Maya Neelakantan

Maya Neelakantan (born 4 May 2013[1][2]) is a Tamil prodigy and guitarist from Chennai, India.

[4][5] Her performance, an instrumental fusion of Carnatic intro and the heavy metal song "Last Resort" by Papa Roach, became a sensational hit.

"[8][9][10] Playing Metallica's "Master of Puppets" at the quarterfinals, she could not make it to the next round.

[11] Neelakantan was born in MRC Nagar, Raja Annamalai Puram, Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu.

[7] Her father, though not a professional guitarist, had a passion for playing riffs from Metallica and Slayer, from which she got her influence in rock music.

[14] She debuted her public performance at an ashram in Kolathur, near her hometown in 2023, where she played Carnatic music.

[16][17] Neelakantan completed her elementary education in a traditional school in Chennai.

[12] Neelakantan's audition at the America's Got Talent season 19 was broadcast on 25 June 2024 at Los Angeles.

Dressed in traditional Ghagra choli and a bindi on her forehead,[15] in lehenga-style sari, complete with traditional jewellery, she played a Carnatic devotional intro (Natabhairavi[1][7]) which she blended into the heavy metal song "Last Resort" by Papa Roach.

[21][15] Gary Holt, guitarist of Exodus and Slayer, who had become a fan joined her from Sacramento to support her audition.

[24] In July 2024, an Indian dairy corporation, Amul honoured her by issuing a cartoon of her AGT performance with a caption: "#Amul Topical: Young Chennai guitarist Maya Neelakantan creates viral waves!

"[4][25] At the quarterfinals live show on 28 August, Neelakantan performed Metallica's "Master of Puppets" using Gibson Flying V metallic silver.

[29] Tool's songs with complex and elaborate arrangements are the kind favoured by Neelakantan.

[13] He posted: "Lisa Holt and I on our way to LA so see our friend Maya Neelakantan perform on America's Got Talent, so stoked for her!

"[31] Neelakantan was deeply moved by the support and wrote: "I had an incredible day!

[3] At age five, Neelakantan started playing toy guitar, which was replaced the next year by a real one.

On her visit to Nashville earlier in 2024, she was hosted at the Gibson Garage by Gueikian, where she got a chance to play some of the most iconic guitars made by them.