{"id":910369,"date":"2026-09-30T00:04:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T00:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/910369\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T00:04:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T00:04:13","slug":"my-dreams-come-true-16-year-old-americas-got-talent-winner-nene-royal-on-performing-with-linkin-park-being-invited-to-support-avenged-sevenfold-and-how-a-deep-purple-classic-changed-her","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/910369\/","title":{"rendered":"“My dream\u2019s come true!” 16-year-old America’s Got Talent winner Nene Royal on performing with Linkin Park, being invited to support Avenged Sevenfold, and how a Deep Purple classic changed her life"},"content":{"rendered":"

On September 22, Nene Royal was crowned the winner of season 21 of America’s Got Talent. The 16-year-old from Phuket, Thailand (real name Rattikarn Amloy) triumphed in the season finale of the popular talent show after performing a full-on metal version of The White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army, then teaming up with Linkin Park<\/a> to collaborate on The Emptiness Machine, the lead single from the Los Angeles band’s 2024 album From Zero. <\/p>\n

America’s Got Talent judge Howie Mandel praised vocalist\/guitarist Royal as “the biggest, most talented, most viral talent to be on that stage.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The 16-year-old Thai star, who started playing guitar at the age of seven, had displayed her love of rock and metal throughout the competition, wowing the judges and TV audiences in previous rounds with energetic performances of Soundgarden<\/a>‘s Black Hole Sun, Muse<\/a>‘s Hysteria, and The Cranberries’ Zombie<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Latest Videos From Louder<\/p>\n

Winning the competition also secured the teenager one million dollars in prize money. She is the first Thai winner of the long-running talent show.<\/p>\n

“What makes this win special is that Nene carried her Thai identity with confidence onto one of the world’s biggest stages,” the Thai government’s PR department said in a statement. “She showed that talent, hard work, and determination can come from anywhere, including a young girl from Phuket with a guitar and a big dream.”<\/p>\n

We caught up with Nene after her win to learn more about her story.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

\n

\"A\n<\/p>\n

How do you feel? Has the win sunk in yet?<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t expect to win this competition, because it was very tough this year. But I\u2019m very proud of myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sign up below to get the latest from Metal Hammer, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n

You started going viral long before you won. Did it feel like you had an advantage?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s made me feel so proud, and also\u2026 I don\u2019t know what to say. Life has changed, actually. I just want to make plans to make some songs and to do some stuff on tour. I want to collab with legendary artists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who are your dream collaborators?<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot! Avenged Sevenfold<\/a>, Linkin Park, Metallica, System Of A Down, The Warning, Limp Bizkit, and even more! What I just did with Linkin Park, I\u2019m so happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who was the first rock artist who truly got you into that style of music?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I started playing rock, that comes from my dad. He was always playing the radio in the car. In his day, he really loved rock and metal \u2013 like, 90s, I guess. I was sitting in the back and he was like, [headbanging]. It was a vibe, and I got feelings about it. I talked to my dad [and said] \u2018I want to play rock music. Then my dad was like, \u2018That\u2019s impossible!\u2019 I said, I just wanna do it, because I know that guys play rock, whereas women are in these sweet bands. But girls can also play rock!\u201d<\/p>\n

Who was the first artist you discovered without your dad, that you found for yourself?<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember the first song that my dad played on the radio, I think it was Deep Purple. Highway Star, I guess. It made me wanna try to play some rock songs: \u2018I\u2019m gonna play Star\u2019s beginning, the solo to Hotel California, My Sharona, and then Highway Star.\u2019 From this, Back In Black, Nightmare.\u201d<\/p>\n

What are your favourite rock albums of all time? Is that a hard question?<\/p>\n

\u201cYes! The band is Avenged Sevenfold, but I can\u2019t say which one is my favourite.\u201d<\/p>\n

You just love all of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I just love all of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

What about albums by artists other than Avenged Sevenfold?<\/p>\n

\u201cSystem of a Down, Linkin Park, Metallica. I don\u2019t know!\u201d<\/p>\n

You performed with Linkin Park. How did you link up with them?<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t expect that I was going to perform with them, because at my rehearsal of their song The Emptiness Machine, I was practising on my own. I thought I was going to play alone. But, when I practised, a cameraman just came in, and then, Linkin Park just came in. I was like, \u2018What is going on?!\u2019 I don\u2019t know if Linkin Park are just gonna come and take a video, some shot, that\u2019s all. But actually, Linkin Park say, \u2018We\u2019re gonna join together onstage,\u2019 and I was like, \u2018There\u2019s no way!\u2019 My dream\u2019s come true.\u201d<\/p>\n

Linkin Park And Nene Royal Team Up For “The Emptiness Machine” | The Finale | AGT 2026 – YouTube
\n\"Linkin<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

When Mike and Emily took the mic and said they wanted you to win, what did that mean to you?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means a lot to me, because I\u2019ve got the advice and a comment from the artist, like, \u2018Good luck. We\u2019re gonna vote for you. Incredible!\u2019 I\u2019m very happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Are there any other female rock and metal singers that you think are blazing trails?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Warning. They\u2019re like a new generation.\u201d<\/p>\n

You\u2019re supporting Avenged Sevenfold in Singapore next month. Are you excited or scared or both?<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth! [laughing] It\u2019s my first time playing support to Avenged Sevenfold, so I was like, [big sigh] \u2018I\u2019m scared!\u2019 And I\u2019m going to play in front of how many? 40,000!\u201d<\/p>\n

Is it going to be covers or originals? A mix of the two?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

How did it happen? Did the guys reach out to you personally?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe managers in Singapore text me: \u2018Oh, I hear you wanna play with Avenged Sevenfold?\u2019 I was like, \u2018Yeah!\u2019 They said, \u2018Well, Avenged Sevenfold want you to support them.\u2019 They asked for me, \u2018Do you wanna do it?\u2019, and I was like, \u2018Yeah!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

At 16, supporting one of your favourite bands\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cDreams come true. Incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Your dreams have come true at 16 years old, so what\u2019s next?<\/p>\n

\u201cPlanning to create my own songs, and also doing some tours. I really wanna collaborate with those legendary bands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Golden Buzzer: Nene Royal ROCKS OUT To “Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden | Quarterfinals | AGT 2026 – YouTube
\n\"Golden<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On September 22, Nene Royal was crowned the winner of season 21 of America’s Got Talent. The 16-year-old…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":910370,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,63,134,427],"class_list":["post-910369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=910369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/910370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=910369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=910369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=910369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}