Sixteen-year-old rock star Nene Royal achieved her childhood dream on Wednesday by winning America’s Got Talent.
The singer and guitarist from Phuket, Thailand, tells Gold Derby that she fell to the ground in a “fade-out” moment after Terry Crews named her the winner of the $1 million grand prize during the season finale. “I’m a bit shocked, but it’s amazing,” she admits.
Royal kept telling herself that “whatever happened, everything’s fine, because I did a great job.” She calls the other acts “incredible” — including runner-up Geno Ploeger and third-place finisher Hundred Fingers — and notes that America had a “very tough” job on their hands when it came to picking a champion.
AGT invited several celebrity guests to perform with the finalists, and rock band Linkin Park was paired with Royal, which came as a surprise to the teenager. “They told me to play a Linkin Park song, so I was rehearsing on my own,” she explains. “I thought I was going to perform alone onstage. But then when I was practicing, Linkin Park came in and I was like, ‘Is this real?’ They said, ‘We’re going to jam together onstage.’ And I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ My dreams came true, literally. It’s crazy and I’m so happy.”
Nene Royal in the finale of ‘America’s Got Talent’Trae Patton/NBC
Now that she’s rocked out with Linkin Park, she has her heart set on performing with legendary bands like Avenged Sevenfold, Limp Bizkit, System of a Down, The Warning, Metallica, and AC/DC, calling them her “inspirations.”
From the moment Royal auditioned, viewers were rooting for her to win the show, and she could “definitely feel that support” from her perspective. “Honestly, it was kind of crazy because I saw people saying, ‘You’re going to win. You don’t have to worry about that.’ I tried not to think about it too much because it’s life. If I don’t win, but I’m in the top two, I’m very proud of myself.”
Royal has a message for judge-producer Simon Cowell, who missed the finale and multiple live shows because he’s recovering from back surgery. “It’s so sad that I didn’t see you in the finale, but I hope you get well soon. I just want to say thank you so much for believing in me and supporting me from my very first audition. I hope I’m going to see you again.”
The singer decided to audition this year because she’s no longer just “a little girl that’s holding a guitar.” Now, she’s “a rock star.” She watched a lot of America’s Got Talent clips at home to prepare for the show, and “wished I could be on that stage one day and be the champion.”
During her time on NBC‘s reality TV show, Royal sang “Zombie” for her audition, “Black Hole Sun” in the quarterfinals, and “Seven Nation Army” in the finale. After racking up more than 20 million views for her audition, she was anointed with the Golden Buzzer in the quarterfinals by Mel B.
Royal wants to use the prize money to work on original music that would allow her to get an album or EP out and, in turn, go on tour. In the meantime, fans can follow her on social media including Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.