A 16-year-old street performer from Phuket just became a household name.
Nene Royal - whose real name is Rattikarn "Praew" Amloy - was crowned the winner of America's Got Talent Season 21 on Wednesday night, taking home the show's $1 million grand prize and becoming the first-ever contestant from Thailand to win the competition. Host Terry Crews announced the result live on NBC after Royal beat out nine other finalists, including runner-up magician Geno Ploeger and third-place act Hundred Fingers.
Royal's run on AGT was a steady climb toward this moment. She first caught the judges' attention with a stripped-down cover of The Cranberries' "Zombie" during auditions, earning four yeses before her 16th birthday. A blistering take on Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" during the quarterfinals earned her Mel B's Golden Buzzer, sending her straight to the finals without a public vote. In the Grand Final, she performed The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" and later shared the stage with Linkin Park for a rendition of "The Emptiness Machine."
Before AGT, Royal was best known locally for busking with her band, Ozone, at Phuket's Naka Night Market - a routine she says she kept up even as her audition videos racked up millions of views. Her father, Narong Amloy, posted his pride after her final performance: "That's my girl. I'm so proud of her."
The Thai government has since named Royal a tourism ambassador, covering her expenses throughout the competition. For a teenager who once said her dream was simply "to become a superstar touring the world," Wednesday night made that dream very real.
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