The infamously hard-to-please Simon Cowell dubbed America’s Got Talent contestant Grace VanderWaal “the next Taylor Swift” — and she’s just 12 years old.
Clad in bright yellow pants and a cutesy Peter Pan collar, the singer and ukelele player wowed the judges and surprised the audience with a folksy performance of her original song I Don’t Know My Name, immediately earning her a golden buzzer signaling a trip to the next round from judge Howie Mandel, who called her “a living, beautiful, walking miracle.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNxO9MpQ2vA
After VanderWaal was ushered off the stage with a standing ovation and lots of flying confetti, the judges gushed over her performance.
“I hundred percent think we’ve got a star,” Cowell said. “I really do. This girl is special.”
“And I’m now annoyed I didn’t press the golden buzzer,” he said laughing.
The young singer was herself pleasantly shocked by the reception of her performance, tweeting her thanks to the judges Wednesday night.
