Maya Neelakantan (born 4 May 2013) is a Tamil prodigy and guitarist from Chennai, India. Playing heavy metal music since six years of age and also learning Carnatic music from nine years of age, she auditioned at the America's Got Talent season 19 in April 2024. Her performance, an instrumental fusion of Carnatic intro and the heavy metal song "Last Resort" by Papa Roach, became a sensational hit. For her guitar prowess, Simon Cowell called her the "rock goddess." Playing Metallica's "Master of Puppets" at the quarterfinals, she could not make it to the next round.
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