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Happy Hump Day, dear readers! Whether you’re outside enjoying the warmer weather or inside quarantining yourself from the threat of spring allergies and other ailments, we’ve got the perfect thing to fill your time and add some extra brightness to your day: a brand new Woman Crush Wednesday! So, without further ado, give it up for a young star on the rise; She can sing, she can act, she can do it all… let’s hear it for the wonderful Grace Vanderwaal!
WHO’S THAT GAL: Grace VanderWaal
WHY WE’RE CRUSHING: On Friday March 13th, VanderWaal will make her acting debut in drama film, Stargirl, on Disney+. The film is based upon the 2000 young adult novel of the same name by Jerry Spinelli, and follows shy teen Leo Borlock (Graham Verchere), who is a high school student just trying to blend in and scrape by unnoticed until he falls in love with the new girl, Susan “Stargirl” Caraway, who is offbeat, free-spirited, and used to be homeschooled. The film follows these two tenth graders as they affect each other’s (and the whole school’s) personalities and lives forever. There has already been praise for VanderWaal, who both performs and has original music in the film’s official soundtrack; LaughingPlace.com recently glowingly reviewed VanderWaal’s song “Today and Tomorrow,” which appears in the film’s end credits, saying that her voice sounds wise beyond her years” and calling the song “a slow ballad that is hauntingly beautiful.” Clearly, there is much to love about VanderWaal’s work in Stargirl, and we’re looking forward to experiencing it all soon!
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Woman Crush Wednesday
WHERE YOU’VE SEEN HER BEFORE: You may remember VanderWaal as the winner of America’s Got Talent‘s (perhaps you’ve heard of it?) 11th season in 2016, which made her the second female winner and second child winner (she was 12 at the time) of all-time. Since then, she has appeared on several popular talk shows both as a guest and to perform, including Ellen, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. In 2017, she released her first full-length album, Just the Beginning, which debuted on the Billboard 200 albums chart at Number 22, and sparked her first solo concert tour, the Just the Beginning Tour, shortly thereafter. Vanderwaal has continued releasing new music, from her 2019 EP Letters Vol. 1, to her music in Stargirl. Clearly, the 16 year-old singer and actress is a multi-talented young woman who, despite her many early successes and credits, is only just getting started.
WHERE YOU’LL SEE HER AGAIN: The next confirmed thing coming up for VanderWaal is a performance at the BeachLife Festival at Redondo Beach, California on May 3rd (you can get tickets here). Beyond that, we are not sure what’s next for the young performer, but we do have a good feeling that this is only the beginning for her, and that Stargirl will be the first of many film and TV roles to come her way. VanderWaal will surely also continue making great original music, so make sure you follow her now on Spotify and everything else so you can stay up to date with her career as it continues to grow and boom!
