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| Grace VanderWaal on (Left) and The Clairvoyants (Right) |
[Spoiler alert! The following contains spoilers from season 11 of "America's Got Talent."]
Grace VanderWaal is the newest winner of “America’s Got Talent.”
The 12 year-old ukulele sensation narrowly beat
mentalist duo The Clairvoyants to snag the show’s $1 million grand prize
Wednesday night.
NFL star and magician John Dorenbos placed third.
Grace — a fan favorite who Simon Cowell has dubbed
“the next Taylor Swift” — immediately fell into a crouched position and
began to openly weep when host Nick Cannon called her name.
"How does it feel?” he asked her. "These are tears of joy, right?"
“Yes, of course," she replied between sobs.
As part of her prize, Grace will also headline an upcoming concert in Las Vegas.
The tween was one of ten acts who made it all the way to the finale.
The two-hour broadcast included highlights from the
show’s 11th season as well as performances by Il Divo, The Silhouettes
and rock legend Stevie Nicks.
The Fleetwood Mac icon revealed she is a fan of “Talent’s” 11th champion.
"I have been watching this show from the very beginning,” Nicks said after performing a stirring version of “Landslide.”
“I have to say (Grace) reminds me a lot of me in a
lot of ways. We sing very similar. We like to be weird…and we like to be
a little different and not like anybody else."
“Grace is going to the top!”
Earlier in the evening, Grace reprised her audition song, a quirky original tune titled “I Don’t Know My Name.”
Then it came time to reveal the results of America’s vote.
Crooner Sal Valentinetti, contortionist Soffie Dossi,
vocal quartet Linkin’ Bridge and teen opera star Laura Bretan were all
in the first group to be eliminated.
Other highlights from the evening included Dorenbos
and the Clairvoyants each performing stunning illusions with a little
help from Paula Abdul.
"America's Got Talent" will return in May 2017 on NBC.
