Canadian country artist MacKenzie Porter chatted about her career in the music business and her latest endeavors.
On her music and songwriting inspirations, she said, “Obviously, things that I am going through in real life, or things that my friends and family are going through. I feel there is so much going on in the world right now, so I am inspired by everything from love to heartbreak. I try to bring those feelings in a writing room and see what we can come up with.”
Canada-born, Nashville-based star MacKenzie Porter earned a nomination at the upcoming American Music Awards on November 20, 2022. Rising to international acclaim with a distinct country-pop style, she is building momentum as the only female with a nomination in the “Favorite Country Song” category for her six-week U.S. chart-topping Dustin Lynch collaboration “Thinking ‘Bout You.” “That was so cool and something that I was never expecting,” she said. “To be nominated and recognized for this song is very cool. I love Dustin”
“It has been such a crazy last couple of years,” she said about the success of “Thinking ‘Bout You.” “It has brought so many cool experiences so far so we are very pumped. We are excited to go to the AMAs and celebrate it.”
Making history as the first Canadian female artist this century to have five No. 1 songs on country radio, Porter also earned her first crossover Top 10 on Canadian pop radio – a first since 2003 for a Canadian country artist – with “These Days (Remix).”
Continuing to spark headline-worthy accolades, she debuted on the Grand Ole Opry stage in late 2021, won the 2022 MusicRow Award for Discovery Artist of the Year, earned three 2022 Canadian Country Music Awards nominations and a 2021 Juno nomination for her Joey Moi-produced Country Album of the Year contender, Drinkin’ Songs: The Collection.
On her multiple nominations for “Female Artist of the Year” at the Canadian Country Music Awards, she said, “Those felt so good. For me, it is really cool to go home to Canada and be recognized there and see the fans there and the Canadian country music scene. There are some cool female artists coming out of Canada these days.”
A member of CMT’s elite Next Women of Country class of 2021, the triple threat previously starred in cult-followed sci-fi television series Travelers now on Netflix and has opened for Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney, Walker Hayes, Jordan Davis, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, as well as her labelmates Dallas Smith and Chris Lane.
She shared that her career-defining moments include playing at Nissan Stadium, and the Grand Ole Opry, as well as earning the American Music Award nomination. “I feel very grateful to be able to check off a lot of these bucket list things. It has been pretty cool,” she said.
Speaking of touring, she had great words about performing with Walker Hayes at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. “That was so fun. Walker is such a good guy, and we had such a great tour. The whole run was so fun,” she said.
Regarding her future plans, she said, “I am working on my record right now, which I am very pumped about. I am looking forward to my full-length album coming out next year.”
On the title of the current chapter of her life, Porter said, “Taking a breath right now.”
From her own music catalog, she noted that the ballad “Confession” is her personal favorite tune, which will be released in the future. “I think it’s a really pretty song,” she said.
Porter listed Thomas Rhett, Zach Bryan, Kacey Musgraves, and Taylor Swift as her dream duet choices in music. “Taylor Swift is my idol,” she said, prior to complimenting Canadian country star Brett Kissel and noting that he is a “good friend” of hers.
On her definition of the word success, Porter said, “being able to make a living with her career path, in this case, art, and not having to do anything else, and make money doing that. Also, happiness in your life and having strong and healthy relationships. Having a healthy mind and body is success too.”
For her fans, she concluded about her new music, “I am so pumped, it has been a long time coming. We have been working on the record for a long time, and it is finally coming out next year.”
To learn more about country songstress MacKenzie Porter, check out her Linktree page.
