16-year-old Nene Royal returned to the America’s Got Talent stage and blew the audience away once again with a crushing cover of a Muse classic.
The Phuket, Thailand-born teenager told the cameras that her parents originally hoped she’d pursue a business career, but seeing her on stage has changed everything.
New for this season’s competition, ‘Judges Callbacks’ rounds have been introduced. This gives contestants one more shot at securing a place in the live shows, and Royal didn’t let the opportunity pass her by.
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So, after an impressive two-hand tapping loaded cover of the Cranberries’ Zombie during the audition phase earned her four yeses from the judges, she’s taken a Muse hit in her stride.
Armed with a neck-through Ibanez MC300 and what looks to be a Line 6 amp modeler – a change from the Fender combo she played during her audition – she dazzled with her take on Hysteria.
After a blinding guitar solo, complete with some slick tapping licks, she weaved Matt Bellamy’s lead parts with Chris Wolstenholme’s iconic bassline. All while belting out the vocals. It’s seriously impressive stuff from a player who wasn’t even born when the song was first released.
By the end, she’d dished out a feast of screaming solos and had the crowd in raptures.
“You have the talent, but the thing that puts you into the next round is showmanship,” judge Howie Mandel had said to her backstage before her performance. “I want you to find moments where the audience is just gonna scream”
The pep talk worked a treat. When Mandel asked her after her spot what she thought, she smiled and said, “I think I played perfectly.”
Guest judge Nikki Glaser agreed, saying, “You got us really amped up. I want more.”
The show has proven to be a great career move for young shredders, with the Indian band Girish making a name for themselves on camera. At the same time, Maya Neelakantan has jammed with Testament and hung with Jason Becker after her bumper run in the competition.
Then, of course, there’s one-time Total Guitar cover star and acoustic guitar virtuoso Marcin, who broke through on the program, and Bay Melnick Virgolino, who has since played with Joe Bonamassa and Phoebe Bridgers, all before his 12th birthday.
