The 17-year-old *America’s Got Talent* cheerleader Emily Gold has passed tragically. “On September 16, our beautiful, kind, and loving Emily Gold passed away,” her high school dance team posted on Instagram. “It is with such a heavy heart that we share her passing.”

Recently, Gold and her group competed on *America’s Got Talent*; they advanced to the quarterfinals but were eliminated. The team received a standing ovation from Judge Simon Cowell, who praised their performance as “absolutely brilliant.”