"America's Got Talent" seems to find the next Taylor Swift in this week's episode. A 12-year-old girl auditioned on June 7, Tuesday, singing an original heart-piercing song about herself while strumming the ukulele.
Grace VanderWaal amazed everyone by taking them on a musical ride. She sang with a shy smile, "I don't know my name. I don't play by the rules of the game."
The audience and the judges gave the sixth grader a standing ovation. Howie Mandel sent her straight to the semifinals by pressing his golden buzzer and called her "a living, beautiful, walking miracle."
The girl from Suffern, New York likewise received empowering words from Cowell. The AGT program creator predicted she will be the next Taylor Swift.
She happens to be a huge fan of Swift, whom she loves and is amazed by their seemingly matching hair. Vanderwall likewise looks up to Katy Perry, Jason Mraz and Twenty One Pilots as her other musical inspirations.
"She always stayed the same," VanderWaal spoke about Perry to Rolling Stone over the phone the day after her audition was aired. She said it is good to remember that in Perry's movie, the artist turned down some producers because she wanted to be herself. She added, "That could've been putting her entire career in jeopardy, but she still did it."
The sixth grader returned to her class after she made the commotion the night before. While she used to sit at lunch with only a friend called Caroline, many people are already coming to her. She was quite confused if they really want to be her friend or they want to befriend the girl from "America's Got Talent."
As for the song she performed on the show, it came up after she had gone through various phases and paths of her life. She now realized that music is something she wants her life to be, she told The Daily Beast in a phone interview. The New York native had no idea how good she was and even thanked the interviewer for his time.
When asked how she felt that Swift is already following her on Twitter, she shouted and answered she did not know that. Her mom and sister excitedly verified her Twitter.
As for playing the ukulele, the AGT semifinalist said she saw Tyler Joseph, the lead singer of Twenty One Pilots playing ukulele and thought she just had to learn it. She also has a piano and a saxophone.
Watch VanderWaal's audition in NBC's talent show.