away from the “America’s Got Talent” competition to focus on fighting her life-threatening illness.

“Well, you know what, I wish we would get a faster miracle, but it’s happening slow, little by little, day by day. I’m getting a little better,” Nightbirde said during her segment on “Cuomo Prime Time.” “I did get a scan result back and a bunch of stuff that was there has now disappeared and a bunch of the really big stuff has gone down in size so, we’re on the way.”

When asked if she was comfortable enough to continue pursuing her dreams, Nightbirde said she was.

“I think life sometimes is a game of, choose your pain, so the pain of continuing or the pain of giving up. So, the pain of continuing, there’s a lot more uncertainty that way, but I think the pain of giving up is so much worse.”

The conversation also touched on Nighbirde’s holiday plans.

“I shouldn’t; I should not be alive right now based on the usual statistics,” she said. “So every year when this time comes around, it’s special for the whole family.” 

“Sometimes I think we’re the luckier ones because if we get to really see the sweetness of life and the miracle is to love and be loved,” she added. “And to, to dream and to have a, you know, the chance at a future. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to the weight of that, or I don’t know if I’ll ever, I don’t know if it’ll ever become casual to me again, just to live.”

She also confirmed that she’s still working on new music, despite not being “100%.”

“I am just so happy to be singing,” she said. “I could not stop smiling today.”