♬♪♩    It was “Just the Beginning” for Kansas-born singer-songwriter Grace Avery VanderWaal when she auditioned for America’s Got Talent in 2016. Her audition was successful after she performed her original song “I Don’t Know My Name.” She pretty much breezed through the competition, singing only songs that she wrote herself. But, did I mention that she was only 12 years old when she won? She was also the second female and child to win America’s Got Talent.   ♬ ♩ ♩

♩ ♬♬  Though she was born in Kansas, Grace was raised in Suffern, New York.  She showed a liking for music when she was only 3 years old, singing into a wireless microphone. She then proceeded to play the saxophone for her school band, and, at age 11, had taught herself to play the ukulele by watching multiple instructional videos on YouTube. After she had gotten the hang of it, Grace had started writing her own songs and would perform them at open mic nights at a local coffee shop.  ♪♪ ♫

♬ ♩ ♫  She had her sights set on auditioning for American Idol, but seeing as she was too young at the time, her mother had signed her up to audition for America’s Got Talent instead. Howie Mandel (one of the judges) felt that she was such a prodigious young lady that he sent her straight through to the Live Shows. When she performed in the Quarterfinals, she proved to the nationwide audience that she was such a “Beautiful Thing” by performing said song that she had wrote for her older sister, Olivia VanderWaal. Getting sent through to the Semifinals afterwards, she decided to “Light the Sky” with yet another original she had written prior to auditioning for America’s Got Talent. Securing a spot in the Finals, she announced to her audience that she was not “Clay,” the final performance she needed to rocket her to stardom and getting her the winning votes. After she won, she signed a deal with Columbia Records in 2016, releasing her EP “Perfectly Imperfect,” which featured her single version of her song “I Don’t Know My Name.” ♪ ♩ ♪

♬♪♩ She then went to the studio with a team of hitmaking composer/producers,  including Greg Wells (worked with artists Adele and Katy Perry) and Sean Douglas (worked with artists  the Chainsmokers and Demi Lovato), for her more vibrant full-length debut. Having been titled “Just the Beginning,” it hit number 22 in the U.S. and the Top 20 in Canada when it upon its release in November 2017. ♪♪