Tuesday’s episode of America’s Got Talent took an unexpected turn when a seemingly shy young girl, Maya Neelakantan, delivered an instrumental rendition of PAPA ROACH‘s hit “Last Resort.” According to Entertainment Weekly, Maya revealed that this performance was her first time on stage.
Judge Simon Cowell said about Maya‘s performance: “You know what I love about this audition, you just weren’t expecting this. You were so shy, and you’re 10! And then you turned into, like, this rock goddess.”
Howie Mandel then asked about her inspirations, to which she responded: “One is Adam Jones from TOOL. Also, Gary Holt, who is the guitarist of EXODUS and SLAYER.”
Speaking of Jones, the TOOL guitarist gifted Maya a guitar back in 2022, when she was just nine years old. In 2023, she went viral for performing a mashup of 22 TOOL songs in a single take.
All the judges were clearly impressed by Maya, giving her a unanimous yes to move on.
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