--- description: Notoriously hard-to-impress 'America's Got Talent' judge Simon Cowell called contestant Grace VanderWaal, "the next Taylor Swift." title: Is This Girl 'The Next Taylor Swift?' Simon Cowell Says So image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdcf55cded23b4ce9/6988971cfb4eac561788ddb1/grace-vanderwaal-americas-got-talent-simon-cowell.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Is This 12-Year-Old Girl 'The Next Taylor Swift?' Simon Cowell Says So  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 9, 2016 2:39 PM CUT  (Courtesy: NBC Universal)  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 9, 2016 2:39 PM CUT She might only be 12, but Grace VanderWaal’s powerhouse vocals and ukulele skills have already caught the attention of some of music’s toughest critics, including one Mr. [Simon Cowell](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1984685%5F1984940%5F1985514,00.html "undefined"). The precocious singer appeared on [_America’s Got Talent_ ](http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/07/04/texas-housewife-wins-tvs-heart-with-talent-and-adorable-personality/?iid=sr-link2 "undefined")on Tuesday night, where her flawless performance of an original song, “I Don’t Know My Name,” earned Grace an endorsement from [Howie Mandel](http://entertainment.time.com/2013/06/02/qa-howie-mandel-on-the-definition-of-talent/ "undefined")‘s golden buzzer, with judge going so far as to call her “a living, beautiful, walking miracle.” However, the biggest compliment of the night came from the infamously hard-to-impress Cowell, who told the aspiring chanteuse that she reminded him of one of America’s biggest pop stars. “Grace, you know what I predict for you? I think you are the next Taylor Swift,” Cowell said. Watch her full performance below. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4362496/simon-cowell-grace-vanderwaal-americas-got-talent/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4362496/simon-cowell-grace-vanderwaal-americas-got-talent/"},"headline":"Is This 12-Year-Old Girl 'The Next Taylor Swift?' Simon Cowell Says So","datePublished":"2016-06-09T14:39:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:33:11.110Z","description":"Meet Grace Vanderwaal of 'America's Got Talent'","url":"https://time.com/4362496/simon-cowell-grace-vanderwaal-americas-got-talent/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Music","Taylor Swift","entertainment"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdcf55cded23b4ce9/6988971cfb4eac561788ddb1/grace-vanderwaal-americas-got-talent-simon-cowell.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdcf55cded23b4ce9/6988971cfb4eac561788ddb1/grace-vanderwaal-americas-got-talent-simon-cowell.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Grace-Vanderwaal-Americas-Got-Talent-Simon-Cowell","caption":"","creditText":"(Courtesy: NBC Universal)","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4362496/simon-cowell-grace-vanderwaal-americas-got-talent/","name":"Is This 12-Year-Old Girl 'The Next Taylor Swift?' Simon Cowell Says So"}}]}] ```