Former ‘America’s Got Talent’ Winner Blows Fans Away With TV Special

America’s Got Talent fan-favorite Grace VanderWaal is continuing to blow people away. The young performer won the talent competition series in 2016 when she was just 12 years old for Season 11. According to Us Weekly, VanderWaal, 20, performed at the 47^th Kennedy Center Honors in honor of her role in the Francis Ford Coppola film Megalopolis. The longtime director was one of four honorees recognized for artistic achievements, and that isn’t all that fans were talking about.

CBS shared a clip of VanderWaal performing at the Kennedy Center Honors on TikTok, and many fans can’t believe how far she’s come. “I was just thinking about her,” one fan said. “Her vocal technique has grown so much. She has such a beautiful voice.” Someone else hoped that this will be “the start of her finally taking over the music industry.”

@cbs

Singing to a man who knows something about dreaming seemingly impossible dreams, @Gracevanderwaal performa in the tribute to Francis Ford Coppola in this sneak peek from the KCHonors. #kennedycenter #francisfordcoppola #gracevanderwaal #tribute #performance #special #tv

♬ original sound – CBS

Many people were complimenting how much she’s improved over the years, with one fan saying, “Little Grace – you’ve grown to a beautiful woman and wonderful singer!” while another said, “oh my gosh her voice has matured SO MUCH!!” Another fan expressed, “her voice has matured so gracefully” with a loudly crying face emoji at the end.

VanderWaal has been plenty busy since getting her big break on AGT. She released her debut album, Just the Beginning, in 2017, which peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Top 200 chart in the U.S. She also released EPs Perfectly Imperfect in 2016 and Letters Vol. 1 in 2019. She released her most recent singles “Call It What You Want” last August and “What’s Left Of Me” last September. VanderWaal starred as Vesta Sweetwater in the star-studded Megalopolis, which was released last September and also stars Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LeBeouf and Laurence Fishburne, among others.

Of course, Grace VanderWaal’s voice would change in eight years as she gets older and her voice improves, but it’s still pretty amazing seeing her all grown up. While she still hasn’t “blown up” in a way most fans would want, it might not be long until she gets her time to shine. And the Kenney Center Honors is just one big step. In the meantime, fans can always stream her music on Apple Music and Spotify and hope that she continues to blow people away.