SINGAPORE – Less than a month after winning popular US reality talent competition America’s Got Talent (AGT), 16-year-old Thai singer-guitarist Nene Royal is set to play her biggest concert to date.
In town to perform as the opening act for American rock band Avenged Sevenfold at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Oct 13, the teenager from Phuket tells The Straits Times that her dreams are coming true.
“My dream was (to perform on) AGT and represent Thailand and also Asia. I just want to make my dreams come true. I want to become a rock star, so I work really, really hard,” says the musician, whose real name is Rattikarn Amloy, in English.
Speaking to The Straits Times at Frasers House hotel on Oct 12, a day after landing in Singapore, Nene reveals that while the Avenged Sevenfold show marks her performance debut in the city-state, it is actually her second trip here. Her previous visit was a school excursion that included a day at Universal Studios Singapore.
According to concert organiser Midas Promotions, the arrangement to bring Nene to Singapore was set in motion long before her AGT win.
“I’ve actually known of Nene Royal since she started performing at night markets in Phuket several years ago,” says the company’s regional business development director Francis Hosking. “When I saw her first AGT performance (in July), where she delivered an incredible rendition of Zombie, I knew immediately that I wanted to work with her in some capacity.
“We actually had everything confirmed even before she went on to win.”
Addressing fan interest, Hosking notes that while response to Avenged Sevenfold’s Singapore concert was already exceptionally strong, with tickets remaining in just a few seating categories before the announcement, Nene’s inclusion created immense buzz.
He says: “We’re looking forward to having her as part of what is already a highly anticipated show.”
Nene says she was “shocked” when she was told that fans actually bought tickets for Avenged Sevenfold’s show just to see her perform.
Opening for them is personally significant for her as she has been their “long-time fan”, she says, describing how her group, Ozone Band, used to cover Avenged Sevenfold’s songs such as Nightmare (2010), A Little Piece Of Heaven (2007) and So Far Away (2010) while busking at the Naka Weekend Night Market in Phuket.
She met the band when they performed in Bangkok on Oct 6 and 7 and related how the members told her they were excited to have her open for them here. Singer M. Shadows, 45, also congratulated her on winning AGT and said he was “very proud” of her.
Nene also got to share the stage with another of her idols, American rock band Linkin Park, at the AGT finale on Sept 23. The whole thing was a surprise – she said that the AGT team told her to learn Linkin Park’s song The Emptiness Machine (2024), and thought that she would perform it alone.
While she was practising in a room, the band members came in unexpectedly and frontman Mike Shinoda revealed that they would be collaborating. She said they only had a few minutes to rehearse together before going on stage. “I was shocked and almost fainted,” she recalls.
With all these whirlwind milestones happening in a short space of time, Nene says that she is still processing her rise to global fame.
Her friends have been texting her and telling her how she is famous around the world and that her face is all over social media. “When I went back to Thailand, everyone went crazy,” she says, describing how fans waited for her at the airport and wanted autographs and photos.
As the first Thai winner of AGT, her victory brought immense national pride, culminating in a royal audience with the Thai King and Queen at Dusit Palace, Bangkok, on Oct 9.
With her US$1 million (S$1.28 million) prize money, awarded as an annuity, Nene says she plans to use it to “make some music”, adding that she wants to set up a music studio.
The Kajonkiet International School Phuket student manages to keep up with school work by submitting assignments remotely whenever she has to travel for work.
Asked about her future plans, she says: “I just want to focus on making music, songwriting and doing tours, albums and EPs.”
She is currently writing original material for an upcoming debut EP, and released her debut original song, an instrumental titled Real Verse, on her social media channels in January.
Born to parents in the craftwork and street-vending business, she is the only musician in her family, which includes her four-year-old brother.
Her path came by chance – she originally wanted to take a computer class in school, but because it was full, she enrolled in a music class instead. She began playing guitar at seven, and learnt much of her skills through YouTube video tutorials.
She said she stood out from her classmates because, influenced by her father, she preferred rock music, while her peers listened to pop, rap and R&B. She recalls others telling her that they have “never seen women listen to rock music”. She says: “I just want to be myself because I love rock.”
Looking ahead, she is proud to represent South-east Asia on the world stage and hopes that her journey inspires young musicians across Asia.
Offering her advice to kids practising in their bedrooms, she says: “If you want to make your dreams come true, have your own style. Don’t copy anyone, and practise a lot. The stage is very important, even if it’s a small stage, just do it.”