Confessional and captivating, kenzie’s left-of-center pop contains the kind of lived-in detail that immediately stirs up massive emotion. Whether she’s reflecting on a recent heartache or opening up about common struggles like anxiety, the 20-year-old singer/songwriter infuses every song with immense sensitivity, along with the same disarmingly genuine presence that’s earned her a major social media following. But as the Los Angeles-based artist reveals, gaining the courage to speak her truth took years of self-discovery and quietly building up confidence.
“When I was younger I’d go into songwriting sessions and feel like my opinions didn’t matter, even though I was the artist,” says kenzie, “but at the same time I was also writing songs alone in my bedroom, and it felt so therapeutic to get my feelings out. Finally I decided I wanted to start putting out music I’d written myself—I had a feeling that people could relate to what I was talking about in my songs, and maybe it would help them in some way.”
Signed to Hollywood Records, kenzie matches her unguarded introspection with a moody and mesmerizing sound that endlessly spotlights her spellbinding vocal work—an element she first began honing as a little girl in Pittsburgh. “My mom put me in voice lessons when I was six because I was constantly singing around the house,” says kenzie, who also started dancing at age the young age of two. “Once I learned how to sing, I ended up falling in love with music.” Soon after moving to L.A. at age 11, she began collaborating with hitmaking co-writers and producers, releasing an album in 2018. But it wasn’t until the depths of quarantine that she started to write songs that truly represented her as an artist.
Her debut single for Hollywood Records “100 degrees” unfolds as a dance-ready breakup anthem built on fuzzed-out beats and shimmering synth tones. “100 degrees” was created with an all-female team of co-writers, including her frequent collaborator/producer Lenii. Meanwhile, on “paper,” she offers up a stark but hypnotic slow-burner that perfectly captures the pain of watching the one you love move on. Kenzie went on to release ‘sickly sweet’. The record follows the rollercoaster of being in a destructive relationship – the addiction to the highs, and toxicity of the lows. The repetitive cycle all leading back to the same poisonous place. Last Summer, Kenzie shared the deeply intimate track, “anatomy.” It’s an emotionally powerful track about navigating your way through life in the wake of an absent parent. Written from deep, personal experiences, the song is also a love letter to her fans and those with similar stories.
In anticipation of her new album, kenzie released singles, “face to face,” “word vomit,” “close to you feat. ASTN,” and “bad 4 u” earlier this year. This summer, she debuted her first album under Hollywood Records, biting my tongue. Off the album’s release, Kenzie shared, “biting my tongue is about not allowing myself to be a people pleaser anymore and tolerating others behavior. It’s a time in my life where I found my voice and put it into my life and my craft.” The album included the focus track, “the me i was” which was written by Rosemarie Tan, GRAMMY® and Oscar® award winning D’Mile, Dan Henig, Mackenzie Ziegler and produced by Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II.
