Hudson Valley's Grace Vanderwaal Moves Up to Semifinals on 'America's Got Talent'

Grace Vanderwaal, the diminutive, big-voiced singer/ukulele player, will be going on to the semifinals of “America’s Got Talent.”

Both the Suffern resident and singer Brian Justin Crum were selected Wednesday to compete in the next round.

On Tuesday, Vanderwaal closed the two-hour program with an original song she wrote for her sister Olivia called “Beautiful Thing.”

Of the 12-year-old’s performance, uber-critical judge Simon Cowell said that maybe some of the notes were wrong and her voice was a little bit “croaky.”

However, he continued, “But that’s what makes you perfect.”

Cowell went on to say that he believes the show is about finding potential.

“We are all going to remember the moment in years to come when we saw Grace sing live for the first time,” he said.

On June 7, VanderWaal startled the viewing audience by playing the ukuleleand singing a song she wrote.

Her performance prompted comedian Howie Mandel to call her a miracle and hit the Golden Buzzer that propelled her to the live performances.

The next live performances will be Tuesday, August 30; Tuesday, September 6, and Tuesday, September 13. Live results episodes follow on Wednesdays.

The voting window opens at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday and closes at 7 a.m. ET Wednesday.

Votes can be cast at NBC.com, the AGT Facebook page or via the AGT app.

For complete voting rules, go here.

Grace Vanderwaal's YouTube channel can be accessed here.

Photo credit: Screenshot from YouTube.com.