Grace VanderWaal stuns fans with incredible performance 8 years after winning ‘America’s Got Talent’

Eight years after winning “America’s Got Talent” at age 12, Grace VanderWaal blowing people away again.

In honor of his role in Francis Ford Coppola‘s film “Megalopolis,” the performer took the stage at the 47th Kennedy Center Honors, where she sang, “The Impossible Dream.”

Coppola is one of four honorees to be recognized for their artistic achievements.

While performing for the longtime director, fans on TikTok were stunned by how much VanderWaal has grown over the past eight years.

“I was just thinking about her,” revealed one comment. “Her vocal technique has grown so much. She has such a beautiful alto voice.”

“She’s about to make the biggest comeback,” read another comment. “And she deserves it all.”

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VanderWaal became a household name when she took the stage during the 11th season of “America’s Got Talent” with her ukulele in hand and sang an original song titled “I Don’t Know My Name.”

The audition resulted in Howie Mandel hits the golden buzzer. She would go on to win the competition.

In September, VanderWaal opened up about the public’s reaction to her no longer being the 12-year-old girl they were first introduced to nearly a decade ago.

“I had the strangest experience recently,” she told Varietyand recalls a moment when she ran into a fan exiting a public bathroom.

“She said, ‘You’re a woman! You’re an adult!’ I literally gently parented her through this, but she wouldn’t get over it. She couldn’t handle it.”

This is something that VanderWaal has become concerned about. “I’ve been so afraid of crushing that dream for people,” she told Variety.

“But I want you to ask yourself, why do you feel personally affected? It’s really sad, but it’s been very liberating to reclaim that for myself.”

The following month, after performing on the Today Showadmitted VanderWaal that she’s over watching the footage of her 12-year-old self standing on the “AGT” stages and wondering if she’ll ever be recognized for anything else.

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While talking to Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Chindiscussed her experience on the set of “Megalopolis,” where she plays a pop star, VanderWaal revealed that it was “a lot” and admitted that she doesn’t “belong in that world.”

“Do you want to continue making music?” Hager asked. “Oh, yes,” VanderWaal replied.

The now 20-year-old is expected to release his second studio album in 2025.