Contestants on TV talent shows often tell extraordinary personal stories about the hardships they endured before they got the chance to participate in a TV talent show.

Even in that context, the story that singer-songwriter Mandy Harvey told on the “America’s Got Talent” stage last summer was unusual.

Harvey will perform on May 22 at C2G Music Hall.

In 2006, Harvey was a vocal music major at Colorado State University when the unthinkable happened. She lost her hearing to a connective tissue disorder called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, type 3.

Most people in her position would sink into despair and Harvey admits that she did sink for a while. Most people in her position would try to find a way to accept that they would never sing again.

But Mandy’s father, a minister who had been performing music with her since before she could speak in complete sentences, encouraged her to learn the vocals for a song called “Come Home” by a pop band called OneRepublic. As it turned out, Mandy could still sing in near perfect pitch.

The fact that Mandy’s talents remained undiminished in the wake of total hearing lost stunned Cynthia Vaughn, one of Harvey’s former vocal teachers. Vaughn put Harvey in touch with a jazz pianist named Mark Sloniker and Sloniker subsequently decided to make Harvey his vocalist for weekly gigs at Jay’s Bistro, a jazz-and-tapas place in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Much astonishing success ensued: albums, awards, an autobiography and Simon Cowell’s coveted Gold Buzzer.

Harvey ended up taking fourth place at the end of season 12 of “America’s Got Talent.”

In an email exchange, Harvey told me she keeps tempo on stage by feeling vibrations through the floor. She performs in bare feet to facilitate that synergy.

When practicing, Harvey said she uses “visual tuners” to help govern her pitch. When performing, she depends on her bandmates to an extent that most other vocalists probably don’t depend on theirs.

“There is a lot of communication that is happening on a constant basis,” she said. “Some that you see are head nods and a lot of eye contact. We have solos planned out beforehand and we all look at the musician playing while I am counting each measure. It’s a full team effort!”

Harvey said she “keeps track of the starting note of each song.”

“Several times,” she said, “you will see me look behind me at my bassist and I hum my note and he nods to tell me, ‘Yes,’ or helps me find my place if I am off. It’s a lot of unseen work but it’s a part of my routine.”

Harvey’s bandmates are Alfred Sheppard on piano, Daniel Navarro on bass and Dave Hamar on drums. Will Scecina fulfills the role of “electric guy,” she said, and provides backing vocals.

“As part of my concerts, there is ASL interpretation for every song,” Harvey said, “which I feel brings music more to life and shows the meaning behind the words.”

The Fort Wayne concert will consist mostly of original songs with “a peppering of some of my favorite covers,” she said.

Asked about how her enjoyment of music has changed since she lost her hearing, Harvey answered by typing “hahaha.”

“Music is different is almost every sense of the word,” she said. “I have spent a lot of years learning to love music in the way I experience it now and I’m happy with who I am! Music is much more touch, lyrics, emotion and intensity. I think everyone should kick their shoes off and feel music – pay attention to the vibrations and enjoy the subtleties.”

Harvey described encounters with fans as the greatest joy of touring for her.

“There have been countless memorable experiences and stories people have shared with me about them breaking down barriers on their own journeys,” she said. “A lot of hugs and happy tears! We’re all in this crazy world together and the goal is to lift each other up and encourage!”

A person who has cleared as many significant hurdles as Harvey has really doesn’t have a whole lot to fear going forward and Harvey said she has numerous goals, small and large.

“In the short term, I want to release a lot of beautiful music,” she said, “and I’m working hard for that to be happening very shortly! In the long term I want to make a real difference on inclusion and help change how people view disabilities so they see that we are not broken … just different. I want to work with kids and help encourage the arts in the education system … so many goals!”

I told Harvey that her life story tends to make people who mope readily and get discouraged easily, like me, feel like they really don’t have anything to complain about.

She responded with a lengthy “Hahahahahaha.”

“Well, everyone’s life is theirs,” she said. “Everyone has their own barrier and my goal is just to show that it’s OK to fail. It’s OK to have to start over and reinvent yourself.

“Beauty exists in the pain,” Harvey said, “and it’s such a great opportunity to grow! I love music more now than I ever did before. The reason is simple… I got out of my own way and I am not allowing judgment and fear prevent me from expressing myself.”