Grace VanderWaal
I've accomplished so much, have done so many projects, and have worked with such amazing people.Collection: Amazing
I remember I asked my mom for a ukulele, and she said no because she thought I would never play it. So then I got my birthday money up, and I bought my own. It was the most rebellious thing I've ever done.Collection: Mom
A family friend was staying with us once and had brought over a ukulele. I just loved the way she played it. I saved up the money from my 11th birthday and went out and bought one for myself.Collection: Birthday
Always be kind, but kindness doesn't mean that you have to not say what you think.
The world is so big, and there's so many people, and there's only one you, and that's so special and unique to think about.
I had a lot of those fake friends. You just have to realize it's happening. You can't get caught up in the 'Oh, my God, they want to be my friend, finally' aspect.
I always want to stay true to who I am, and if people don't like that, then that's okay. I think fans appreciate when you're genuine and honest, and that's how I try to be through all of this.
I want my music to evolve to become more me.
My fans should always be ready for new music.
The world is unpredictable.
I do school online. My favorite thing to do with school is to finish things and then watch it go away, especially when I am working on a laptop.
Probably my sister was the only one to tell me that I was good singer until 'America's Got Talent.'
I play the saxophone, and I used to play the piano.
I started writing once I got the ukulele.
I love colors, but I also love rich sounds. And I feel like when it comes to colored ukuleles, people assume they're cheap or that they'll have a tinny sound. And I feel like it would be really beautiful to have a rich color but also to have a rich sound.
I'll forever look at Imagine Dragons and hear them on the radio and think, 'They're great people.'
Child stardom is a really hard thing. It can really lead to bad things, and I think a lot of people have gone through that.
I love it when people refer to me as a singer-songwriter. I get flutters in my stomach because they say, 'This is Grace VanderWaal, singer-songwriter,' not, 'This is Grace VanderWaal, winner of 'America's Got Talent.'' I'm so proud of that; it's such a big chapter of my life. But it's nice to kind of not be known as just that.
That's the amazing part of humans - it's so weird how one person can inspire.
Schools should be safe.
When Ariana Grande was starting out, everyone was like, 'You're just like Mariah Carey!' She inspires me so much because she just kept going and made her own name, and no one even says that anymore.
I feel like my fans and I are all friends.
The artist I would love to be is inspiring and strong: show that I can be vulnerable but still independent.
I want to thank everyone who supported me on 'AGT.' Without you, I wouldn't be where I am today, and I really can't thank you enough.
It's always been a dream to audition for 'American Idol.' But you have to be 15 or older.
Record labels and producers are not looking to change you: they are looking to make a star. And what they might think is a star may not be you.
'So Much More Than This' is about just getting tangled up in all of the drama and stuff that really does not matter and probably won't matter in, like, three months.
I like to make little movies or fake stories about something that happened in my life. I will make a movie in my mind that would translate the same feeling or emotion that I had in whatever just happened.
I always say that you can be polite and nice and still know what you want and still can see your path.
I'm obsessed with Lorde. Oh my gosh. I'm always listening to Lorde. Her music is so powerful.
Whenever I'm traveling, it's a switch of, like, adult, mature Grace VanderWaal answering questions. Sometimes it's hard to get that balance of old, normal me as well.
If you will forever remember me as the girl from 'America's Got Talent,' that's cool, 'cause I am. If you wanna look into me and what I've done recently, that's cool, too.
I've become a ukulele hoarder.
Regular school is one bajillion times easier than online school. I want friends; I want a social life. I want that experience in my life.
I would love to sit down and do only the ukulele with a very small crowd. I would also like to sing the super poppy songs and all the background stuff. I think both would be an interesting path.
I love everything Katy Perry does.
Not so much the sound but as a person, I would say Katy Perry inspires me because you can always see that she's being true to herself. She focuses on her music and even turns down big producers. Her whole career and music is about her being herself. I want to be more like that.
Growing up so close to New York City, I always loved going to the city, but I'd be disappointed because songs about New York always made it seem so magical and perfect, and when I was younger, I just thought it was busy and dirty.
I think it's so important for women and girls to feel like they have a voice and to come together and support each other.
I think there's a misconception about the industry, that you have to change who you are to look 'cool' in order to succeed, and that's just not true.
What I think is cool about Fender, and what originally drew me to them, was the Fender electric guitar headstock, which I've never seen on another ukulele. I feel like a rock star when I'm tuning it.
I think everyone has music inside them, and my hope is that I can help them find it.
The crowd really controls how I am onstage. One show, it might be a lot of young people, super-high-energy dancing. I mirror that. Other shows, it's much more calm.
Don't be afraid to cry. Everyone needs a good cry sometimes. Sometimes I'll feel it in my throat, like, 'Today I'm going to cry about something stupid,' so just to get it out of the way, I'll watch a sad movie or something, accepting that that's totally fine and feels good.
'Famous' is a very weird word. I feel like - I feel like that's definitely not me.
I think you need to figure out your balance. 'Cause if you think too much about that there's people around and - and how you're singing and looking and performing, I think that it won't be a good performance. Then, on the other hand, you can't just be in your own world.
Every time I do something or release something or announce a new project, there's always that fear that it won't go well.
I feel like it's just so important for child and teenage development to have music in your life, honestly. And I just think it's really, really, really rewarding to me, personally, just emotionally, to know that I might have brought that into someone's life. And that just means a lot to me, because I know how important it can be.
My advice for someone just learning the ukulele would be to have fun with it and not take anything too seriously. Some songs that I think are great for beginners would be, 'House of Gold,' 'Riptide,' and 'I Don't Know My Name.'
Honestly, I don't really hear the comparisons to Taylor Swift anymore. I think it's because people are finally starting to see me for who I am and my craft and not being the next Taylor.