Hudson Valley's Grace VanderWaal Wins Teen Choice Award

NYACK-PIERMONT, NY—Suffern resident Grace VanderWaal is officially the next big thing. The 13-year-old singer-songwriter won the "Choice Next Big Thing" award at the Teen Choice Awards, which took place on August 13 in Los Angeles.

It was the teen's first Teen Choice Award and she won over Jonas Blue, Forever in Your Mind, Jax Jones, New Hope Club, and The Tide.

VanderWaal achieved fame in 2016 on "America's Got Talent," prompting Simon Cowell to call her "the next Taylor Swift" and inspiring singer Stevie Nicks to say "Whatever happens, Grace is going to the top." Not only did VanderWaal win Season 11 of America's Got Talent but her appearance led to a music deal with Columbia Records.

VanderWaal has been writing songs since she was three years old. Her audition song for America's Got Talent" was "I Don't Know My Name." This summer VanderWaal released the single "Moonlight" which Billboard described as "the perfect summer song."

VanderWaal tweeted out her thanks to everyone who helped her achieve success and added that the award was a "dream come true."