Grace Vanderwaal seemed born for her season of emergence as a major musical talent in 2016, when she swept every performance on Season 11 of “America's Got Talent.” The singer-songwriter had more than the elusive “it” factor that defines a star. Grace VanderWaal had a distinctive voice in singing and composing that simultaneously conveyed youthful fears and vulnerability along with wisdom and self-identity far beyond chronological age.

With no hesitation, Simon Cowell called Grace VanderWaal “the next Taylor Swift,” but she constantly demonstrates that she is completely herself and quite content to stay that way.

Now 14, and fresh off her sold-out headlining tour, Grace has a crowded schedule before heading out on the road again, this time to open for Imagine Dragons. She shared some of her thoughts, and even a song, with Vladimir Duthiers on “CBS This Morning” for March 30.

Not shooting for the center

“Famous is a very weird word,” admonishes VanderWaal, shaking her finger playfully at her interviewer. “I feel that's definitely not me,” she further elaborates on the word. The teenage composer describes herself as being “almost right on the line of the bubble,” rather than in the center,” for all the really big celebrities are.” She stresses that “I'm just so far away.”

The fans filling her concert arenas may not agree.

Grace VanderWaal is that rare kind of talent that can draw school-agers to senior citizens at any show, and keep them all smiling, even if they can't see the stage for all the enthusiastic, bouncing bodies. She's happy to sing her hits, such as the anthem that carried her through the 2016 talent competition, “I Don't Know My Name,” or the other songs that her Twitter fans can call by heart from her album, “Just the Beginning,” released last November.

The collection is still charting at #1 in Pop on Amazon, with perfect reviews.

Success doesn't keep Grace VanderWaal from exploring new horizons in every song. “I don't think I know my exact style yet, or my sound,” she confesses, and she is in no rush to find out, letting her writing “evolve” in its own way. “I'm still young, like, extremely young,” she confesses with a teenage shrug.

Old soul singing

It's no wonder that the word “evolve” is so significant to Grace VanderWaal. “Evolve” is the title of the tour that she will be joining with Imagine Dragons, and the evolution of her artistry came completely from within. Besides her tiny ponytails atop her head, and signature style with dresses, sweaters, or whatever she wears, Grace gave newfound fame to the ukulele.

“She went and got it herself,” insists her dad. There was no need for any parental push because the daughter of David and Tina VanderWaal was already mastering the instrument from watching YouTube videos. In what seemed like an instant, she was playing her first original composition for her mom, and the content was surprising.

“There's a bigger meaning,” the mother assessed of her daughter's work, and David VanderWaal characterizes that Grace has “an old soul voice and also an old soul lyric” which is nothing like typical teen music fare. Mr. VanderWaal gives no credit to family genetics. “She's got musical chops that come from somewhere else,” he asserts.

With a schedule that would have most adults pleading for Prozac, Grace VanderWaal has no trouble just acting her age from time to time. “I'm always falling behind and whatever,” she declares of her commitments to show dates, school studies, and charity work. She and her family were preparing to embark on a trip to Africa, bringing hearing aids to children in need, right after her morning chat.

Grace deliberately doesn't keep her to-do list at the top of mind.

No day is complete without a song, and one of the most charming interludes was a collaboration with Grace singing and playing her ukulele in polka-dot socks as Duthiers strummed the guitar chords. The correspondent wasn't one bit tripped up by her challenge to “now go fast!” This was another magic moment for Grace VanderWaal, who just can't stop making her own incredible music.
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