Grace VanderWaal - new ukulele playing star in the making.

She is awesome!! I wish her the best. And as a little bonus, During her interview last night I saw she uses my hangers to hang her ukulele collection, that was cool.

Here's her third performance on AGT. She's losing her voice. I hope she can even sing the next show. I have to say this performance was pretty substandard compared to the other two. She was using the Luna again and I think she had a problem with it because she didn't play it most of the song.
I hope her mom makes her rest her voice for a few days. Otherwise, she may have to drop out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTCNXvSWgsE

She may be the best thing to happen to the ukulele in quite a while. Third performance on AGT and she mostly aced it. Vunerable, catchy, confident lyrics and that crackle in her voice that makes her sound so much older than she actually is. To think that someone that young could hold up under that much pressure just astounds me. What a special family she must have to provide support, to allow her to follow a dream, and to encourage her confidence!

She made it through. Hard to say how far she can go despite Howie's prediction. By this stage I would guess all of the performers are going to have very successful careers.

I've not really been following the show - she has an extremely interesting voice for her age - and I imagine its been a great boost for people running uke clubs and school programmes.

I'm always just a bit ambivalent about talent shows as high profile as this being open to all ages.

I worry about her voice too. I don't know if her voice is mature enough to take the stress of all the performing. I don't know much about voices but I had a chorus teacher who said her voice was ruined by early voice training...she sounded like a frog.

Papa Bear said:

She was using the Luna again and I think she had a problem with it because she didn't play it most of the song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTCNXvSWgsE

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I think the amp wasn't working, and what you hear is it coming in through her mic rather than the pickup.

I have concerns about her voice too, I think she needs a good singing teacher who can help her protect it as she grows. Her speaking voice is gravelly.

I have no concerns about her song writing ability, she's great, no matter her age.

Papa Bear said:

She was using the Luna again and I think she had a problem with it because she didn't play it most of the song.

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I think that's a different Luna from the first show, this one is a tattoo...

I worry more about the big networks and recording companies ruining her sweet, innocent presence.

There was this adorable, talented little British girl on Britains got Talent a few years ago, wonder what ever happened to her?

this...

my point exactly. If someone is talented at 12, they should be still talented at 15. Or 16. But if the only appeal is cuteness, you have a shelf life of a yoghurt, and who wants kids exposed to that??

UkerDanno said:

I think that's a different Luna from the first show, this one is a tattoo...

I worry more about the big networks and recording companies ruining her sweet, innocent presence.

There was this adorable, talented little British girl on Britains got Talent a few years ago, wonder what ever happened to her?

this, you can skip to the 1:30 mark for the song...

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Her audition was with a Luna Tattoo. The first live show was a Bruce Wei, and this week she's back to the Luna.

Connie's still singing, she's pretty cute, isn't she? You don't have to win these shows to have a good career. All you need is some exposure. If Grace has a nice family, she should grow up okay and not turn into a train wreck.

Here is the video where she talks about her ukuleles. Skip to about the 3/4 point. A lot of personal stuff in the beginning.
Apparently, she damaged the Bruce Wei custom (with the heart soundhole) 5 days before her AGT audition. She had to get the Luna to make do for the audition.

Thanks for the video. I love that she purchased her first ukulele at 11. I've been educated about the Bruce Wei ukulele customs (incredibly inexpensive but apparently they don't always sound great, which doesn't matter if you are using a pickup). If I were at a ukulele manufacturer, I would be working to sign the young lady to a contract, have her play our ukuleles, and get a custom (mass replicated) model out ASAP. I would have done that the day after her first audition. The ukulele "pros" aren't in the public eye as a whole. As great as Jake Shimabukuro and James Hill are, 21 Pilots have had far more of an impact on (current) kids being interested in ukulele. Grace, with all of the attention she is getting, could be the driver for a lot of ukulele sales.

As a middle school teacher, a singer, and now a ukulele player, Grace's rise to fame has been fascinating for me to watch.

She seems incredibly grounded for a 12-13 year old, and while she has incredible "adult" moments, she is also still a kid. It seems like she has great support at home with a supportive family. From her own description, she sounds a bit like she is on her own at school (small group of friends) which isn't surprising--many of my best "music" students have shared that level of social integration.

I am simply blown away by her songs--I have never had a student in twenty years of teaching (middle school or high school) that has been able to write songs like she does. While the harmonic sequence of her songs seem to be pretty basic (let's be honest...the same is true for many songs), she is able to craft songs with memorable, catchy tunes.

There is no doubt that her "whole package" is part of her appeal (appearance, personality, instrument, her own songs), and it is unlikely she would get the same shot if she were 21 or 35.

I do worry about her speaking voice and singing voice a little bit, as a singer and teacher of voice. The "gravely" parts of her voice are not healthy, and while that sound is part of her appeal, it may not serve her well in the long run. I am hoping that they are working with or seeking a good voice teacher that can help her develop her own style (which is usually not the case) yet avoiding vocal disfunction.

I don't know what her "lasting power" will be, or if she will even choose to pursue music after high school (she still has 5 or 6 years of school before then). But for this period of time, she is bringing joy and encouragement to a lot of people, and if this is "it," six months in the national eye without losing yourself is a pretty good run in and of itself, too.

OK. She's not Clay. My daughter's going to laugh when she sees that Grace was playing the exact model Kala that she loved playing at Sam Ash on the way to seeing the Legend of Zelda Orchestra concert. Even the same color! Grace has found her niche. Even if she doesn't win the final, she'll get a recording deal.

That was great! I think her voice sounded better/healthier in this video than the previous one. She seemed less nervous, and performed very well.

And UAS seems to have taken hold of her too!

Yeah, her voice sounded better, the song wasn't that great. Maybe she should have done a cover...saw her do Exes and Ohs, it was awesome.

It's in post #17...

Papa Bear said:

OK. She's not Clay. My daughter's going to laugh when she sees that Grace was playing the exact model Kala that she loved playing at Sam Ash on the way to seeing the Legend of Zelda Orchestra concert. Even the same color! Grace has found her niche. Even if she doesn't win the final, she'll get a recording deal.

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Yep. This final group of performers are probably the best the show has ever had (or as good as Terry Fader from season one) and no doubt most of them will go on to very successful careers. Case-in-point, one of my tenants was on American Idol this past season, Mackenzie Bourg, who came in 4th place and still got a recording contract. He's recording an album right now (he even asked me and other members of The CC Strummers to play uke on one of his songs).

I loved it. She is a song writer. There are some great performers on AGT this season and this 12 year old is right up there with them. She is honest and present. May she continue her craft building.

Aw, she won! I thought she would. She does not seem to fit in with the Vegas crowd as much as The Clairvoyants, though. Best of luck to her and the other contestants. Always good to see talent recognized.

(But man, does the show have to be so dramatic? I thought Grace was going to have several heart attacks as they kept eliminating people. Goes to show why I never watch these things...)

YAY FOR HER!!!! She did good.