America's Got Talent Alum Grace VanderWaal Is All Grown Up in Rare Life Update

2024-12-24 10:46:21 source: category:Markets

Grace VanderWaal is fine being perfectly imperfect.

Nearly eight years after winning America's Got Talent, the singer made an impromptu appearance on one of TikToker David Carmi's Confidence Heist videos, in which he asks New Yorkers their secret to being confident while out on the streets.

"Oh my god, you're the TikTok guy!" she raved in an Aug. 14 video. "My name is Grace VanderWaal."

After David marveled at the "coincidence" of stumbling upon her, Grace said that her secret to looking confident is actually "having somewhere to go."

In addition, the 20-year-old said growing up in the spotlight helped her get out of her comfort zone.

"It threw me into scrutiny," explained Gracem who won America's Got Talent in 2016 at the age of 12. "And just kinda forced me to sink or swim."

And though it may sound "corny," the ukulele player advised viewers to "accept who you are" and embrace "your strengths" to become a more confident person.

But Grace also had some foreboding words to her younger self, adding with a grimace, "Don't trust everyone."

Indeed, Grace has done a lot of growing up since her TV debut, during which America's Got Talent judge Simon Cowell called her the next Taylor Swift.

"Looking back, I have definitely faced the mental repercussions of that growing up," she told E! News in 2022. "I keep learning about how to take care of myself better and my biggest thing recently is just acknowledging your triggers."

Grace continued, "I've been doing this for so long that you get desensitized to hate online. I went through a ton of hate online when I was really young. I'm happy it happened though because it prepared me for this life."

So, what is she up to these days? Grace shared an update Aug. 26, posting a photo of her smoking on a New York City rooftop, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at her filming her recently-released "Call It What You Want" music video.

She wrote on Instagram, "Life."

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