When Grace VanderWaal, a college student from Suffern in New York, took the stage on national television to audition for America’s Got Talent, she was admitted to the judges that she was hoping for a miracle. Most artists play it safe by performing their own renditions of popular songs.
Not so with the Supercharged Grace. “What are you going to sing?” asked Judge Howie Mandel. “I sing an original,” said the confident girl, at whom Simon Cowell raised a skeptical eyebrow. Meanwhile, the surprised audience was already cheering her on.
Simon Cowell has found us the next Taylor Swift. She is 12 years old.
Grace’s energetic and heartfelt song, which she says speaks for itself, is called “I Don’t Know My Name.” Her raspy voice, somewhere between Bonnie Raitt and Janis Joplin, sent the judges and audience into a frenzy of cheers, tears and stunned looks as they cheered happily.
Grace’s family, watching from behind the scenes, were also moved. By the end of the song, Grace herself was soon in tears when Mandel hit the show’s famous golden buzzer, sending her into a contest. “I think the world is gonna know your name,” Howie said in response to the song’s tongue-in-cheek title. “I think you are the next Taylor Swift,” added Simon. “This girl is special. I’m now annoyed that I didn’t back on the golden buzzer myself.