Grace VanderWaal

Grace VanderWaal Biography

Grace Avery VanderWaal (born January 15, 2004) is an American singer-songwriter and ukuleleist from Suffern, New York. In 2016, at 12 years of age, she won the eleventh season of the NBC TV competition show America's Got Talent.

Early life

Grace VanderWaal was born on January 15, 2004, near Kansas City, Kansas; her parents, David and Tina VanderWaal, lived in Lenexa at the time. The family later moved to Suffern, New York.

VanderWaal began composing her first songs at age three, using a wireless microphone. As a preteen, she found songwriting inspiration by watching movies and trying to imagine what a character was feeling, and "what it would be like if I were them, and wrote a song. A lot of my songs are like that." She was inspired to learn the ukulele after watching a family friend play and seeing a Twenty One Pilots video on YouTube. She later bought an instrument with money she had received for her 11th birthday, and watched more videos to teach herself how to play.</ref>}}

Music

VanderWaal has written original songs (including those she has sung in competition) and recorded them, accompanying herself on ukulele, on her YouTube channel, Oh Never mind it's just me. She also sings and uploads covers of popular songs, including "Ex's and Oh's", "Pity Party", "Imagine", and "Breathe Me". After learning to play the ukulele, VanderWaal began to perform during open mic events at small venues near her home.

She includes among her musical influences such artists as Jason Mraz, Twenty One Pilots, and Katy Perry.

America's Got Talent

For the June 7, 2016, broadcast during the eleventh season of NBC's America's Got Talent, VanderWaal auditioned with her original song, "I Don't Know My Name", and was Howie Mandel's "golden buzzer" act. Simon Cowell called VanderWaal "the next Taylor Swift." She would continue to perform only original songs, including her next performance at the quarterfinals on August 23, 2016, titled "Beautiful Thing", a song written for her sister. For the semifinals on August 30, she performed "Light the Sky", and for the September 13 finals, she sang "Clay", a song about being bullied.

VanderWaal again performed "I Don't Know My Name" for the September 14 finale episode, then introduced a performance by Stevie Nicks, her "true hero of inspiration." Afterward, Nicks said of VanderWaal, "she reminds me a lot of me in a lot of ways.... She's got it. Whatever happens, Grace is going to the top." At the end of the broadcast, VanderWaal was announced as the season 11 winner. She is the second female winner and second child act winner in the show's history; Bianca Ryan was eleven years old when she took the top prize in season 1.

Post-America's Got Talent

VanderWaal is set to headline at the PH Showroom at the Las Vegas Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in October 2016. She plans to use part of her winnings from America's Got Talent to make a donation to charity, and to buy a tree house for herself and her sister. In September 2016, she signed a deal with Columbia Records.

Personal life

VanderWaal resides in Suffern, New York, with her mother, father, and older sister; she also has an older brother. Her father is a vice president of marketing at LG Electronics.

VanderWaal posts videos of her original songs and covers on her YouTube channel. She also has an Instagram account with more than one million followers.