Kenzie Ziegler Always Had a Voice. Now, She’s Ready to Unleash It.
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The host at this swanky restaurant sat me directly under a huge speaker, which is great for the vibes but awful for my outdated recording device.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.
The world was introduced to you on Dance Moms. What is it like looking back on the show now as an adult?
I recently watched an episode for the first time—I’ve never watched it before. I’ve only ever seen clips and TikToks of other people posting funny edits. I don’t remember a lot from it because I started when I was 6 years old. That was my childhood. I never went to middle or high school or did any normal kid things. So, looking back at it, I feel sad for myself because I never got to experience real life. I mentally feel like I’m 45 because I’ve lived so many lives. I had to grow up so quickly.
I’m so thankful for that experience because I wouldn’t be where I am without it. I wouldn’t have such tough skin because this industry is so intense, especially with the social media aspect of it. No matter who you are, people are going to find a way to hate you. Now, anyone could say anything to me and I’m like, “Whatever.” I feel good and I’m happy.
But it makes sense that it’s not something you would want to go back to and makes even more sense that you and your sister skipped the recent Dance Moms reunion. Did you watch it?
I obviously watched it. I saw a lot of comments like, “Why didn’t they do this for the fans? Why didn’t they go?” Personally, I just dealt with a lot of trauma from that show and I have the worst anxiety from it. I would’ve loved to be with the girls. But I also didn’t want to sit on television and watch back a traumatic part of my life that is so far from me now.
I’m sorry to the fans. I know they wanted all of us there, but I didn’t feel comfortable. People think Maddie and I are unappreciative about where we came from. I don’t feel the need to talk about it because I’m an adult and I was a child at the time. It’s, like, does Ariana Grande still talk about Sam & Cat?
Right, and you’ve created a whole other career for yourself as an adult. And Maddie has too. How does growing up a younger sibling to someone also famous affect how you approach your artistry?
When we were on TV, we were constantly being compared and we still are, which is so difficult. We do such different things now, so I just ignore it. It was challenging for us to break out of that. When we were younger, we hated each other—not that we actually hated each other, but we were together 24/7 and constantly compared. Now that we do separate things, we’re just so proud of each other and we’re best friends. I’ve learned to be confident in myself, and if people don’t love what I’m doing, that’s totally fine.
I totally get it. I’m the youngest of four sisters. It’s so annoying to be constantly compared because we’re our own people.
It’s all younger siblings!
We have a hard life!
We really do!
But I love how close you and Maddie are. It seems like you really stuck together when the reunion went down. Did she support or show up for you as you worked on your album?
She has shown up for me in so many ways my whole life, but especially while I was making this album. I usually get nervous to share music with her because she’s such an idol to me and I look up to her so much. With every song, she’s been so supportive and proud of me—it speaks volumes. Growing up, you want to be exactly like your big sister. She shows her friends my songs and it’s really wholesome. I’m obsessed with her—I can’t help it.
You guys also worked on the choreography for the “Anatomy” video together. How do you channel the discipline and time management skills you learned from dance into your music career?
Dance helps me in all aspects. I am so happy that I danced because even in my artistry—like when I’m writing a song—I think of how I would dance to it. I think of how other people would feel listening to my songs because when you dance, you express yourself with no words.
“Anatomy” is raw and honest in its storytelling, and you can tell it came from a vulnerable place of healing. You’ve mentioned it initially came about as an assignment from your therapist and turned into a song about your estranged father. Now that you’ve completed this assignment and shared it broadly, what have you learned from the process? How is your inner child feeling about it all?
I was terrified because I did not tell my dad I was putting this out. The song opened a lot of conversations within my family because that was something I had dealt with myself. I went back to therapy when I turned 18 and when my therapist was like, “So, tell me about your dad,” I just started sobbing. Before that, I had never cried about it. I learned a lot. I deserve more, and so does my sister. We’re very sweet people and I’m not going to be heartbroken over someone that doesn’t want me.
Sharing it with the world helped me so much. In that moment, I had never shared something so serious and I didn’t want people to think I was crying for help. When people started saying, “This is my story,” or “I feel the same way,” or “That song changed my life,” that changed my life because it healed me hearing what other people were saying about it. It was such an awesome experience and people still give me such amazing love. I’m so glad I’ve done that for people when they’re actually doing it for me.
Your songs are essentially a snapshot of certain moments in your life. How does it feel to process life and witness your growth through something you’ve created?
This album changed me as a person. It’s called Biting My Tongue because I used to keep everything quiet. I was so nervous to share certain things about my life because I didn’t want to feel ashamed or embarrassed. Writing all these songs was a form of therapy for me. It helped me grow into the person I want to be. I’m so proud of myself for being so honest—I just never thought I could do that.
Honesty is a through line of this album. “The Me I Was” starts with the line “I’m such a mess” and includes this bombastic production with sounds of glass breaking, doors slamming, and coins dropping. How did you come up with the concept of the track and how did these specific sounds come into play?
In my last relationship, I was scarred from the one before that because I fully got cheated on and it was broadcast on the internet. I found out online, and we were a public couple. It was really traumatizing for me. I dealt with a lot of constant worry about getting cheated on again, but you also can’t stop it from happening. The song was my message to my first partner after that relationship, like, “I wish you could have met me before, because I promise I’m not like this.”
The production sounds like an ex-boyfriend leaving because it’s like the crashes, the door slamming, the weird sounds. It sonically felt like a traumatic relationship. When you think about your old self and how amazing she was and you’re not her anymore, you want to go smash some shit. That’s how I felt. I was like, Oh, I’m so mad at myself.
No one should feel that amount of anxiety in a relationship. When you’re in the right one, you’ll know because you’ll feel totally at ease.
You’ll feel so calm. Me and my ex ended up not working out because I should have been worried, so I guess it worked out in my favor. But I’ve also learned that if you’re that stressed in a relationship, then you probably shouldn’t be with that person because you can’t stop someone from hurting you. You have to come to terms with that.
Speaking of love, what do you look for in your own relationships? What is dating like in the spotlight as a famous person?
This is so crazy to say, but in every relationship, I’ve been the caretaker. I’m just looking for someone to treat me like a princess. There obviously are men out there that are like that, but I am just looking for a great, loving relationship. I hate toxicity, I hate the games. I just hate all of that shit. I just want to be loved and that’s it—I’m not asking for too much. You don’t even have to pay for me every time. Like, ask me if I’m good. Make me feel safe and secure. Get me flowers. I want to be with someone who I can be myself around and who can be my best friend, you know? That’s important.
I feel like I really gooped you for a second. The look in your eyes when I asked that question told me everything I needed to know.
I thought you were going to ask me about someone specific. I was like, Oh, no.
No, girl. I just want to know what the vibe is in case any eligible bachelors end up reading Cosmopolitan.
Hell yeah!
And those eligible bachelors should also listen to “Close to You” because it has a euphoric, dreamlike energy. It’s so romantic. Tell me about writing it.
I wrote this song with Pink Sweat$ originally. He makes amazing love songs and I’ve always wanted to tap into that. I have trouble writing them because, first of all, men are shitty. But I also put a lot of pressure on myself with love songs because I want them to be perfect. I don’t want it to be cheesy.
I asked ASTN to be on the song because he did a “Happier Than Ever” cover that I was constantly listening to. His vocals pushed my vocals. I needed to belt. That’s one of my favorite songs on my album because you just feel the love and I’m so glad he’s part of it. The production was really different at first. It was actually a wedding song. Like, you could see yourself walking down the aisle and then we were like, “Wait, okay, we’re getting a little too much in the wedding vibe,” because I was 19 when we wrote it. So let’s calm down here.
This project showcases real maturity and digs into more adult topics. Do you feel like an adult? Tell me about a moment you’ve had recently where you were like, Oh wow, I’m really grown up.
Yes and no—I feel like an adult with all the things that I’m doing with music and all the traveling and I have a house, so I have to do busy adult things. But at the same time, I still have so much fun with my work, so I don’t feel like I’m as much of an adult as a normal adult would feel. I think it’s a good thing. I want to be young forever.
Don’t we all? I wish I could just freeze time.
I still feel like I’m mentally 16.
So do I, and I’m 25, so that’s a problem.
So does my mom, and she’s 56. But I think it’s a good thing. I feel very grown up in this new era, especially with the music I release. It’s just more mature, raw, and authentic.
Exactly! There’s a specific lyric from “Word Vomit” that I think captures the essence of the record beautifully: “Now my thoughts are pouring out / So I’m saying ‘em out loud.” What do you want people to take away from you and this body of work you’ve created? Who do you write music for?
I write music for myself, honestly. It’s my form of therapy. I go into these writing sessions and I’m like, “Alright, guys, here’s the sitch.” I rant for three hours, write a song, and then I feel great. I want other people to hear it, but if it doesn’t do well, I’m just so proud of myself that I was able to do that. That’s a crazy thing, being able to write a song and put it out to the world. With this album, I want people to take away that it’s okay to be honest and it’s okay to speak your mind. I’ve been silent for so long with friends, family, boyfriends, whatever—and now I don’t do that.
Lead image: Cultnaked top and leggings. Missoni heels. Mateo earrings, necklace, and ring (left). Eriness ring (right).
Stylist: Cassie Anderson. Makeup: Tomoyo Pattou at Art Department Agency. Hair: Yu Nakata at 87Artists. Manicure: Elizabeth Garcia at Muse Creatives NYC. Story edited by Emma Baty.
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