12-Year-Old Grace VanderWaal Says Debut EP Tells Stories of “Things That I’ve Been Through”

December 16, 2016 ABC News Radio

Trae Patton/NBCGrace VanderWaal was one of the most-searched artists of 2016, according to Google; her debut EP just entered the chart at #9; and one of her songs has earned 47 million views on YouTube. Not bad for a 12-year-old, right?

It’s too early to see if the America’s Got Talent winner will end up being “the next Taylor Swift,” as Simon Cowell famously dubbed her, but she seems to be off to a pretty good start. Grace’s EP, Perfectly Imperfect, features new recordings of the original songs she performed on the NBC talent competition, including her standout, “I Don’t Know My Name.”

“Each song is like a story of things that I’ve been through,” Grace tells ABC Radio, laughing. “I say that like I’ve lived a long life, I’m 12!”

“But I have been through some things, I guess,” she continues. “And [the EP] kinda gives stories of them and it kinda lets you get to know me better.”

The question is, can people over the age of 12 relate to the things she’s writing about? The top-10 debut of the EP would seem to indicate that the answer is yes, but Grace says she’s seen with her own eyes that she has fans of all ages.

“It’s hard to tell with crowds, y’know? Sometimes I have crowds and it’s just like, maybe three to six [year-olds], the whole crowd,” she tells ABC Radio. “And then other times, I don’t see one kid and it’s all up to [age] 60!”

Grace will be one of the performers on Monday’s America’s Got Talent Holiday Spectacular, a two-hour special featuring performances from Andra Day, Pentatonix, Penn & Teller and past season favorites like Jackie Evancho and Matt Franco. Nick Cannon and the judges also will participate in the special.