'I'm ugly-crying on the CBC!': Health-care worker gets a surprise from Jann Arden
Amanda Lee was in for a pleasant surprise on 'What’re You At? With Tom Power'
'Lip-sync for your life'
Like many health-care workers, Amanda Lee faces a lot of pressure on the frontlines of the constantly-evolving COVID-19 crisis. She felt that morale in her unit was slumping as the days went on.
On her drive home after a long day of work, the CT technologist heard Jann Arden's hit Sleepless on the radio. That's when inspiration struck.
After her shift on a Friday night, Amanda recorded a video inside a CT scanner. Wearing a blue hair net, she lip-synced to Sleepless while holding up cue cards encouraging viewers to remain hopeful and wash their hands.
Going viral
The video quickly gained steam on Facebook, garnering attention from friends, family and viewers beyond Amanda's circle — including Jann Arden's manager.
While being interviewed about her viral video on What're You At? With Tom Power, Amanda was shocked when Jann Arden joined the video chat from her home in Alberta.
Amanda carefully wiped tears of joy from her eyes as Jann explained how her manager came across her video.
"I don't think I've ever been touched in my entire career to that extent," said Jann.
"All 38 million of us [Canadians] are so grateful for what you are doing."
All in it together
After Jann and Amanda caught up with each other, Jann took to her guitar and played an impromptu performance of Sleepless while Amanda mimed along with her cue cards at home.
Stream now
If you want to see more heartwarming stories from across Canada, tune in to What're You At? With Tom Power on CBC Television on Sunday evenings at 8 (8:30 NT).
Stream the entire episode (including Jann Arden's surprise visit) on CBC Gem.