New York, 8 July

A nine-year-old Indian-origin girl is wowing American audiences with her singing prowess, receiving rave reviews for her performance on a popular US talent show.

Pranysqa Mishra from Florida took the TV talent show ‘America’s Got Talent’ by storm last week when she belted out the Tina Turner classic “River Deep, Mountain High”. Her powerful rendition of the song left the judges on the show Simon Cowell and Heidi Klum hugely impressed.

A report in billboard.com said Mishra’s spell-binding performance earned her the coveted ‘Golden Buzzer’ from Klum. “I always just love singing. It makes me feel happy. Even when I was four years old, I would pretend that I have a microphone, and I would sing like I’m singing to the whole world,” the report quoted Mishra as saying.

Crediting her grandmother for her inspiration and being her driving force, Mishra said her musical idols are legends Turner, known as the Queen of Rock n Roll, singer and ‘Queen of Soul’ Aretha Franklin and iconic American singer Whitney Houston. “Despite admitting to some nerves, particularly about performing in front of the notoriously tough Simon Cowell, Pranysqa’s confidence shone through the moment she began singing with a commanding voice that belied her youth,” the Billboard report said.

The report quoted Klum, who hit the much-sought-after Golden Buzzer that will now send Mishra straight to the live shows, as saying: “Oh my gosh, I did not expect that. We expect a lot of things, but I did not expect that.” “I want you to call your grandmother and say that Heidi Klum pushed the Golden Buzzer for you,” Klum, a German-American model, television host, producer, and businesswoman, said to Mishra.

Drowned by golden confetti that celebrated her achievement, an emotional and elated Mishra said: “My dream is coming true. I can’t believe it.”

Mishra was then joined by her family on the stage for an “emotional celebration, with tears of joy and hugs all around”, the billboard.com report said.

Klum then helped Mishra call her grandmother to share the news of her accomplishment on the show. “You are absolutely incredible,” Klum told the young talent, according to the report.