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Grace VanderWaal

Revision as of 16:31, 1 August 2017 by 142.245.59.9 (contribs) (→‎Finale)
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Grace VanderWaal was a singer/ukulelist act from Season 11 of America's Got Talent. She was the winner of the competition, claiming the $1,000,000 prize and the headlining of a show in Las Vegas.

Background

Grace VanderWaal was born on January 15, 2004 in Kansas and is now from Suffern, New York.  She lives with her mother Tina, her father David Vanderwaal and her older sister (also her best friend) by three years Olivia, and her 3 dogs. Grace started singing at the age of three. She bought her first Ukulele with her birthday money from her 11th birthday and a few months later, she began to write songs. Before her audition, she had sung with very small audiences but had never sung in front of very large crowds. Grace is also lactose intolerant and misses ice cream really badly She has an older brother named Jakob who is away at school.

Audition

Grace VanderWaal's audition in Episode 1102 consisted of singing her original song "I Don't Know My Name", a song about finding who you are and where you fit in, while playing the ukulele. Moved by her performance, Howie Mandel pressed his Golden Buzzer to send Grace straight to the Live Shows. Simon Cowell later commented that he thought that she could be the next Taylor Swift.

Quarterfinals

Grace VanderWaal's Week 3 Quarterfinals performance in Episode 1115 consisted of singing her original song "Beautiful Thing", a song dedicated to her sister, while playing the ukulele. Howie Mandel, Mel B, Heidi Klum, and Simon Cowell all gave her standing ovations. Grace received enough votes to be sent to the Semifinals in Episode 1116 along with Brian Justin Crum.

Semifinals

Grace VanderWaal's Week 1 Semifinals performance in Episode 1117 consisted of singing her original song "Light The Sky" while playing the ukulele. Howie Mandel, Mel B, Heidi Klum, and Simon Cowell all gave her standing ovations. Grace VanderWaal received enough votes to be sent to the Finals in Episode 1118 instead of Lori Mae Hernandez and Musicality.

Finals

Grace VanderWaal's Finals performance in Episode 1121 consisted of singing her original song "Clay". Howie Mandel, Mel B, Heidi Klum, and Simon Cowell all gave her standing ovations.

Finale

For the finale in Episode 1122, Grace VanderWaal sang her original song "I Don't Know My Name". Grace received enough votes to advance to the Top 5 instead of Sofie Dossi. Grace finished in first place in the competition in front of The Clairvoyants, Jon Dorenbos, Brian Justin Crum and Sal Valentinetti, winning one million dollars and a headline show in Las Vegas. Her debut EP, Perfectly Imperfect, was released on December 2, 2016. Her first music video Moonlight was released on July 20, 2017 and garnered 2.5 million views in six days.

Holiday Spectacular

As a part of AGT's Holiday Spectacular, Grace VanderWaal got to perform a holiday song, "Frosty The Snowman", with her ukulele.

Trivia

  • Grace is the first child act, and the first female to win since Bianca Ryan in Season 1.
  • At 12 years of age, she is the second-youngest winner of America's Got Talent.
  • She is the first singing act to win since Season 6.
  • She is the second consecutive Golden Buzzer act to win after Paul Zerdin. But she is the first winner to have received the Golden Buzzer in the auditions by one of the main judges.
  • Grace's audition video on AGT's YouTube channel is the most liked video of any AGT video.
  • Grace is the first female act and first act to win AGT with all original songs.
  • Her audition video is on the top 5 most trending video on YouTube of 2016
  • She currently has the most viewed audition YouTube video in America's Got Talent history with over 67 million views.

External Links


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Rejected
Unknown
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Season 11 Quarterfinals

3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16

Week 1
Moved On
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Week 2
Moved On
Eliminated
Week 3
Moved On
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Wild Card
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Season 11 Semifinals

1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19

Week 1
Moved On
Grace VanderWaal • Jon Dorenbos • Laura Bretan • Sal Valentinetti • Tape Face
Eliminated
Week 2
Moved On
Eliminated
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Season 11 Finals

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Top 10
Top 5
Grace VanderWaal (1st) • The Clairvoyants (2nd) • Jon Dorenbos (3rd) • Brian Justin Crum (4th) • Sal Valentinetti (5th)
Bottom 5
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