When I pull up to SoHo to meet Kenzie Ziegler for the first time, I immediately notice something's wrong: The host at this swanky restaurant sat me directly under a huge speaker, which is great for the vibes but awful for my outdated recording device. As Kenzie and I greet each other with hugs and smiles, we laugh about the ridiculous volume and she jokes, "Could it be any louder?" In that split second, I forget she was the little girl who grew up in front of the world on Dance Moms. Instead, I'm met with a laidback cool girl with tiny patchwork tattoos and shoulder-length hair pulled back to reveal her fresh face. As one of the millions who watched her childhood play out in real time on TV, seeing the young woman before me serves as a reminder that this isn't only an introduction—it's also a reintroduction.
Fans first crossed paths with Kenzie and her sister, Maddie Ziegler, when they starred in the first six seasons of the Lifetime reality series from 2011 to 2016. In the world of the show, Kenzie was the baby of the group, filming intricate routines for a national audience starting at age 6. She set herself apart when she discovered her love for music and recorded "It's a Girl Party," a Hannah Montana–esque bubblegum-pop track that has more than 5 million streams on Spotify. The show became so popular that Kenzie and her sister did what any reality TV personality would do: They exited to pursue more ambitious projects. For Kenzie, that included roles on the Nickelodeon sitcom Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn and the Brat TV web series, Total Eclipse. As her star rose, so did her social following (she currently sits at more than 14 million Instagram followers), which led to YouTube vlogs that landed her partnerships with brands like Francesca's and American Eagle.
But now, allow Kenzie to reintroduce herself. She homed in on music as her main gig and signed a shiny record deal with Hollywood Records after a brief stint at Arista Records. She started releasing emotionally-driven ballads like "Anatomy" and "Word Vomit," which reflects her growth and spiritual journey as a promising musician. And she's on the brink of a breakthrough with her latest project—which she considers her official debut album—Biting My Tongue.
The new music is a 12-track autobiography and came from her desire to break free of a pattern of people-pleasing. While snacking on a charcuterie board and trying not to shout across the table, Kenzie lets me in on the creative process of crafting her debut album with no restraints, gets candid about growing up in the spotlight, and reveals why she declined to return for the televised Dance Moms reunion back in May. |
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