Grace VanderWaal attends the 'America's Got Talent' Season 11 Live Show at The Dolby Theatre on August 30, 2016 in Hollywood, California. (Photo : Getty Images/Alberto E. Rodriguez)
The Season 11 finale of NBC's show's "America's Got Talent" has reached its highest viewership share in six years. The show's finale episode featured the winning moment of Grace VanderWaal who has been described as the next Taylor Swift.
The reality talent competition "America's Got Talent" recently reached an impressive milestone since the show first aired in 2011. The NBC series' viewer count for its Season 11 finale has increased 49 percent as compared to last year's finale, according to USA Today. Nielsen ratings indicated that 14.4 million viewers tuned in on Sept. 14, Wednesday, versus the 4.7 million viewers who watched the 2015 Season 10 finale.
The rise in viewership count has been attributed to the show's Season 11 winning contender VanderWaal. The 12-year old singer and songwriter have captivated the hearts of many viewers with her talent. Avid viewers of the show may also recall that the judges predicted the young singer to be the next big act to follow Swift's footsteps.
Apart from VanderWaal's participation in the reality talent competition that reportedly pushed ratings to an all-time high, Season 11 also featured the famous British producer Simon Cowell, as indicated in the same report. He replaced Howard Stern as one of the judges of the said NBC show.
In other news, the Season 11 winner of "America's Got Talent" has recently revealed what she would like to do with her $1 million cash prize. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, VanderWaal stated that she will donate part of her winnings to a music charity. She also confessed that she will spend some of the cash prize to splurge on a "sick" treehouse complete with bridges, zip lines and other features.
VanderWaal also recounted the moment when she was announced as the winner of the NBC show's Season 11. She stated that her mind was mostly blank prior the announcement. She shared, "Really whenever something like that happens, you're not really thinking."
Avid viewers of the NBC reality talent competition have witnessed the young singer's teary-eyed reaction to her "America's Got Talent" victory during the show's Season 11 finale. However, VanderWaal admitted during her Entertainment Tonight interview that the fact that she won the competition has yet to sink in.
Watch VanderWaal's winning moment below:
