A week before the much-hyped release of Taylor Swift’s Reputation, another plucky blonde, who could easily be mistaken for Swift’s younger sister, put out a debut full-length album. Grace VanderWaal is known to most as the preteen winner of the eleventh season of America’s Got Talent. But moving on from reality competition, despite an endorsement from Howie Mandel, can be tricky. VanderWaal’s album, the aptly named Just The Beginning, is age-appropriate in a way that doesn’t demean her talent. She is relentlessly chipper, inquisitive and awed by her own little world. And lucky for us, it’s a fabulously sunny world to spend some time in.

The album opens with the first single, “Moonlight,” which showcases VanderWaal’s talent for ukulele, an instrument that can be limiting in range and tone. But the plucky silliness that comes along with a ukulele-fronted song is tempered with soulful lyrics and layered production. “Sick of Being Told” is up next, a song of rebellion, but well-mannered rebellion. It’s a great display of VanderWaal’s clever songwriting. She taps into unapologetic teenage candor, but replaces cattiness with youthful ambition. “So Much More Than This,” “Escape My Mind,” and “Talk Good” are similarly ripped from the pages of her journal, but with polish and maturity that translates her teenage insecurity into lyrics that even the most jaded adult could sing along with.