Young Thai rocker Nene Royal has advanced to the pivotal Live Shows round of "America’s Got Talent 2026."
A video announcing the result was released Wednesday on the AGT YouTube channel.
During the second week of the NBC talent show’s Judges’ Callbacks round, judges Sofía Vergara and Howie Mandel took a second look at a selection of performances to determine who was ready to move on to the Live Shows, where contestants perform in front of the judges and a live audience.
During the Live Shows, the public votes for their favourite acts to advance rather than the panel of judges.
Sixteen-year-old Phuket native, Nene, impressed the judges and audience members during the Callbacks with her performance of Muse’s Hysteria. She was the first contestant to hear her result from Mandel.
“I feel very nervous. My dream is like... I really want to go to the Live Shows and also become a superstar,” Nene said before entering the room where the results were announced.
She sat down with Mandel, who praised her as a great and amazing musician before telling her: “But this is a tough year. A lot of acts, you know.”
“And then we got to narrow it down to the best,” he continued. “You’re the best. You’re going to the Live Shows.”
AGT’s online channels have been flooded with congratulatory messages from Thai fans who have supported Nene, or Rattikarn “Praew” Amloy, since her international breakthrough with her rendition of The Cranberries’ Zombie last month.
Other contestants advancing to the Live Shows included Cris Sosa, Daniel Alvarez, Bird and Byron, Kameron Marshall, Brook Lynn and Olivia Befus, with performances spanning music, comedy, magic, singing and dog training.
