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McKenzie Comer was born on the 27th September 1996 in Auckland, New Zealand. She grew up listening to the Bee Gee’s, the Eagles, Michael Jackson and ABBA that both of her parents loved.
She remembers dancing in front of the television while a Bee Gee’s DVD played on Christmas Eve. Her mother, Carol Comer, played guitar, and her father, Rob Comer, had a great voice. When McKenzie was just a young girl, Rob noticed that her voice was very pure and smooth. He said, “Whoa, she’s might have something there”. Rob says that he sang the same song to McKenzie every night as she went to sleep, Garth Brooks, “If Tomorrow Never Comes”. She also remembers running around the house singing the Captain Underpants Theme Song.
As McKenzie grew older, her main inspiration was Delta Goodrem. She said that she wanted to be just like her. After moving to the Gold Coast, she started singing and acting lessons at Moonlighting Productions, and later got signed to an Acting Agency called Williams Talent. She was quite keen on becoming an actress. Mckenzie got the lead role in a short film in 2008, playing a young girl named “Isabelle”. She says that this was a great experience and showed her how much hard works goes into making a movie.
Her interest turned to singing, after realizing that yes, she could sing. With the help of her parents, she started collating songs that she could sing. In 2009 McKenzie’s great grandparents, at the ages of 89 and 92, were in a aged care home in Western Australia, and the Comer Family was over visiting relatives. One of the songs McKenzie had been singing was Norah Jones “Don’t Know Why”, and Carol and Rob suggested that she sing it for them. So while sitting in her great grandfathers wheelchair, and with a small iPod speaker system, she sang the bluesy song. Her great grandmother was drawn to tears.
McKenzie decided that she wanted to do more performing, as she loved the feeling. She opened the yellow pages, and searched aged care homes on the Gold Coast. After ringing a couple, she had scored a few gigs. With her collection of songs, and a brand new amplifier and microphone that her parents had bought her, she went around the Gold Coast, singing voluntarily at many aged care homes. She loved performing for the elderly, however also felt she could do so much more with her music. “Getting up there and singing for aged care homes was really amazing, I even put a few older songs in there, like “Hopelessly Devoted to You”, and “Que Sera Sera”, and they just loved it, they’d all sing, and tap their feet.”
McKenzie was a confident performer, and felt that it was time to broaden her horizons. “I felt so satisfied after I’d performed, as if I’d really made a difference. I could see the smiles on people faces.” Rob Comer rang the Gold Coast Hospital. “Would you like some entertainment?” McKenzie was looking forward to this gig, but she didn’t know what to expect. While they were escorted up to the Children’s Ward, they bumped into Radio Lollipop. “It was an organization that entertain kids while they’re in hospital, and all the people there are volunteers.” They said that McKenzie could sing in their studio if she wanted.
“I’d always wanted to write a song, and I tried so many times. We have a laundry chute at our home on the Gold Coast, and I used to climb in there with a notebook and a torch, closing the door, and trying to write one. Maybe I thought it was more peaceful or something.” McKenzie had been taking piano lessons since she was 12, but wasn’t into creating her own melodies yet.
Then McKenzie met Cody Simpson.
A 13-year-old singer, who was writing songs, playing guitar, definitely had a bright future ahead of him. Cody and Mckenzie went to Radio Lollipop together. They both performed and even did a duet, “Love Story”, by Taylor Swift. After meeting Cody, McKenzie was inspired.
And then while holidaying on Great Barrier Island, she wrote her very first song, “He’s Just a Boy.” “I remember walking around the house just singing random melodies with my words, trying to find something that sounded okay, because I didn’t have a guitar or a piano. Its weird because the lyrics in the chorus, “He’s just a boy, but hey, I’m just a girl, by the way, who ever said, looking ahead, that we would never be,” I had cut out, when I was writing it. It was originally going to be the bridge, and then I got rid of them all together. When I was showing or neighbor who was a musician the song, and he said I was crazy, and it was so catchy it needed to be the chorus. So we chopped and changed it.”
Having never even touched a guitar before, she picked up her mum’s guitar that she had when she was 13, and got a few basic chords off the internet. It didn’t take long, and she was strumming away. She could now play “He’s Just a Boy”, with the chords, D, A, Em, G. “I was so overwhelmed when I finished it and played it, I thought to myself, I just wrote a song – and it sounds pretty good.”
After that, songs seemed to come out of her left right and centre. “I was writing, writing, writing, and they were getting better and better.” Rob and Carol were so amazed by their daughter’s ability, they took her and her songs to BigNote Productions. She played a few to the producers there, and they were very impressed. They said, “she’s writing like a 30 year old professional artist.” They had decided they would produce one of her songs and see what happened.
McKenzie moved schools at the very start of 2010. It happened to be the same school at which Cody Simpson was attending. Having already known Cody, he made her feel really welcome to the new school, as they were in the same class, and a few seats away from each other. They became really great friends, and had some great times. Cody was flying back and forth to America at that time, and he came back after a trip announcing he was moving over there at the end of Term 3. This was a really tough time for all of Cody’s friends.
Coming home on a Sunday after a party for him, McKenzie was still in tears from saying goodbye. She got onto the piano and started playing a few chords and creating a soft, smooth melody. “Playing piano really calms me.” She said. In her head, 100 emotions were running around. Suddenly, a whole lot of words came out, and she rushed to get it all down and paper. She sang them to her new melody, and it sounded perfect. In about half an hour, “The Last Goodbye” was created.
The next day was a school day, Monday. It was the day they had chapel services, and even though Cody had already stopped coming to classes, he was coming today. “Chapel Services at our school were full of fun, we jump around and sing songs. Cody always went crazy, jumping up and down, singing his heart out, and he was really going to miss that.” McKenzie got to school early, with lyrics and piano chords to “The Last Goodbye” in her hand. “I went and showed my music teacher first, then the school Chaplain.” They both loved the song, and said I could play it in today’s service.
“I don’t usually get nervous, but I was this time. I mean I’d written the song the night before. Cody, all my friends, were in the audience, with no idea.” The grand piano sat out on the stage, and Mckenzie walked on, sat down, and spoke into the microphone. “Hey, I wrote this song last night, its called “The Last Goodbye.” The auditorium was silent and she played and sang the heartfelt lyrics. Who’s gonna sing in class, to pass the time away? McKenzie says that this recalls to the times where Cody would walk past her chair rapping, “shawty this, and shawty that”. “Also I remember in the middle of a math’s test, you could hear this voice going, “Mmm, Whatcha say..”
“After the song, everybody came up to me, crying. I was actually really shocked, so many people were moved by the lyrics, because it meant something to them as well. Cody gave me a hug and said it was a really great song.”
“The Last Goodbye” was produced at BigNote Productions and released on iTunes. The original video now has over 80,000 views.
“He’s Just a Boy” was also produced and released. Hot Chilli Pix created a music video as well. “The video was so much fun, I included some of my good friends, and we just had a blast filming it, I really miss it now!” The official music video is over 100,000 views on YouTube.
“This year I’m focused on moving forward, I’m gonna make it. I always say if you don’t reach your dreams, you either didn’t want it badly enough, or you didn’t try hard enough.”
Mckenzie was signed by Stokes Tunes, a brand marketing and management production company affilliated with EMI Music Publishing.
