21-year-old Louisiana native Mackenzie Bourg captured our hearts when he featured on season 3 of NBC’s The Voice and his heartfelt rendition of “Pumped Up Kicks” had Cee Lo Green going crazy. He’s out with a new EP Falling Up in the fall, so we caught up with him to find out about his wild since the show. Check out the interview here:
YA Mag: Mackenzie Bourg is a pretty unusual name. Where did it come from?
Mackenzie Bourg: From my parents when I was born. MacKenzie Bourg isn’t a stage name. When I was younger, I often felt insecure about having a sort of feminine connotation towards my name, but I reached a point in my life where I just embraced and loved the heck out of it and have been that way ever since.
YA: At what age did you start performing music?
MB: I started performing music at around 16. Music wasn’t always my passion. For the longest time I wanted to be a professional athlete, but once I realized I didn’t quite have the size, my heart was set on music and there was no looking back.
YA: Did you have a mentor when you were a kid; somebody that inspired you or pushed you to take your music to the next level?
MB: My family always believed in me no matter what I did, so having that support system encouraged me to do whatever it is I wanted to do in life.
YA: You made it through to the final round of The Voice before getting eliminated, Can you describe overall what that experience felt like?
MB: The experience was nothing as I expected it to be, both in the good and bad. It was unreal to perform for literally millions each week on such amazing stages, but the tremendous pressure, tied with limited musical control, led to my time not panning out to what it truly could’ve been.
YA: You immediately released the single Everyone’s Got a Story
MB: I would like to think my story is still in the beginning stages, not only in my musical career, but my growth as a person as well. It’s been quite the journey thus far and I can’t wait to see what’s next.
YA: The video for the song is beautiful. Where was it filmed?
MB: In a desert area near Mission Viejo. Jones Crow directed and filmed it, and also taught me how to ride a motorcycle with a friend of ours all in that day. Had I not crashed pretty hard in the first hour, there would’ve been some much better scenes on the bike!
YA: What valuable lessons did you take away from your stint on the Voice, and how has it shaped your career so far?
MB: Taking everything into consideration, the thing I learned that was most valuable is to stay true to myself, in every sense. Whether it be my songwriting, my style of music, or me as a person, staying true to MacKenzie is what I need to focus on.
YA: You just released a cover of Impossible Things. Why did you choose that song?
MB: I recorded that song with full intentions of releasing it as my first single a year ago. Everything was ready and I was waiting for my contract from the show to expire when I found out that, like most things in the entertainment business, money prevails, and the song got placed with another artist.
YA: Your house is burning down. Which item do you run back to save?
MB: In a sense, I would want to save my custom Martin guitar, but I know I would want to save my laptop because it has all my photos. The guitar could be replaced; the memories in the pictures are priceless.
YA: What’s the most daredevil thing you’ve ever done?
MB: I bungee jumped when I was 9. Although bungee jumping isn’t seemingly the most daredevil activity, being just 9 and doing that made me feel like the bravest person in the world that day and it’s something I’ll always remember doing.
YA: What’s next for you in 2014?
MB: Releasing my EP, which has been a long process, but one that I’m thankful to have had the opportunity to do. It’s essentially my first impression to people wanting my original music. I wrote these songs, as well as played a fair share of the instruments, so I’m really hopeful the folks take a liking to it.
YA: Which five songs are playing on your iPod right now?
MB: The five artists playing are Amos Lee, Ray Lamontagne, John Mayer, Otis Redding, and a little Ed Sheeran.