Nene Royal
Thai musician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rattikarn Amloy (born 14 March 2010[1]), known by the stage name Nene Royal (pronounced nay-nay[2]) or by a nickname Praew,[3] is a rock musician, singer and guitarist from Phuket, Thailand. She came into an international limelight following her audition in the America's Got Talent season 21 in which her rendition of "Zombie" by The Cranberries that became viral across various social media.[4] Her performance was the most-viewed video among all the season auditions.[2] In the Judges' Callbacks round, she performed "Hysteria" by Muse before Howie Mandel and the guest judge Nikki Glaser. Her performance was a hit again, with 2 million views within 24 hours of release on YouTube.[5]
14 March 2010
- Vocals
- Guitar
Nene Royal | |
|---|---|
| Born | Rattikarn Amloy 14 March 2010 Phuket, Thailand |
| Genres | Rock |
| Instruments |
|
| Website | neneroyal |
Biography
Nene was born in Phuket to Narong Amloy and Chuanpit "Mae Oom" Poonkerd.[6][7][8][9] She has a four-year-old brother.[8] She said that she started playing guitar at seven years of age.[2] According to other sources, she self-taught guitar at age six.[3][10][11] Her parents had hoped that she would take up business as a career.[12] She started making public pereformance at the age of 12. In 2022, she participated at the Thai talent programme Super 10, performing with Thai rock artist PooH Anchalee.[3] The next year she competed in the Overdrive Guitar Contest in 2023 and won the second prize and was named "Best Musician" and "Best Vocalist". The same year, she received the Trang Music Award.[13] In 2025, she appeared at the King Power Band Competition and given an "Outstanding Player" award.[14][15]
As of 2026, she is studying grade 11 at the Kajonkiet International School in Phuket.[16][17] She is a featured artist with Enya Music and is making recordings for her debut EP.[4] She is in two bands, the OZONE Band and Miniheart, both of which perform at the Naka Weekend Market in Phuket.[3]
In August 2026, Nene was awarded the "Best New International Artiste 2026" at The Phil Lynott Convention held in Dublin, Ireland,[18] one of the only two awards given at the convention, the other being the "Lifetime Achievement Award".[19]
America's Got Talent
Audition
Nene was among the last contestants to perform on the America's Got Talent season 21 in July 2026. She performed her rendition of "Zombie" by the Irish rock band The Cranberries.[20] She used Ibanez Musician Series MC300 guitar which was gifted to her in 2024 by a Danish fan, Strit Bram.[16] Her performance was aired on 7 July 2026.[21]
Reactions
Nene received four "yeses" from Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Sofia Vergara and Mel B.[2] Vergara commented the performance as "spectacular", while Mel B remarked: "You're like a match made in heaven. You're brilliant."[20] Mandel was the most generous in the comment saying, "You are such a surprise [with your] energy and the rock 'n' roll. You are a rock star, young lady, you really are."[21] The audition became viral across various social media such as YouTube, Instagram and Tiktok.[22] It had 1.5 million views within 24 hours on YouTube,[3] and 100 million views on different social media by the second day.[23][24] NBC, producer of the talent show, announced her performance as the most-viewed video among all the season auditions.[25]
Following Nene's popularity from the audition, Thai television and cable network company TrueVisions announced that from the next round onwards it will broadcast all the AGT shows for Thai people to give support to her. Ong-Ard Prapakamol, head of the company commented: "When a Thai artist brings her talent, creativity and determination to shine before a global audience, it inspires people across Thailand to send their support beyond borders."[26] On 14 July, she was invited at the Cabinet meeting of Thailand government at the Prime Minister's official workhouse, Government House in Bangkok. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul joined her for performing the song "Som San".[27] At the event, tourism and sports minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul announced that the government will support Nene including financing expenses for AGT performances.[28] The government will also discuss on her appointment as an ambassador for tourism promotion.[27] The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security also announced that its plan to honour her with the Inspirational Youth honorary plaque on National Youth Day on September 20.[29]
On 15 July, Phuket governor Chotnarin Kerdsom presented Nene an appreciation certificate in a ceremony held at the Phuket Provincial Hall.[30] On 12 August, on the ceremony for National Mother's Day 2026 in Pak Kret district, Nonthaburi, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn honoured her with a certificate citing her as an "outstandingly filial child.[8][31]
Judges' Callbacks
For the 2026 season, AGT introduced a new round called Judges' Callbacks by which each judge can call any act that did not directly qualify for the next round to make another performance, instead of the group selection by all the judges as before, so that each judge will decide their choice of act for the next round.[32] Nene was called up by Mandel and performed "Hysteria" by the British rock band Muse in front of Mandel and the guest judge Nikki Glaser.[33] The broadcast was scheduled for 11 August 2026,[34] but aired as an "early release" on AGT YouTube channel on 8 August.[35] Her performance was an instant hit again,[5] with over 2.1 million views within 24 hours of release on YouTube.[36] Mandel and Glaser chose her as one of the acts going through to the AGT Live Shows.[33]