Phuket teenager Nene Royal prepares for AGT 2026 final

Nene Royal, a 16-year-old student at an international school in Phuket, is training daily ahead of the America's Got Talent (AGT) 2026 final and says she is confident of winning.

Thairath reported on September 13 that Nene spoke before a concert in Phuket on September 12, where members of the Ozone band also encouraged her before the final. The competition is scheduled for September 22, which will be the morning of September 23 in Thailand.

Nene said she currently rehearses every day from about 5pm to 9.30pm to prepare for the decisive performance. She told Thairath she was “100 per cent confident” after training hard for the competition.

She first attracted international attention during the AGT 2026 auditions with a vocal and guitar performance of “Zombie” by The Cranberries. According to the report, judge Howie Mandel selected her for the Judges’ Callbacks, where she performed “Hysteria” by Muse and advanced to the live shows.

She then performed “Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden in the quarter-finals and received a Golden Buzzer from judge Mel B, sending her directly to the final.

Nene said her longer-term ambition was to become a global artist and tour internationally. She also said new music could be released “soon” after the AGT competition.

Thanking supporters who bought tickets and voted for her, Nene asked fans around the world to vote under the name “Nene Royal”. She said the result would depend on the public vote and promised to give her best performance in the final.

The report also said singer Ad Carabao and a group of leading guitarists had created a song titled “นายเน่มาก” for Nene. She said she was proud and grateful, although her current focus on AGT had left her with little time to listen to everything being prepared for her.

Members of Ozone voiced their confidence in her chances. Keyboard player MK said he believed she would win, while drummer Boun and bassist Shopper also said her extensive training gave them confidence. The group ended its message with a cheer of “P’Nene, go go!”