A teen rocker from Thailand has turned America’s Got Talent into her personal mosh pit.
Nene Royal, 16,, was crowned the winner of Season 21 during Wednesday night’s live finale, beating magician Geno Ploeger in the final two and walking away with the show’s $1 million prize — plus a headlining gig in Las Vegas.
Royal spent the season blowing the roof off with a series of hard-rock covers that made her one of the competition’s breakout viral stars.
Her first big swing came during auditions, when she ripped through The Cranberries’ “Zombie” and left the judges stunned. She followed it with a rocked-up take on Muse’s “Hysteria” during the new Judges’ Callbacks round at the Laugh Factory, earning herself a fast pass to the live shows.
Then came the Golden Buzzer moment.
Royal cranked up Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” during the quarterfinals and scored Mel B’s coveted buzzer, locking in her spot in the finals. She sealed the deal Tuesday night with a fiery, full-throttle version of The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army,” drawing a standing ovation from the judges.
And because winning a million bucks apparently wasn’t rock ’n’ roll enough, Royal closed out her “AGT” run by joining Linkin Park for a performance of the band’s hit “The Emptiness Machine” during Wednesday’s results show.
Howie Mandel called Royal “the biggest, most talented, most viral talent to be on that stage,” while Mel B praised what she brought to the contest as “so unique.” Guest judge KSI declared her performance “out of this world,” and Sofia Vergara put it more simply: “We can’t get enough of you.”
The self-taught rocker first picked up a guitar at age 7 and spent years sharpening her skills through practice and live performances before taking the AGT stage.
By the end of the night, Royal had outlasted a packed field that included magician collective Hundred Fingers, aerial performer Veronika Goroshkova, Royal Lasers, robotics act Unitree, Acro Canine Crew and more.
Not bad for a teenager with a guitar, a killer rasp and absolutely no interest in playing it safe.
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