Nene Royal made quite an impression on America’s Got Talent before she won Season 21. When her name was called out, the 16-year-old guitarist from Phuket, Thailand, dropped to her knees. “I really didn’t expect to win,” she recalls. “My dream was to get through to the finals, and I hoped I could make it into the top two.”
Her performance on the show included heavy versions of the Cranberries’ Zombie, the White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army and Muse’s Hysteria. Her take on Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun earned her Mel B’s golden buzzer, which launched her straight to the finals. Long before that, Royal spent years practicing, playing regularly in Phuket and building her sound around a guitar given to her by a fan.
She first picked up the guitar at seven years old, learning with the help of YouTube videos. and she was soon performing her first song. “I played four chords for three or four days until I learned Zombie,” she says of the track she returned to for her America’s Got Talent audition.
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Her dad played a big part in getting her into rock music. Family car rides featured Deep Purple and Metallica playing in the background, and by the age of nine Royal wanted to try playing that kind of music. She recalls that he wasn’t sure at first, since most of the women guitarists he’d seen played softer material. But Royal didn’t see why girls couldn’t play rock, and her dad soon became her biggest supporter.
She chose an ambitious introduction to playing lead: “I wanted to challenge myself, so the first solo I learned was Hotel California.” Deep Purple’s Highway Star helped develop her tapping technique. “I just kept practicing over and over until I got better at it.” On school days she practiced from 5pm until 9:30. When she was off school “I would practice all day from morning until night,” she says.
Later she became influenced by Avenged Sevenfold’s Synyster Gates – if she could spend an hour learning from any guitarist, he would be her choice. She’s especially interested how he uses harmonics and creates the darker sounds that have become such a big part of his playing. “I love how he can make things sound creepy,” she says.
It’s another of Royal’s dreams that could come true – on October 13 she’ll open for Avenged Sevenfold in Singapore. It’s a remarkable leap from Phuket’s Naka Weekend Market, where she built her chops and confidence while studying live performances by A7X and Green Day.
Since 2021 she’s been with her band Ozone, who joined her during the AGT finale. She describes them as like brothers to her. “I love playing with them,” she says. “It’s more exciting than backing tapes. We have a lot of fun together.”
But her confidence onstage doesn’t necessarily carry over after the show. Royal says people who meet her backstage are surprised by how quiet she can be. “They tell me I’m really shy, but when I get onstage, I change – it just feels natural.”
Her night market gigs united her with one of the most important guitars in her collection: her vintage Ibanez MC300. “A fan from Denmark saw me perform and decided to give it to me,” she says. “I’ve had it for three years.”
Part of Ibanez’s Musician series from the late ’70s, it has a through-neck design intended to add rigidity and sustain. But when Royal talks about it, she keeps things much simpler: “It just feels really smooth when I play it. I love the feel and the way it looks. It’s really easy to play solos on too. People tell me it’s really heavy, but I’m used to it.”
Her rig includes a Fractal Audio AX8 that handles her amp sounds, cabinet simulation and effects. Her guitar teacher suggested she get one. “I learned to use it from watching YouTube,” she reports.
While she’s still learning about technical aspects, she knows what she likes when it comes to tone. Depending on the song, she’ll tune to drop D or drop C,. She hasn’t made the jump to a seven-string guitar – for now the Ibanez and Fractal remain the heart of her setup.
Nene worked with AGT’s team over song choices, but she was determined that the arrangements were her own creations. “I remember Howie Mandel telling me, ‘Just keep surprising us,’” she says. “I wanted to make the songs feel very much like me.”
She’s taking that same approach to the music she’s started writing, inspired by A7X, System of a Down, the Warning and Linkin Park. “Sometimes I’ll just come up with a random melody, then I’ll build from that and start finding lyrics.”
Inspired by joining Linkin Park for The Emptiness Machine on AGT, her near-future plans include releasing original work, collaborating with other artists and getting out on the road. “I want to be a rock star and tour everywhere,” she confirms. “I want to play all over the world.”
Royal is aware that success brings new voices into the room. Producers, managers and other industry people will have ideas on what she should sound like or where she should go. But she’s determined not to lose the instincts that got her to where she is. “The most important thing is just being myself,” she says. “That’s all I need to do.”
