Armed with a ukulele and a talent in writing and singing words, twelve-year-old Grace Vanderwaal took home 1 million dollars after being crowned the winner of the popular talent show, “America’s Got Talent." Grace’s raspy voice and bright personality caught the eye of the audience and won America’s heart from the very first note, and she continued through the competition to prove that any dream can come true with hard work and dedication.
Her song “I Don’t Know My Name” was sung at her audition, and earned her the golden buzzer from coach Howie Mandel, who continually insisted throughout the competition that Grace could very easily walk away with the one million dollars.
In her following performances, it became very clear that her songwriting skills are far beyond her age; she is a writing genius who doubles as a musical prodigy. Her songs are well-written with tasteful melodies and tunes that are easy to sing along to. Before long, people were making their own covers of “I Don’t Know My Name”. With these skills, it is hard to argue the ultimate decision that made her the winner.
Her victory was met with both positive and, unfortunately, negative comments. Some have said that her win was unfair to the other talents on the show, especially the contestants called “The Clairvoyants” as well as singer Brian Justin Crum. The argument is focused on her age and voice maturity, stating that she still has a lot of work to do on her voice and a lot to learn about music in general. Many have questioned her ability to even use what she won—one million dollars and a show in Las Vegas—due to her age.
This argument brings to light the subject of putting teenagers in the spotlight at such a young age: is it good to put them in the world of fame when they’re still young? Will being recognized now affect her as she gets older?
She may be young, but it is hard to look past her talent. Even if she does need more training, her voice is already good for her age and can only get better from here. However, the very purpose of “America’s Got Talent” is to find talent and reward that person for the hard work and dedication put into his or her art. Grace walked on stage as a shy twelve-year-old girl and shocked everyone once her song started.
She walked on the stage as no one and left a winner.
I suppose her talent and willingness to share it with the nation can be an inspiration to aspiring artists and musicians of all ages, a certain motivation to move on no matter how old you are or what situation you may be in. It’s a simple message from a young girl with a dream to anyone who has wishes and aspirations: Follow your dreams and never give up.
It’s as simple as that.
