[category]
[title]
Another Thai name lands on the world stage. Phuket teenager Nene Royal takes 'Zombie' by The Cranberries to America's Got Talent, and all four judges say yes. She's 16, she writes her own songs, and she now goes through to the next round, one step closer to the sort of career she's been quietly building since primary school.
The performance earns a standing ovation. All four judges talk about her musicianship, then about the charisma and energy they say a rock star needs.
She isn't a total unknown, mind. Thailand has been watching for years. Three million followers across her socials, an appearance on Super 10, first runner-up at the 14th Overdrive Guitar Contest in 2023, an Outstanding Player Award at the King Power Band Competition in 2025. Enya Music, the instrument brand, name her a Featured Artist. She picks up a guitar at six, teaches herself from videos on the internet and practises alone until the chords stick.
Before the lights and the buzzers, she busks. Evenings and weekends in the markets around Phuket, guitar case open on the concrete, amp running off a borrowed extension lead, playing over the noise of woks and motorbikes and tourists sorting through racks of vests. Most people walk straight past. Some stop for a song, then carry on. You learn how to hold a crowd that hasn't chosen to listen, and once you can do that, a television studio holds no fear whatsoever.
Global superstardom next, apparently. Watch this space.