Eleven-year-old Maya Neelakantan made history on ‘America’s Got Talent’ by performing a cover of Metallica’s iconic track ‘Master Of Puppets,’ marking the first time the legendary band has ever allowed their music to be performed on the show.
The Indian-American’s performance, which took place during the quarter-finals, captivated both the audience and judges.
Metallica granted Maya permission to play Master Of Puppets
Just before her performance, Maya shared,“I’m the first act Metallica have ever given permission to play on AGT. I really want to make Metallica proud.”
The young guitarist didn’t disappoint. She put her own spin on the thrash metal classic, blending her classical Indian music background with the heavy riffs of Metallica. She tuned her electric guitar to emulate the sound of a sitar, adding a distinctive cultural twist to the metal anthem.
The judges were thoroughly impressed by Maya’s performance, with Judge Simon Cowell praising, “You’re just one of these people who’s got a god-given talent… this is something you’ve got to do for the rest of your life because you’re so good at this.”
“I gotta say a big, big thank you to Metallica for giving you that song. That doesn’t happen very often.”
After her performance, Maya expressed her gratitude, “It was just amazing. I’m so happy I had the honor of playing ‘Master of Puppets’ by Metallica for the first time on AGT. So thank you Metallica and thank you to the Cliff Burton family for making this possible.”
Maya’s journey to AGT stage
Earlier this year, Maya auditioned for the show, and since then, she has been honing her craft with guidance from some of the genre’s legends. She revealed that she met with Gary Holt of Slayer and Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson of Testament, who helped her refine her metal guitar playing.
Last year, Metallica’s drummer Lars Ulrich spoke with NME about the resurgence of interest in their music, particularly among younger audiences, thanks to its use in the hit Netflix series ‘Stranger Things.’ The show featured ‘Master Of Puppets’ during a climax scene in the season 4 finale. This renewed interest in Metallica coincided with the release of their latest album, ‘72 Seasons.’
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“We see a lot of 13 to 14-year-olds coming for the first time,” Ulrich noted. “There’s always been a coming-of-age element to our shows, and just look at the Stranger Things phenomena of last summer. That came out of nowhere and all of a sudden introduced Metallica to a whole other set of younger people.”
