Maya Neelakantan, a guitar prodigy from India, wowed the judges and the audience on America’s Got Talent on Tuesday night’s audition episode (June 25th), performing a blistering version of Papa Roach’s “Last Resort.”
Upon taking the stage, the judges were surprised to learn that Maya was only 10 years old at the time of the taping (she has since turned 11), as she showed great maturity while describing her musical background.
Keeping things metal, she used a signature model Adam Jones Gibson Les Paul guitar gifted to her by the Tool guitarist in 2022. Her performance started with a few seconds of her playing traditional Indian music before she kicked in to “Last Resort,” as the judges and crowd looked on and cheered in amazement at her astonishing skills.
When Maya finished, she received a standing ovation from all four judges and the audience, with Sofía Vergara immediately asking, “Maya, are you sure you’re 10 years old?,” to which Maya smiled and responded, “I think so!”
When asked by Howie Mandel about her inspirations, Maya answered, “One is Adam Jones from Tool. Also, Gary Holt, who is the guitarist of Exodus and Slayer.”
The judges went on to heap more praise on her performance, with all four of them enthusiastically voting “yes” for Maya to advance to the next round.
Weeks ago on Instagram, Maya had posted about meeting Holt during the time she was in Los Angeles auditioning for AGT, writing, “I had the best weekend here in Los Angeles. For the first time I got to meet Mr Gary Holt and his wife Mrs Lisa Holt. They came all the way from Sacramento just to watch me play on America’s Got Talent.”
Heavy Consequence has reported on Maya in the past, including the aforementioned gift she received from Jones, and a subsequent 22-song Tool medley she played with that very same guitar (available here).
See Maya Neelakantan perform Papa Roach’s “Last Resort” on guitar on America’s Got Talent in the video below, followed by her Instagram post detailing her experience meeting Gary Holt.