Phuket singer and guitarist Nene Royal has secured a place in the America's Got Talent final after receiving Mel B's Live Golden Buzzer during the quarter-finals.

The 16-year-old performed Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, prompting the crowd to rise to its feet as she delivered the rock classic. Cheers broke out during the performance.

Mel B praised the young performer before pressing the Golden Buzzer.

"Your vocals are on point. Your guitar is on point. Your look, your energy, your vibe, how could I not do this?" she told Nene.

Picture courtesy of Khoasod

Gold confetti then fell across the stage as Nene became visibly emotional, breaking down in tears before her parents joined her for an embrace.

A direct route to the final

The Live Golden Buzzer gives one act from each quarter-final an immediate place in the final, meaning Nene will not need to rely on the public vote to progress.

It is her biggest moment so far on the US talent show, following viral performances of The Cranberries' Zombie and Muse's Hysteria.

Phuket performer gains international platform

Nene's appearance combines singing and electric guitar, with her choice of rock material helping set her apart during the competition.

Her performance of Black Hole Sun drew a particularly strong response in Pasadena, where the audience reacted loudly as she worked through the song before Mel B made her decision.

The Golden Buzzer moment also ensured that Nene's parents could join her on stage immediately after the result. The family embrace came as the gold confetti continued to fall.

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26 August 2026

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I wish Mel didn't do that. Nene doesn't need to win AGT. She would benefit from furhter exposure. She would have gone through to semifinals, and likely finals anyway.

What golden buzzer did was rob her of one live performance to a massive audience during the semifinals. Which, like her callbacks' Muse performance, would have won her additional fan base.

But she's probably happy if she sees this as a competition. I don't think it should be seen as that. It should be seen as a massive marketing exposure, making her visible to songwriters, producers, promoters, etc. who can help her record own material and lift her into international rock star she so much desires.

Well done. She's extremely talented. A great performer.

Look at the view count from today. She'd literally have to not turn up to the final to lose. Getting the golden buzzer now is good. That's one less song to prepare and she can focus on the final. Black Hole Sun was from left field - I've never seen her perform that in any of her videos. Would love to see her and her band open for Metallica or SOAD !

So what??? she did not won yet.. she is going to the finals.....nothing more...The winner of the finals is the one that counts

4 hours ago, DavisH said:

Look at the view count from today. She'd literally have to not turn up to the final to lose. Getting the golden buzzer now is good. That's one less song to prepare and she can focus on the final. Black Hole Sun was from left field - I've never seen her perform that in any of her videos. Would love to see her and her band open for Metallica or SOAD !

A few moments later... over 2 million over closest "competitor at 55k"... actually she has nearly 10x more views than all the other acts combined...

But she is only on there because she's playing western music, if it was Thai music she would have no chance of getting on. She is not remarkable, there are many young Thais as good or better. Good luck to her though but I think Petty has more talent

I'm happy that Thais have someone to root for in AGT this year and I do see why many people think she's great, but for some reason she doesn't ring my bell.

I suppose she does have a shot in the finals voting. Americans do love their pad Thai so she'll benefit from culinary good will. They're have been a number of very strong Finoy and Japanese entrants before, but I think she's the first Thai.

Edited August 26Aug 26 by Jingthing

Saw some reaction videos... all of a sudden, the World speaks Thai...

On 8/26/2026 at 2:55 PM, ikke1959 said:

So what??? she did not won yet.. she is going to the finals.....nothing more...The winner of the finals is the one that counts

You'd be fun at parties.

On 8/26/2026 at 10:17 AM, Georgealbert said:

Phuket singer and guitarist Nene Royal has secured a place in the America's Got Talent final after receiving Mel B's Live Golden Buzzer during the quarter-finals.

The 16-year-old performed Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, prompting the crowd to rise to its feet as she delivered the rock classic. Cheers broke out during the performance.

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Mel B praised the young performer before pressing the Golden Buzzer.

"Your vocals are on point. Your guitar is on point. Your look, your energy, your vibe, how could I not do this?" she told Nene.

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Picture courtesy of Khoasod

Gold confetti then fell across the stage as Nene became visibly emotional, breaking down in tears before her parents joined her for an embrace.

A direct route to the final

The Live Golden Buzzer gives one act from each quarter-final an immediate place in the final, meaning Nene will not need to rely on the public vote to progress.

It is her biggest moment so far on the US talent show, following viral performances of The Cranberries' Zombie and Muse's Hysteria.

Phuket performer gains international platform

Nene's appearance combines singing and electric guitar, with her choice of rock material helping set her apart during the competition.

Her performance of Black Hole Sun drew a particularly strong response in Pasadena, where the audience reacted loudly as she worked through the song before Mel B made her decision.

The Golden Buzzer moment also ensured that Nene's parents could join her on stage immediately after the result. The family embrace came as the gold confetti continued to fall.

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26 August 2026

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Another thing that gets overlooked...Anyone who makes the final, becomes a compay slave of America has got talent...

They own your career for the next 10 years more or less...

They take a nasty precentage of any live prefomances and even T-shirt sales....The contracts these preformers must sign are iron clad and there is no .escape..

1 hour ago, redwood1 said:

Another thing that gets overlooked...Anyone who makes the final, becomes a compay slave of America has got talent...

They own your career for the next 10 years more or less...

They take a nasty precentage of any live prefomances and even T-shirt sales....The contracts these preformers must sign are iron clad and there is no .escape..

Nah pretty standard 15 - 20% for X years.

It's an option contract. If Fremantle or Syco/Sony passes the contestant is free to sign anywhere.

Actually because of the possible contract clauses (as posted above) it is sometimes better to not win, as then the contestant is under no obligation to AGT.

A very good example is 'Adam Lambert' who has definitely made his mark (especially with Queen).