After Maya Neelakantan’s audition for America’s Got Talent’s 19th season, Simon Cowell crowned her “Rock Goddess” and the video went viral, amassing over 1 million views in a single day!
A 10-year-old guitarist from India made the long journey to perform on the AGT stage. During this incredibly bizarre audition, Maya showed off her intricate guitar talents by playing an Indian classical Carnatic riff, which made her guitar sound more like a sitar than a guitar. She wore a traditionally-styled peach-pink Indian outfit.
Surprising everyone, Maya suddenly started headbanging, triggering the audience to join in on her mayhem by playing the lead riff of “Last Resort” by nu-metal giants Papa Roach. Maya then proceeded to shred a solo like a professional guitarist, nailing every note after she had mastered the iconic riff.
Maya’s solo was really bonkers; when Howie started pounding his fists on the panel to the beat, even Judge Sofia Vergara stared at her colleagues with astonishment. Standing on the sidelines, Maya’s parents and younger brother or sister watched with clear pride as they wiped away tears.
Calling Maya’s surprisingly fantastic performance “a perfect audition,” Sofia lauded her enthusiasm and self-assurance. But Howie Mandell wanted to get to the bottom of things, so he asked the 10-year-old what bands influenced her music. She named TOOL’s Adam Jones and Exodus and Slayer’s Gary Holt as her heroes.
Simon Cowell, an immediate AGT star, departed the stage with four yes votes from the judges after sharing a story about his own failed attempts to master the instrument when she was approximately the same age as Maya. This sent her to the next round of the show.