by mikayla lawless
photo courtesy of preston c. howell + mckenzi brooke
Fifteen-year old Preston C. Howell wowed audiences and caught the eyes of all four hosts last year on The Voice. Born a Floridian, Preston spent his childhood singing jazz with his dad and eventually went on to join the Broadway Kids theatre group. A few years ago, he joined a professional theatre group and began performing in plays. More recently, he’s been focusing on singing.
McKenzi Brooke posted her first video on TikTok in January of 2016. With her bubbly personality and dancing, she has become one of the most successful TikTok stars ever, with over six-million followers on the app. She most recently appeared in Preston’s music video for his new song “Supply and Demand.” We had the chance to chat with Preston and McKenzi about their creative influences, as well as Preston’s singing career!
Preston, you have an amazing voice, and McKenzi, you have some awesome dance moves! Have you both always been musically inclined?
Preston + McKenzi: “Pretty much, for as long as we remember!!! Music has always been a part of our lives, whether it’s singing or dancing it all revolves around music and we love that.”
McKenzi, you appear in Preston’s lyric video for his new song ”Supply and Demand!” How did your friendship start?
McKenzi: “We actually met at a performing arts school when we were like seven or eight. So we pretty much grew up together and then stayed in touch doing various projects together like music videos, and dance competitions. He was always good friends with my brother and then we hit it off, and the three of us have been close ever since.”
Preston, do you have any musical influences? And McKenzi, is there anyone you look up to?
Preston: “I love all types of music, but artists like Post Malone, Justin Bieber, and Shawn Mendes are my favorite styles of music. I have the classics in me too, so I will always be inspired by the great Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.”
McKenzi: “Yes, I do have musical influences! My top four musical influences, in no particular order, are Ariana Grande, Pink, Miley Cyrus, and Will Smith.”
What is it like being young creators? I bet you’ve had a lot of fun opportunities!
Preston: “Definitely a lot of fun, it is a lot of work, but it doesn’t feel like it at all. It’s really fun when I get invited to events that other singers/creators are at because it is really cool meeting other kids our age to collab with. One of the coolest recent experiences was being invited to San Diego to perform and I got to take my family and we made a mini vacation out of it.”
McKenzi: “Being a young creator is super fun. I am so glad my mom got me into the business because it’s been a life changing experience. One of my favorite opportunities I’ve gotten with my brother is we were able to perform with The Chainsmokers. How it started was we were just going to create videos with them at their Orlando concert, and then they asked us if we could go on stage and perform with them. It was so cool and was my favorite experience ever! I will never forget it, especially ‘cause I got to do it with my brother.”
Preston, what was it like performing for John Legend on The Voice?
Preston: “Oh wow, it was like no other experience and hard to even explain in words. I mean he is the LEGEND! I was in such shock when all the coaches turned around. He was the last one to turn and was my first choice going in, so when he turned a sense of relief came over me and it was just the happiest feeling I’ve ever had. It was almost as if he was a hologram, I still can’t believe he was right in front of me.”
“Supply and Demand” came out just a few weeks ago on June 19th. Preston, can you tell us a little about the song and the inspiration for it?
Preston: “Last October I met the writer, Bcuz, at a charity event. We hit it off right away and a few months later he reached out because he started a campaign called Leave on the Light and wanted me to be a part of it. It is a music movement to raise awareness for mental health and suicide prevention. Each single released is meant to tackle a mental health issue and bring light and positivity into the world.”
You guys have done a lot of work for mental health awareness! Tell us a little more about that.
Preston + McKenzi: “Through this movement, and especially at a time where there is so much going on in our world, the song is meant to spread love and understanding. Sometimes we just need to be reminded that we all need love and we all have it to give (that is supply and demand)! Suicide is the second leading cause of death in young adults ages 15-25. Our goal is to be a part of ending the stigma of mental health issues and to spread that there is help out there and resources available. Two of the main ones we want people to be aware of is NAMI which is the National Alliance of Mental Illness (1800950NAMI), anyone can call and they offer free confidential support, and also the National Suicide Hotline (18002738255). Sharing and using these and other resources can save someone’s life.”
McKenzi, you have over 6.4 million followers on TikTok! Where do you get the inspiration for your videos?
McKenzi: “I’m super thankful for my 6.4 million followers on TikTok. I get my inspiration for the videos from my family or from watching different creators on the app. I think everyone on TikTok inspires me to come up with my video ideas, along with myself, my brother, my mom and dad.”
Aside from your creative work, what are some other ways you spend your free time? Can we expect any more collaborations from you guys in the near future?
Preston: “I love to just be outside on my bike and skateboard. I love hanging with my friends. Now it’s mostly FaceTime or Zoom because of the pandemic sadly, but also if I get some free time I love playing video games. [laughs] We always seem to either run into each other or end up on projects together, so I am sure we will continue to collab!”
McKenzi: Some other ways I spend my free time if I’m not filming TikTok videos is creating our YouTube videos, which is either editing them or going to record them, auditions that me and my brother have, or just spending lots of time with my brother because we always have the best time together. While practicing social distancing, I’ll get to spend time with my friends like Preston, and that’s really fun, especially because we are in quarantine, so I don’t get to see many people very often. I also love to draw; drawing has been a passion of mine since I was young. My mom got me into it because she used to teach art at my elementary school and that’s where I get a lot of my creativity from.”