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Just two weeks into the season and there's already stiff competition on "America's Got Talent." But 12-year-old Grace VanderWaal won't have to worry about any competition until the live semfinals — because this singer-songwriter just got a golden ticket to the end.
Well, a golden buzzer.
She also got one heck of a comparison.
After Grace performed an original song that left the audience cheering and the panelists stunned, the often gruff and grumbling Simon Cowell heaped on the praise, calling the girl "the next Taylor Swift."
But what Cowell didn't do was reach for the buzzer. Howie Mandel said the young artist was a "living, beautiful, walking miracle" and then hit the all-important button.
Cowell admitted he was annoyed not to do it himself, but ultimately, he's just glad Grace is in the game.
As for Grace, she said she felt like "any second I was just gonna wake up and I'd be in my room, and I'm like, 'Oh, never mind. It was just a crazy dream."
The judges felt like they were dreaming, too.
"I one hundred percent think we've got a star," Cowell said. "This girl is special."
No doubt about it!
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June 6, 201600:25Follow Ree Hines on Twitter.