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The 10-year-old heavy-metal guitarist who surprised the judges on America’s Got Talent was Maya Neelakantan. A June 27, 2024, Entertainment Tonight video description identifies Neelakantan by name and age and describes the judges’ reaction, including Simon Cowell’s.
Who is the young guitarist who surprised the judges?
Maya Neelakantan is the guitarist at the center of the story. Entertainment Tonight’s June 27, 2024, video description identifies her as 10 and says her heavy-metal performance surprised the judges on America’s Got Talent, with Cowell among them. The age and reaction refer to that 2024 coverage; they should not be treated as a current age or a description of later performances.
What did Simon Cowell say?
A June 26, 2024, Yahoo-hosted headline attributes this line to Cowell: “You turned into this rock goddess.” The available headline supports that short quotation, but not additional dialogue or surrounding context, so it is best read as a reported line rather than a full transcript.
How this relates to her later AGT performance
NBC’s official America’s Got Talent listings separately identify a later 2024 quarterfinal clip in which Neelakantan performs Metallica’s “Master of Puppets.” That listing confirms another guitar performance on the show; it does not establish that the quarterfinal clip is the same performance described in the June coverage.
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The cited descriptions identify Neelakantan as a guitarist, but do not establish the make or model of the instrument or other performance equipment. They support the basic story of a young guitarist playing heavy metal—not claims about a particular guitar she used.
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- PERFECT FOR KIDS: Made from durable hardwood with a lacquered finish, this guitar is built to match the look, feel, and sound of a full-sized guitar so kids can learn to play in comfort
- CLASSICAL DESIGN: Built to recreate the iconic curves and sound of the classical acoustic guitar-the tight gap between the strings and fretboard is ideal for beginners and helps reduce player fatigue
- EXPLORE MUSICAL LEARNING: Ideally sized for children to reach every note on the fretboard and available in a variety of unique colors and styles so your child can find their unique sound; GUITAR DIMENSIONS: 30"(L) x 10.5"(W) x 2.75"(H)
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