Calling Maya Neelakantan a prodigy is almost an understatement—she's that talented—and the young guitarist showed off her jaw-dropping skills on America's Got Talent. Traveling all the way from India to audition for the show, the unassuming 10-year-old (she's since turned 11) began with classical-sounding guitarwork before shocking everyone and transitioning into a fierce performance of Papa Roach's "Last Resort."
By the time she was done, all four judges gave her a standing ovation. Sofía Vergara was the first to comment, asking, “Maya, are you sure you’re 10 years old?”
“I think so!” Maya replied with a big smile.
Howie Mandel then asked about her inspirations. “One is Adam Jones from TOOL," she said without hesitation, "Also, Gary Holt, who is the guitarist of Exodus and Slayer.”
Speaking of Jones, the TOOL guitarist actually gifted Maya a guitar back in 2022 (when she was just nine years old!), and in 2023 she went viral after playing a mashup of 22 TOOL songs all in one take. Needless to say, all the judges gave Maya an enthusiastic "yes" to move on to the next round.
Maya shared a post on Instagram back in March, detailing her time in Los Angeles (which included meeting Holt). Watch her AGT audition and check out her Instagram post below.