Brandon Rogers, 29, was already an Internet sensation when he auditioned for “America’s Got Talent.”
Known as “the singing doctor,” the medical resident’s cover of a Boyz II Men classic got loads of attention online, an invite to perform alongside the group in concert and a chance to perform on the NBC reality-TV competition show.
Rogers died in a June car crash before his audition made it to air. On Tuesday night, the series showed it to viewers.
“On June 11th one of our contestants, Brandon Rogers, tragically passed away in a car crash,” read the show’s pre-roll text. “At the request of his family we would like to honor his memory by sharing his audition with you.”
Rogers walked out to the stage and belted out verses from Stevie Wonder’s “Ribbons in the Sky.” By the end of the song, the audience and judges were on their feet, cheering. Rogers, taken aback with emotion, said “thank you so much.”
Advertisement
“There’s something so special about your voice,” said judge Heidi Klum.
“Your vocal is stunning, stunning,” said judge Simon Cowell. “You are one of the best singers we’ve had in the competition so far — I’ve got to tell you.”
All four judges voted for Rogers to move to the next round.
On the show, Brandon said he was inspired to become a doctor by “a pretty tough experience”: He came home from school as a 6-year-old and found his mother “laying in a pool of blood.” They rushed her to the hospital and “the doctors were like heroes. They saved her life. And it made me want to become the doctor that I am today.”
“I feel like I’m in a field where I’m actually making a difference,” he said on the show. “And there can be some really tough days, too. My way to cope with the stress has always been the music.”
Advertisement
He also said that “my patients are so supportive and excited” of his singing ambitions.
Share this articleShareIn December, Rogers posted a clip of himself singing “On Bended Knee” that went viral. Early this year, Boyz II Men invited Rogers to sing at three Las Vegas shows. Rogers wrote on Instagram that “sharing the stage with my idols literally a dream come true!”
Rogers attended medical school in Philadelphia and was completing the first year of a three-year family practice residency program in Newport News, Va., when he died, according to Virginia’s Daily Press.
“He was a rising star in the singing realm, but he was very excited about medicine, too,” Bradley Touchet, his program director at Riverside Brentwood Medical Center told the newspaper. “His mother told me that ever since he was waist-high, he wanted to be a doctor. People always asked him which one he enjoyed more, singing or being a doctor, but he really did have a passion for both.”
Advertisement
Touchet also said Rogers was “a humble fellow” who didn’t brag about his singing exploits, adding: “He was a very gentle-spirited young man, and he had a very good relationship with his patients. They loved him. He was good at communicating with them, and negotiating with them what to tackle next in terms of their health problems.”
Rogers sang the national anthem at a hospital graduation ceremony last month, and then headed in a car with friends to a family event, the newspaper reported. In the early morning hours of June 10, he was in the front passenger seat on a Maryland highway when the car’s driver fell asleep at the wheel, and the car veered off the road and struck a tree, according to state police. Rogers died the next day.
Once news of his death spread, Boyz II Men paid tribute to Rogers.
“Gone too young and gone too soon. It hurts to know that the world will never have a chance to witness what his impact on the world could have been as a doctor and even on the music world,” the group wrote on Instagram. “A great spirit and a great voice. Even for the little time we knew you, you will be sorely missed.”
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZLumw9JomKuso2Kur7CMnqWtnaKprqq6zJ6lrWenpXxzfJBwZmlvX2Z%2FcK3Mnqmim5Goeqi702armqSVo8FuvMCyqmasop6vtsDEZquoZZOku7Wx0q2Yp6xdrLa1tIyaZKyspaO7qrrGZq2ooZOaeri0zmabop2UYravecBmmpqqXZi%2For%2FHaA%3D%3D