A 16-year-old guitarist from a small island in Thailand is now one performance away from a shot at "America's Got Talent" history.
Nene Royal, whose real name is Rattikarn "Praew" Amloy, earned a Golden Buzzer from judge Mel B during the Season 21 live shows, sending her straight through to the Grand Final without needing a public vote. The moment came after a blistering cover of Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" - a performance so strong that fellow judge Howie Mandel told the audience, "I know I am not supposed to say this, but NBC, give her the million right now."
Nene's journey started far from a television stage. Self-taught on guitar since age seven, she built her performing chops busking at local markets in Phuket before catching international attention with a viral audition cover of The Cranberries' "Zombie." She backed that up in the Judges' Callbacks round with a fiery rendition of Muse's "Hysteria," complete with a percussive guitar solo, to lock her spot among the season's final 44 acts.
The AGT Season 21 Grand Final airs Sept. 22 on NBC, with Nene going up against the season's other finalists for the show's grand prize. Whatever the outcome, her rise from a small-town market stage to America's biggest talent competition has already made her one of the most talked-about breakout stars of the season - the kind of hard-won, family-supported journey worth cheering for, and worth keeping in prayer as she steps into the biggest performance of her life.
