Meet Nene Royal, The Teen Guitar Heroine Who Won America’s Got Talent Season 21

She blew the world away with her scream-peppered rendition of Zombie during her America’s Got Talent (AGT) audition, got the coveted golden buzzer from Mel B during the semi-finals, went on to win Season 21 of the competition – and now she’s the hottest young guitar heroine of our time. 16-year-old Nene Royal’s rise to stardom appears to have happened overnight. In reality, though, this “Cinderella story” didn’t just hinge on what was seemingly one lucky chance encounter. It’s one that’s been many years in the making for pretty much half of Nene’s life – a long-standing childhood dream she’s been chasing head-on at full throttle.

A little girl with big dreams: how it all began

Hailing from Phuket, Thailand, Nene – whose real name is Rattikan “Praew” Amloy – first picked up a guitar at the tender age of seven. Call it fate; The computer-based co-curricular class she wanted to attend in school was full, so she enrolled in music instead.

Her hands took to the frets naturally. She first learnt four chords: E-minor, C, G, and D, and within just three days, was strumming along to her first song – the same hit by The Cranberries that would one day be part of her life-changing AGT audition years later.

As to how she fell in love with the world of rock: the influence of her father, an ardent rock fan himself. When driving around in his car, he’d turn on the radio to OG heavy hitters like Deep Purple, Metallica, ACDC and the like, and little Nene would sing along in the backseat. At nine, she started playing the electric guitar despite initially being warned of its potential difficulty – she recalls her first-ever guitar solo conquered being that of Hotel California.

It was around this time that Nene started busking at Naka Weekend Market thanks to the encouragement of her ever-supportive dad. She started off playing the same five songs on loop, but steadily built up her repertoire as she gained more expertise and precision in her fingerwork. Word eventually spread among the local community – as well as Phuket’s tourists – about this rock prodigy and her youth band, Ozone. Those in the know would already have seen her busking videos circulating on social media pre-AGT, with some particularly viral ones from 2025 raking in millions of views and counting today (her cover of System of a Down’s Chop Suey is one of many).

While reigning Naka Weekend Market’s modest stage with her raw charisma and talent, Nene began harbouring dreams of becoming a global rock star – ultimately setting her sights on America’s Got Talent as a bucket list goal. Four audition clips was what it took for her to finally receive a response from the AGT production team, and the rest, as we now know, is history.

Natural rockstar quality

When we chatted with Nene Royal in person, she exuded an unbridled level of confidence, balanced with a sense of grounded composure – readily answering each interview question with fresh enthusiasm, and striking expressive, dynamic poses through a quick photoshoot without requiring any prompting. The teenage years are precarious ones, often ridden with self-consciousness and a struggle to find one’s self-identity. Yet, it seems that Nene already knows exactly who she is.

“I was so young when my dream was to become a rockstar. And there are people who say that only guys play rock, while women mostly play pop, R&B, jazz…but I love rock, so I just keep doing rock music, that’s all…I just do what I really wanna do. I don’t care about being judged. [If someone were to say] ‘Oh my God, you’re a girl, so you can’t play rock music’, I’m just like, I don’t care about what you’re saying. I just want to do my own thing,” she candidly remarks.

It’s this refreshing authenticity and fearlessness that give her that true rockstar quality, on top of her already impressive suite of skills. And this aura was also wholly evident on stage when she opened for Avenged Sevenfold – her all-time favourite band – during their first concert in Singapore in 11 years on October 13, 2026.

Nene Royal x Avenged Sevenfold: an epic crossover

Any metalhead would agree: Nene is the new-gen guitar goddess we never knew we needed. Energy was palpable when she took the stage at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, diving first into Hysteria by Muse, followed by Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden, Killing in the Name by Rage Against the Machine, IEAIAIO by System of a Down, and finally ending off with Zombie which of course had everyone joining in. Without any backing band, she singlehandedly commanded a crowd of thousands into raucous circle pits, with even those in seated areas going wild for her shredding and power-packed vocals. For a moment, it was almost as though the audience had forgotten that they were present for another big rock legend’s show.

While Avenged Sevenfold was met with much headbanging and scream-singing, the quintet didn’t claim the stage as only their own that night. Mid-set, they invited Nene to join them for Bat Country and Unholy Confessions – completely impromptu and unrehearsed. Not that a rehearsal was ever needed. Nene’s deft fingers have danced through those very same riffs and solos at Naka Weekend Market countless times. This round just happened to be in the company of her heroes – and it was an electric collision of talent and stage presence.

If Synyster Gates (A7X’s lead guitarist) ever needs an understudy, the boys know who to call.

More fun facts about Nene Royal

How she felt when she first stood on stage of America’s Got Talent: “I went on stage and I felt so nervous to play in front of so many people — an audience of 3,000 and four judges — so when I was speaking, my hands were shaking. Then, I started to play the first riff of Zombie, and I wasn’t nervous at all, because I enjoyed it, and the moment that I loved [most] was when the audience was singing along with me and giving me energy.”

Her top three Avenged Sevenfold songs to perform live: “Nightmare, Bat Country and So Far Away”.

Bands she loves and looks up to as role models, other than A7X: “Oh, I love bands like System of a Down, Limp Bizkit, ACDC, Metallica, Linkin Park, and many more. I just love the whole genre of rock music.” 

What she enjoys doing in her free time: “Doing art – I just draw everything. And also, doing sports. I love swimming and volleyball.” (Watch her drawing A7X’s Deathbat logo here)

She’s a musical all-rounder: “I also play other instruments. I can play a little bit of drums, bass, and piano.”