Following Maya Neelakantan’s audition for America’s Got Talent’s 19th season, Simon Cowell dubbed her “Rock Goddess,” and the video went viral, garnering over 1 million views in a single day!
A 10-year-old guitarist from India traveled vast distances to perform on the AGT stage. During this unusual audition, Maya demonstrated her technical guitar skills by playing an Indian traditional Carnatic riff, making her instrument sound more like a sitar than a guitar. She donned a classic peach-pink Indian dress.
Surprising everyone, Maya began headbanging, prompting the audience to join in on her mayhem by playing the lead riff of “Last Resort” by nu-metal legend Papa Roach. Maya then performed a solo like a professional guitarist, hitting every note after mastering the renowned riff.
Maya’s solo was really insane; when Howie began beating his fists on the panel to the beat, even Judge Sofia Vergara looked at her colleagues in surprise. Maya’s parents and younger brother or sister stood on the sidelines, wiping away tears with obvious joy.
Sofia described Maya’s surprise great performance as “a perfect audition,” praising her excitement and confidence. But Howie Mandell wanted to get to the bottom of things, so he asked the 10-year-old which artists had affected her music. Her heroes are Adam Jones from TOOL and Gary Holt from Exodus and Slayer.
Simon Cowell, an instant AGT celebrity, left the stage with four yes votes from the judges after telling a tale about his own failed attempts to play the instrument when he was about Maya’s age. This advanced her to the next round of the show.