Since the age of three, MaKenzie Thomas has honed her vocal skills by singing at a small Wallingford, Kentucky, church. Alongside being exposed to bluegrass and southern gospel music, her father, a drummer, introduced her to rock, metal, R&B, and more. Meanwhile, her mother rotated artists from Christina Aguilera and Pink to Celine Dion. 

“The more music became present and filling in my life, the more I wanted to start venturing out and learning about all the genres and all the styles of singing and the vocabulary related to it,” explained MaKenzie. “From there, it’s been a snowball effect. I just couldn’t get enough.” 

MaKenzie calls joining a Black Gospel ensemble at Morehead State University a life-changing experience under Roosevelt Escalante, Jr. She learned a great deal about inflections, effects, intonation, and the impact of singing with a group. Singing with others improved MaKenzie’s ear and exposed her to the deep emotion in Black gospel music. 

While MaKenzie is no longer overly religious, she considers herself very spiritual, though she hesitates to label herself with the common phrase, "I'm not religious. I'm spiritual." It makes sense why she counts Kim Burrell, among others, as one of her biggest vocal inspirations. She also attributes a significant portion of her success to the Black community, particularly the influence of R&B. She feels a responsibility to be knowledgeable about her inspirations, understanding their origins and the reasons behind their work. 

“I wouldn’t be doing what I do without Black men and women in music,” said MaKenzie. “I owe everything to them. I think it’s important for me to know that stuff, to be able to truly appreciate what inspires me; especially if what inspires me is what leads to what I create and how I create it.”

Those influences were obvious once MaKenzie debuted as a contestant on NBC’s “The Voice.” Though she initially auditioned for season 14, the following season saw Jennifer Hudson turning her chair around. Making it up to the semifinals, she was known for covering hits like “Redbone” and “How Deep Is Your Love.” According to MaKenzie, her time on the show gave her a cool peek into how the music industry works. 

“We’d have studio sessions that would start at three in the morning and it would only last 15 minutes,” explained MaKenzie. “Then all the hair and makeup, I learned, can be overwhelming. One thing that I remember hating the most were the in-ears. It takes all the room out of it for me and I feel like it makes it harder for me to hear.” 

Around that time, social media also played a significant role in MaKenzie’s career. Consistently posting covers helped her gain visibility as her videos continued to go viral, attracting attention from influential people who reposted her content. While maintaining this consistency can be stressful and sometimes feels formulaic, she has learned to navigate it without losing her joy for music. 

“I’ve had to make sure that social media doesn’t take the joy out of music for me,” said MaKenzie. “I really just genuinely love singing. Even though I’m not a social media girl, I post because I have to remain consistent but it’s tiring but worth it. I’m just so grateful.”

Despite recently hitting over a million followers, MaKenzie finds it strange to see herself as a celebrity. This milestone made her realize the vast number of people who know her, which she finds surreal. While she doesn't fully view herself as a celebrity, she accepts her notoriety. A significant moment was when Jimmy Jam recognized her and mentioned he was a fan, which left her in awe.

“Little things like that I think are helping me come to terms with the idea of notoriety,” MaKenzie said. “But that’s not at all why I do it. It’s never really been something that I’ve paid that much attention to.”

Eyes are glued to MaKenzie more than ever through the recent release of her A Pretty F**king Cool EP through Warner Music. The project displays her sonic versatility over four tracks. From the late 90s R&B sounds of “Maybe” to the Prince-inspired “Lips” and country soul vibes of “Velvet,” MaKenzie hopes that listeners will have at least one song on the project that they’ll like. 

“Each one is so different and I feel like it’s going to appeal to different people, different crowds, different experiences and phases in life that people are going through,” said MaKenzie. “There are just little bits and pieces of everything I’ve listened to whether it be my intonation on a long note like Celine Dion or how I stack my harmonies like Brandy.”

With a new EP out and a move to Los Angeles, MaKenzie feels like she’s at the very beginning of a new musical journey. At 26, she views her life as being in the early stages of a long path of growth, evolution, and experiences as she eventually pushes to become a vocal producer. 

“I hope I’m in the beginning of a million stages through a life of growth, evolution and experiences,” MaKenzie said. “I like to say that I’m 26-years-old but I’m a 6-year-old adult.”