Rising Star: Musician Celina Graves

The audience wasn’t about to wait until Celina Graves wrapped up her latest performance.

The singer drew a standing ovation in the middle of her powerful rendition of “Mercy” by Shawn Mendes. Her Tuesday night performance on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” also won over the judges immediately.

Graves, 30, shared that she grew up in a musical family and has been singing since the age of 3. She also acknowledged that she was subject to bullying while growing up, but that her father always stuck by her side.

“In high school, I wasn’t like the other girls,” she said. “I would take my brother’s clothes and dress like a boy, then I would go into the girl’s bathroom and girls would be like ‘ew, why are you in here?’”

Watch Celina Graves’ performance below: