Grace Documentary Preview (Grace Vanderwaal) reaction 

I haven’t seen this documentary! I will go find it though. Your review and this preview had tears streaming down my face. This has been an incredible journey with both highs and lows. It is difficult growing up from preteen to a young women before millions of people. Grace is doing it her way and she will make mistakes along the way, as we all do. I hope her fans realize that she can’t remain the adorable girl in the yellow pants forever. Her dad and I are so proud of her and how she has navigated these situations of her fans needing her to stay the same but she needs to grow and blossom like all kids do. She is becoming a young woman and her new style outside and in is reflected in her music as she is evolving. It truly is a magical thing to watch happen. ❤️ Thank you for posting this, I enjoyed watching 😉

Volume 1 of the documentary will, unfortunately, be delayed until the end of the Summer due to the pandemic. I'm an essential worker and saw my workload triple since March when the preview was released.

Great reaction. And a truly deserved shout out to the Vandervault. As unique as Grace is, the support she gets matches her uniqueness. Devoted fans who put this together, not to gain any profit but to show the world, who Grace is, is just as beautiful as Grace herself. And yes, Grace definetly got tired of the TS questions. But she handled them like a pro. Her immense intelligence and verbal skills where already visible with 12 years.

Yes they did an amazing job its very high quality cant wait to see it in its entirety

I saw it when it came out in March and I found it was really professional production. Can’t wait the complete bio. Thanks for sharing.

Grace makes every song personal with the audience. You and Grace are a double win to me.

Thanks for the shout-out for the Vandervault. Most do not realize how much effort, dedication and love is put into this site. ALL the Fanderwall sites are true treasures. Also thank you for your insights to how Grace has effected you and others.

You turned me to mush this morning. What a great production from the Vandervault people. Loved that teacher. He said what I've been saying about her use of chords ( in a better way, of course) She definitely doesn't follow the rules. He mentioned a few minor changes he did and I noticed that there was a change in key in Beautiful Thing. You see it in the video. They show her playing it before the performance and in a different key in the performance. He probably had something to do with that. I'm so glad you reacted to this. You're the best and can't wait for part 2.

Still after seeing Grace getting the Golden Buzzer for the 105,000,000 time, I don't know who the other few viewers are, I still tear up.

Watching again - you mentioned she looked relieved at the reception to "Stray". She was! She didn't know if her fan base would accept her change in style and as you can see they (we) loved it. Her declaration of change was accepted, and we got Letters Volume 1 as a result.

Nice one, dax! Nice insightful comments as always. That preview was almost an entire documentary. I hope they are on schedule for the july 11 release. Thank you!

Greetings Dax, and thanks for the trip down memory lane. How lucky are WE ? to be alive during this era of Grace. To be able to witness nearly first hand such growth and greatness and raw talent is just priceless. Grace is simply an amazing human being, setting a stellar example for both young and old people everywhere. Peace, love, empathy and understanding. Grace would be a great ambassador to the United Nations. I've often thought she's a modern day Shirley Temple. Thanks again Dax for your reaction. Have a Happy 4th - and stay safe :)

Thanks Dax! Great reaction. You're nicely filling the void we have now by Grace taking a break from public eye. About Simon and Howie instantly knowing how talented she was and what she will become: I think the judges get to hear a lot from the producers when there's a truly exciting contestant on the show. So Simon and Howie must have had seen Grace's videos long before the audition. And maybe they were expecting something great. But then got completely blown away. The producers wanted her to sing IDKMN again on the finals, she instead sang Clay. This is a typical thing when an artist makes a huge impact I think. The first song is presented in the finals in a more dramatic way, with bigger production behind it. I think that was their plan. Which also would come from knowing that she was a big deal. You can see, Grace probably thought that was a cheesy idea. So she sang another new song. BTW, I'm not a member of VanderVault. Lot of people seem to think I am, from seeing my name on this preview. I've mostly just done some adjustments to the final audio. All the hard work was done primarily by Mark Lalonde, Ernst Mullner and then the other names you see in the credits.

I too watch the bios. I love the VanderVault.

How do you not cry watching this.... omg, it brings me to tears. I’m 63 years old...

Wondermazingtacular! Had to have a new and seriously powerful new word for this one! -- Like the other people commenting, I was seriously impressed with the Vandervault's efforts here. I, also, can't wait for the full video. This was already awesome. One of the reasons I think we all love Grace so much is that she is a living example of how special we humans can be. At 16, and this reminded me, even at 12, she is someone I admire and respect in so many ways. If only I could be as good at being me as Grace is at being Grace. -- And then you, my good man, did maybe your best job ever at being the reactor to a Grace video. Just beautifully done!

I told you about this in March and said the best part was the end when she talked about Taylor, we all knew she felt that way but to hear her say it and she did it in a nice way made me feel good that she finally put it out there.Great reaction Dax

You have just heard a living and breathing Muse. Stunning.

Grace VanderWaal Rocks!!!😎💜💜💜 like your reaction! Thanks Dax 😎👍🏼❤️

This was so very special. I had seen this before but it was wonderful to see it again with your thoughtful and at times very emotional reactions. I particularly loved the way you expressed appreciation for her teacher Dylan. I also loved the way you stopped the video at just the right points to highlight Grace's beauty, vulnerability, and strength. You used the word "treasure." I agree that Grace is our treasure. I wipe away tears of gratitude for Grace's presence in my life. Thank you so much for your beautiful reaction!

Just one note, the sets used on AGT were Grace's ideas, although they were well done by AGT. I was always suspicious that Simon knew more about Grace before the audition. For him to call her the next Taylor Swift from a 90 sec. song seems a little far fetched. Thanks for the journey down memory lane. Stay safe.

Grace has been a great addition to my favorite singer file in my head.

This was great, thank you!

Taking the time for this is a real service. Thanks, Dax. Since I know you care about being accurate as we try to help Grace by helping others get to know her: the time between the banana-pants and the award speech was much more than a year, March 4 2016 to Nov 30 2017, almost a year and 9 months. It was six months between recording the audition and the AGT finale (Sept 14) and then over a year to the speech. Makes the metamorphosis more understandable. That said, you're doing great keeping dates straight and helping us place her music in the context of her story.

Among Grace’s many talents and abilities, Grace is the consummate performer. For example, because she wanted to showcase her vocal ability in Beautiful Thing, she waited until the audience’s applause has completely abated before starting her performance. This signaled her desire for the audience to remain silent throughout the performance, and they basically did. Light The Sky, on the other hand, was meant to be a participatory song, so she started her performance while the audience was still raucously applauding. And sure enough, the audience participated more or less on cue. Everything Grace did on AGT was calculated to showcase different aspects of her wide-ranging artistry. Mission accomplished. The amazing Grace VanderWaal!

Every time i hear Stray I think of puberty. That transition is a confusing time.

Dax, I think you are graces biggest fan. Your reviews are heartwarming and heart felt. I am 63 years young and have followed grace since AGT. of all of the reactors, you and Petra are passionate about this incredible talent. Keep up the good work. I subscribed to your reactions when you had about 300 subscribers. You are on your way to 1000 and beyond. Congrats

Great job.love the way you present these and talk about them.

Lungs.. one of the best songs ever written (if not the best to date) with a very profound msg.. brilliant.

I watched the whole thing! I loved her and still do.

Another excellent reaction here Dax. I have watched this preview 3+ times and your reaction adds depth and insight to those early years, especially AGT. I still feel that TS interview at the end is borderline abusive of Grace and doesn’t add to the doc - let HER say what she feels, that she wants to be Grace not anybody else; that interview adds nothing. Anyway overall it is a super well done doc and holds up well over multiple viewings I have noticed. I actually wonder if there is a “How Grace Wins AGT” doc that is needed, that really illuminates more what happened there... you touch on some of it in your comments... how both Howie and Simon saw her greatness in those 90 seconds, the look on Simon’s face you highlighted (it is like a look of recognition somehow), how she grows through those 4 performances, the back story with the producers, her arranging the songs with input on the production too I heard, etc., etc. The enormity of what she accomplished there, in so many ways. Anyway you added a lot here. Thanks!

I like you daX, I can't wait to see the Documentary. I don't know of any other preview that is so long and shows so much as this one. It says so much about how they feel about Grace.

Grace did actually get to meet Taylor at some event a while back. I don't know the story, but they posed for a few pictures. Thanks for the reaction. I saw this preview when it came out and it's great. This time it got to me a little bit. I've seen most of this stuff 100's times.

Grace vanderwaal is amazing she will never sound like everyone else she sounds like grace

Happy holiday happy Fourth of July... what a nice way to enjoy this holiday and your reaction thank you...

I knew as soon as i saw it...i been a musician and singer till i got disabled :)

I love your reactions so much!

the end note vibrato of her voice is what astounds us....like music in the 40's or 50's. It is truly magical ;)

The full bio-pic will not come out until the end of Summer, because of delays due to Covid-19. This project has run into a number of delays for various reasons. Personnel changes was the most recent cause of delay, before Covid. This has been an ambitious project from the get-go. I have feared that it might be abandoned because of the various difficulties that they have run into. But, fortunately they appear committed and continue to fight through the problems and move forward. I will not hold my breath for this to be completed and released at the current goal date. But I do expect that it will be released at some point and will be well worth the wait when it comes. With any luck, it may come out at or near the time that Grace releases "Letters vol ll". Maybe the two releases will help each other and bring more people into the fold of the VanderVerse.

Dax, if you look up that interview on youtube where they kept harping on Grace about TS you'll see in the early comments that they got roasted by me and others for being obnoxious and unprofessional for being more interested in talking about TS than Grace.

Grace is so honest. This is a song about all females.

Grace not only doesn't play by the rules of the game, but she doesn't play by the mules, ghouls, vestibules, or O'Dool's of the game, either.

Just to point out another talented teen - Clare Weitzel, the narrator, is only a few months older than Grace. Great review! I'm going to bug you again about a couple of historical clips and a background clip - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fB2kkKE6T0Q.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UKWwuptcXhE.html and ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vp-P1Tf2xk8.html - they should all fit in on reaction/review. :-)

AGT knew what they had in Grace. It was the most watched season up until then. She just had it all: talent, charm, and was probably the prettiest child in America. Plus she was completely and obviously herself. It's no wonder Simon latched on to her right away.

Good comments. I look forward to the whole documentary. Too Long; Don't Read. Note: most of the facts in my comments are from interviews that can be found in the Vandervault. I am amused how the documentary cut the chorus of "Twelve Stars." I wonder if that is a choice Grace has made from her awareness of how her songs influence people or a choice her label has made as a "not the Grace sound we want to promote." Twelve Stars is no longer on "Never Mind It's Just Me." You know how with children you have that one shot for them to decide whether they trust you or not? If you exude confidence, adults can be convinced to trust you over and over despite all evidence that you are untrustworthy (hence "confidence trick" and "confidence artist" normally shortened to "con artist"), but most children really seem to have a hard limit. The AGT producers told Grace what song to do for her initial TV audition and it was not what she wanted to do. Grace wanted to do "I Don't Know My Name," but they told her to prepare Florence and the Machine's "Dog Days are Over." So that's what she prepared and practiced from after the Queen's College audition until the TV show. Three days before the TV show, they told her to change to "I Don't Know My Name." That's when they lost her trust and she stopped doing what they said. Grace was nervous because she was not prepared and she had to remember all the changes she had made so her song would fit into the 90 second time slot she was allowed. Despite some major mistakes (Grace dropped "questions" off "don't ask me any questions") she persisted and finished triumphantly. Her unique voice and lyrics shown through. The cello accompaniment was Grace's idea. Clay was originally supposed to be about how she was grateful that those around her (I imagine the AGT producers had themselves in mind) had molded and shaped her to become a better performer/person. The song turned out to have a different (the exact opposite) message and one that resonated much better with people, leading to her win. Grace also started a trend of other people not trusting the AGT producers. Shin Lim did not do what the producers wanted him to do and he won. Grace mentioned in one interview that the only thing she remembered about winning was that woman screaming her name. Also, Grace didn't toss "some songs she had written while on tour with Imagine Dragons" as the documentary so kindly says. She tossed an entire ep (corrected thanks to Jeff_W) album that had been recorded and was about to be released. I can't even imagine the discussions with the record company that led up to that album not being released. Stray might not be one of your favorites for many of the same reasons that Darkness Keeps Chasing Me never will be, but you did hit the nail on the head when you said it was a pivotal song and very similar to Clay.

Well, the documentary if you can call it that is out, and what a letdown. It looks nothing like this preview.

I think Dan Reynolds daughter suggested Grace as a support artist for Imagine Dragons Evolve tour.

Dollar signs in Simon's eyes.

OK. after some time to process and reflect I get that you decided the sequence from that terrible interview has to be there - as some others have said too. Well to me it isn’t that simple - if you want us to know how bad it was for her that is one thing, but if it is a matter of showing what she had to deal with (what Vandervault says is the reason they kept it in the. My point is that there are other ways to make this point and many examples of her saying she wants to be the next Grace Vandervaal. They go for the most dramatic and emotional footage (at her expense IMO). There are other better ways to show how well she dealt with all that and how well she expressed herself. To me it is typical - go for the dramatic most emotional footage. It is a very negative clip that doesn’t represent what was going on or shows only a very very narrow take on it all. It is an abusive interview and in a way it is a cheap shot IMO!

Prodigy ...

I am watching this again, and noticed that when Olivia comes out after Howie's Golden Buzzer, you didn't mention that Olivia almost knocked Grace over. Did you know that Grace said in an interview that the slo-mo of that scene hides the fact that she almost fell. I wonder what a difference that would have made, if we had seen her fall and her and Olivia end up in a pile on the floor. 2nd note: There was less than 1% difference between the winner, Grace and the 3rd place finisher, John Dorenbos, a magician. If the two magic acts that finished in 2nd and 3rd place hadn't split the vote of the magic loving audience, Grace would have lost.