Thai teen phenom Nene Royal to open for US metal band after winning America’s Got Talent

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A teen guitar hero who was recently busking night markets in her native Thailand will open for one of America’s biggest metal bands, after taking the crown at America’s Got Talent and becoming an icon back home.

Nene Royal, 16, is set to open for Avenged Sevenfold at their show in Singapore on October 13, according to a post shared by the group’s promoter and Nene to Instagram Thursday.

“The stage is about to get LOUDER,” the post said, welcoming Nene as a “very special guest.”

Nene’s latest gig follows a stunning rise for the Thai rocker in recent months, after she wowed the judges and audience with her powerful rendition of “Zombie” by The Cranberries in her audition for the 21st season of America’s Got Talent.

The performance – which Nene’s powerhouse vocals, headbanging and masterful guitar solos rendered more like a rock concert than an audition – quickly went viral, solidifying her as an early fan favorite. The original TikTok video has now been viewed more than 165 million times.

She continued to sweep the competition through her journey to clinching the $1 million prize, earning the “Golden Buzzer” from judge Mel B (or Scary Spice) – sending her straight to the live shows. On the way she jammed with Mexican sibling trio The Warning and for the finale she played on stage with US rockers Linkin Park and delivered a blistering take on The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” .

When host Terry Crews announced Nene as the winner over magician Geno Ploeger, the teen fell to the floor and started crying as gold confetti rained over the stage.

“I’m very happy and emotional,” Nene said, thanking her supporters.

Huntington Beach’s Avenged Sevenfold are embarking on a global tour of Asia and Australasia over the next few weeks and the show in Singapore will give Nene an opportunity to play to a crowd of die hard metal fans in her neighborhood. She has previously cited the band as a major inspiration.

Hype over Nene, who hails from the tourist island of Phuket, has reached fever pitch in Thailand, with much of the Southeast Asian country of 71 million rallying behind the teen sensation, who started teaching herself to play guitar at age 7. Before gracing international stages, Nene performed at Phuket’s Naka Weekend Market. She is currently working on her debut EP.

Thailand’s most famous rock musician, Aed Carabao, pledged 1 million Thai baht (about $30,000) to help cover travel expenses to California for Nene and her family.

A billboard by Thai conglomerate CP Group in New York City’s Times Square featured a photo of Nene and messages from dozens of Thai fans cheering her on. The conglomerate also gifted Nene a luxury condo in Bangkok.

The Thai government has heavily championed Nene, calling her “an inspiration to anyone who dares to dream big” in a statement following her win.

“What makes this win special is that Nene carried her Thai identity with confidence onto one of the world’s biggest stages,” said the statement.

“She showed that talent, hard work, and determination can come from anywhere, including a young girl from Phuket with a guitar and a big dream.”

Winning the competition was one of her “biggest dreams,” Nene told Entertainment Weekly this week.

“Now I want to focus on creating and releasing my own music, touring around the world, and hopefully one day, sharing a stage with the bands that inspire me, like Avenged Sevenfold or Metallica,” she said. “That’s my next dream.”

CNN’s Kocha Olarn contributed reporting.

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一位曾在泰国家乡夜市卖艺的青少年吉他英雄，在赢得《美国达人秀》冠军并成为家乡偶像后，将为美国最著名的金属乐队之一担任开场嘉宾。

据该组合的推广人和妮妮·罗亚尔周四在 Instagram 上分享的帖子显示，16 岁的妮妮·罗亚尔将于 10 月 13 日在新加坡举行的 Avenged Sevenfold 演唱会上担任开场嘉宾。

“舞台即将变得更加喧闹，”帖子中写道，并欢迎妮妮作为“非常特别的嘉宾”出席。

妮妮的最新演出是在她近几个月来迅速蹿红之后进行的。此前，这位泰国摇滚歌手在《美国达人秀》第 21 季的试镜中，凭借对小红莓乐队歌曲《Zombie》的精彩演绎，征服了评委和观众。

妮妮的表演——她极具爆发力的嗓音、劲爆的甩头和精湛的吉他独奏，与其说是一场试镜，不如说更像是一场摇滚演唱会——迅速走红网络，让她成为早期粉丝最爱的选手之一。这段TikTok原视频的观看次数现已超过1.65亿次。

她一路横扫比赛，最终赢得100万美元大奖，并获得评委梅尔·B（辣妹组合成员）的“黄金按钮”，直接晋级现场直播环节。途中，她与墨西哥兄妹三人组The Warning合作演出，并在决赛中与美国摇滚乐队林肯公园同台献艺，激情演绎了白条纹乐队的经典之作《七国军队》。

当主持人特里·克鲁斯宣布妮妮战胜魔术师吉诺·普洛格获胜时，这位少女瘫倒在地，开始哭泣，金色的彩带如雨般洒落在舞台上。

“我非常高兴，也很激动，”妮妮说道，并感谢了她的支持者。

来自亨廷顿海滩的Avenged Sevenfold乐队将在未来几周内开启亚洲和大洋洲的全球巡演，而新加坡站的演出将让妮妮有机会在她家附近为一群铁杆金属乐迷献唱。她此前曾表示，这支乐队对她影响深远。

来自旅游胜地普吉岛的妮妮在泰国掀起了一股热潮，这个拥有7100万人口的东南亚国家的大部分民众都为这位7岁就开始自学吉他的少女偶像欢呼雀跃。在登上国际舞台之前，妮妮曾在普吉岛的纳卡周末市集演出。她目前正在制作自己的首张EP。

泰国最著名的摇滚音乐家艾德·卡拉宝承诺捐赠 100 万泰铢（约 3 万美元），以帮助支付妮妮和她的家人前往加利福尼亚的旅行费用。

泰国正大集团在纽约时代广场竖起了一块广告牌，上面印着妮妮的照片以及数十位泰国粉丝为她加油的留言。该集团还赠送妮妮一套位于曼谷的豪华公寓。

泰国政府大力支持妮妮，在她获胜后发表声明称她“激励着所有敢于追梦的人”。

声明中说：“这场胜利的特别之处在于，妮妮自信地将她的泰国身份带到了世界最大的舞台之一。”

“她证明了天赋、努力和决心可以来自任何地方，包括来自普吉岛、怀揣吉他和远大梦想的年轻女孩。”

妮妮本周告诉《娱乐周刊》，赢得比赛是她“最大的梦想之一”。

“现在我想专注于创作和发行自己的音乐，进行世界巡演，并希望有一天能与激励我的乐队同台演出，比如 Avenged Sevenfold 或 Metallica，”她说。“那是我下一个梦想。”

CNN的Kocha Olarn对此报道亦有贡献。