‘America’s Got Talent’ Season 21: Meet the Winner Who Takes Home the $1M Prize Money

Published 09/24/2026, 1:59 AM CDT

Credits: Trae Patton/NBC

Since 2006, America's Got Talent has turned unknown acts into household names, from Grace VanderWaal to Shin Lim. This week, ten finalists took the stage with $1 million on the line, and only one could walk away as Season 21's champion.

A viral audition, a guitar, and a Live Golden Buzzer carried one act all the way to the top.

Who won America's Got Talent Season 21?

Nene Royal has been crowned the winner of America's Got Talent Season 21. The 16-year-old rocker from Phuket, Thailand, took home the $1 million grand prize after the live finale on September 23.

Her run began with a punk rock cover of The Cranberries' 'Zombie' at her audition. She followed it with Muse's 'Hysteria' in the Judges' Callbacks and Soundgarden's 'Black Hole Sun' in the quarterfinals, which earned her Mel B's Live Golden Buzzer and a direct spot in the finale. In the final, she performed The White Stripes' 'Seven Nation Army' to a standing ovation.

Credits: Trae Patton/NBC

While the trophy and the cheque were great additions, Royal's win was further solidified by judge's praises.

"The biggest, most talented, most viral talent to be on that stage," Howie Mandel, AGT judge described her.

As the confetti hit the ground, there were no doubts about Nene Royal being a deserving American's Got Talent Season 21 winner, with the singer trying her hand at the guitar since the age of seven.

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When a child of such talent wins big, the audiences often turn to look at the figures supporting her from the beginning.

Who are America's Got Talent's winner Nene Royal's parents?

Nong Praew Rattikarn Amlai, who has now victoriously come to be known as Nene Royal, the 16 year old girl from Phuket, Thailand that has made the world her stage has evidently been supported by her father in the audience through each one of her performance. That is not to say that her mother's support lacked in any way.

In fact, on the Khao Sai Khai program on Thairath TV Channel 32, Nene Royal and her father video called her mother, who could not have been any more proud of her daughter and asked Thai people to further support her.

Credit: Trae Patton/NBC

Nene Royal's father, Narong Amloy, and mother, Chuanpit Mae Oom Poonkerd, have shared the dream of their daughter and always supported her journey. In fact, her father was the one who introduced her to music and even built a rehearsal space for her in her home as per Bangkok Post. So while the winner title will be held by Nene Royal, the America's Got Talent Season 21 victory belongs to the whole family.

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Did you think Nene Royal will be the winner? Let us know in the comments.

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Aliza Siddiqui

2007 articles

Aliza Siddiqui is an Entertainment Journalist and Primary Editor at Netflix Junkie. With over a thousand articles previously published at Otakukart, she brings a seasoned voice to pop culture storytelling—infused with her signature wit and editorial finesse. Her passion for cinema sparked with Anne Hathaway’s Princess Diaries and deepened through films like Don't Look Up and The Dictator, which shaped her appreciation for satire and subtext.

Edited By: Itti Mahajan

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