MacKenzie Lea Porter (born January 29, 1990) is a Canadian

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

singer, songwriter, and actress. She has released two albums (''MacKenzie Porter'' and '' Nobody's Born with a Broken Heart'') and achieved four

Canada Country The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

number ones with " About You", "

These Days These Days may refer to: Music Albums * ''These Days'' (Bon Jovi album), and the title song (see below) ** These Days Tour, a 1995–1996 tour by Bon Jovi in support of the above album * ''These Days'' (Crystal Gayle album), 1980 * ''These ...

", " Seeing Other People", and " Pickup". She was featured on

Dustin Lynch Dustin Charles Lynch (born May 14, 1985) is an American country music singer and songwriter, signed to Broken Bow Records. Lynch has released six albums and one EP for the label: a Dustin Lynch (album), self-titled album in 2012, ''Where It's At ...

's number one

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since October 20, 2012, although the magazine also retrospectively recognizes the Hot Country Songs charts from January 20, 1990, through October 13, 2012, ...

hit " Thinking 'Bout You". She is also one-half of "Thelma and James", a musical duo with her husband Jake Etheridge. As an actor she is best known for her leading role as a future-sent medic in the television series '' Travelers''.

Early life

MacKenzie Porter was raised on a cattle and bison ranch near

Medicine Hat, Alberta Medicine Hat is a city in southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff to the northwest are within ...

. She began studying piano, violin, and voice at age four. While growing up she toured in a family band with her brother, 2004 ''

Canadian Idol ''Canadian Idol'' is a Canadian reality television competition show which aired on CTV, based on the British show '' Pop Idol''. The show was a competition to find the most talented young singer in Canada, and was hosted by Ben Mulroney. Jon Do ...

'' winner

Kalan Porter Richard Kalan Porter (born November 11, 1985) is a Canadian singer and songwriter from Medicine Hat, Alberta, and the winner of the reality television series ''Canadian Idol'' in Canadian Idol (season 2), 2004. He started to sing at an early age ...

. Their grandfather Bob Porter was Member of Parliament for

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff, Alberta, R ...

from 1988 to 1993.

Film and TV career

Porter has appeared in numerous films and television productions, including '' Dinosapien'' (2007), ''

Hell on Wheels Hell on Wheels was the itinerant collection of flimsily assembled gambling houses, dance halls, saloons, and brothels that followed the army of Union Pacific Railroad workers westward as they constructed the first transcontinental railroad in 18 ...

'', and '' Travelers'' (2016). She earned a Best Actress in Alberta award for her role in the 2008 television film ''The Other Woman''. She was also named as one of the Top 11 Hottest Vancouver Actors to Watch for in 2011 by ''BC Living'' magazine.

Music career

Early career: Self-titled album

After moving to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

to pursue acting, Porter teamed up with musician and actor Andrew Jenkins to form the band The Black Boots. In 2010, she launched a solo career. Porter was the winner of the 2011 Nashville North Star competition. She has opened for

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country singer. With 30 million albums sold worldwide, he released his debut, '' In My Wildest Dreams'', in 1994, and has since released 19 follow-ups. His albums spawned 27 singles tha ...

, Doc Walker, and Trooper among others, and has performed for Prime Minister

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...

and

Gene Simmons Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; ; born August 25, 1949) also known by his stage persona "The Demon", is an Israeli-born American musician. He was the bassist and co-lead singer of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss, which he co-founded wit ...

. In October 2012, Porter released her debut single, "I Wish I'd Known". Her second single, " Never Gonna Let You", was co-written and produced by

Carolyn Dawn Johnson Carolyn Dawn Johnson (born April 30, 1971) is a Canadian country music singer-songwriter. Johnson co-wrote Chely Wright's 1999 single, "Single White Female," which reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in Sep ...

. Porter was chosen as one of six acts for the inaugural

Canadian Country Music Association The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) was founded in 1976 as the Academy of Country Music Entertainment to organize, promote and develop a Canadian country music industry. The groundwork for the association began on June 3, 1973, when a gr ...

Discovery Program in 2013. She was also nominated for the Rising Star Award at the 2013 Canadian Country Music Association Awards. Her debut album was released on July 15, 2014. She is featured on the song "Circles" on

Chris Lane Christopher Eric Lane (born November 9, 1984) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He has released one album as frontman of the Chris Lane Band, a second album, ''Girl Problems'', and a third album, ''Laps Around the Sun (Chris Lane ...

's album '' Girl Problems'' in 2016.

2018–2022: ''Drinkin' Songs'', Big Loud Records, five number ones

In 2018, Porter signed with

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

-based Big Loud and became their first Canadian artist. She released the single " About You", co-written by

Hardy Hardy may refer to: People * Hardy (surname) * Hardy (given name) * Hardy (singer), American singer-songwriter Places Antarctica * Mount Hardy, Enderby Land * Hardy Cove, Greenwich Island * Hardy Rocks, Biscoe Islands Australia * Hardy, ...

. The song would hit number one on

. Porter is featured on the

Dallas Smith Dallas Hendry Smith (born December 4, 1977) is a Canadian singer and songwriter, who performs both as a solo country music artist and as lead singer for the hard rock band Default. He is currently signed to Big Loud Records. Smith is the curr ...

song "Friends Don't Let Friends Drink Alone" with

Dean Brody Dean Brody (born August 12, 1975) is a Canadian country music artist from British Columbia. He has won 16 CCMA Awards and 2 JUNO Awards. Originally signed to Broken Bow Records in 2008, Brody made his debut later that year with the single "Br ...

. In March 2019, Porter released the single "

", which charted on Canadian country, pop, and adult hits charts as well as on the US

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

and

charts. It also reached number one on

, making Porter the first Canadian woman to land back-to-back Number Ones since

Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( ; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time and the best-sel ...

. She then opened for

and

on their co-headlining cross-Canada ''Friends Don't Let Friends Tour Alone Tour''. In February 2020, Porter released " Seeing Other People" which would become her third consecutive number one, making her the first woman (Canadian or American) to land three consecutive Number Ones on Canadian country radio since Twain. Porter's EP '' Drinkin' Songs: The Collection'' was released in November 2020. The EP was her debut American release and included her three chart-toppers in addition to her top five hit " Drinkin' Songs". It received a nomination for Country Album of the Year at the 2021 Juno Awards. In March 2021, she featured on the

single " Thinking 'Bout You", and then joined Canadian pop artist

Virginia to Vegas Derik John Baker, better known as Virginia To Vegas, is an American-Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. He is based in Toronto, Ontario. He is best known for his gold and platinum-certified singles, "We Are Stars", "Lights Out (Virginia ...

on the single "

This Sucks. "This Sucks." (stylized as "this sucks.") is a song co-written and recorded by Canadian pop music, pop artist Virginia to Vegas and Canadian country pop artist MacKenzie Porter. The two wrote the song with Lowell (musician), Lowell, Nathan Ferra ...

" in September 2021. She released the song " Pickup" later that year; it became a single in early 2022. " Thinking 'Bout You" spent six weeks atop the

chart, marking Porter's first number one in the U.S., and spent a record-breaking 28 weeks in the top ten. Meanwhile, " Pickup" would go on to reach number one on Canada Country, and achieve gold-certification. Later that year, she joined fellow Canadian country artist

on the single " One Too".

2023–2024: ''Nobody's Born with a Broken Heart''

In March 2023, Porter participated in an all-star recording of

Serena Ryder Serena Lauren Ryder (born December 8, 1982) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Born in Toronto, she grew up in Millbrook, Ontario. Ryder first gained national recognition with her ballad "Weak in the Knees" in 2007 and has released eight studio ...

's single "

What I Wouldn't Do "What I Wouldn't Do" is a song performed by Canadian singer-songwriter Serena Ryder, which was released as a single in November 2012. The song was written by Ryder and Jerrod Bettis for Ryder's fifth studio album, ''Harmony (Serena Ryder album), ...

", which was released as a charity single to benefit

Kids Help Phone Kids Help Phone () is a Canadian charitable organization that provides online and telephone counselling and volunteer-led, text-based support in English and French to youth across Canada. Kids Help Phone also provides information on how to acc ...

's Feel Out Loud campaign for youth mental health. In May 2023, she released " Chasing Tornadoes", the second single off her upcoming full-length album. In the fall of 2023, Porter embarked on her first tour named "The Canadian Headlining Tour". While on tour, she released the single " Bet You Break My Heart". Porter also joined Canadian pop singer Elijah Woods on a new version of his song "Last Girl". In January 2024, Porter announced the release of her second full-length studio album, '' Nobody's Born with a Broken Heart'' on Big Loud Records. The nineteen-track album was released on April 26, 2024, and includes the singles " Pickup", " Chasing Tornadoes", " Bet You Break My Heart", and " Have Your Beer", as well as four songs that were released concurrently with the album's announcement, including "Easy to Miss". Porter received six nominations at the 2024 Canadian Country Music Awards, and won Female Artist of the Year. She also co-hosted the award show alongside

Thomas Rhett Thomas Rhett Akins Jr. (born March 30, 1990) is an American country music, country singer-songwriter. He is the oldest son of singer Rhett Akins. Rhett has released seven studio albums for Big Machine Records' Valory Music imprint: ''It Goes ...

2025: Thelma and James

In January 2025, Porter and her husband Jake Etheridge collaborated on the song " Happy Ever After You", released under the duo name "Thelma & James". In March 2025, the duo released the song "First Love", and officially signed a recording deal with Big Loud, with Porter remaining on their label roster as a solo artist as well.

Personal life

In 2014, Porter and American actor/singer-songwriter Jake Etheridge began dating. Etheridge appeared in the 2019 music video for Porter's 2018 song " About You". She and Etheridge were engaged in mid-/late May or early June 2019, and they married in July 2020. In November 2023, Porter announced she was pregnant with her and Etheridge's first child. On March 14th, 2024 Mackenzie and her husband welcomed their first child, a daughter.

Tours

*''The Canadian Headline Tour'' (2023)

Filmography

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As part of Thelma & James

As featured artist

Music videos

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Mackenzie 1990 births 21st-century Canadian actresses Canadian Country Music Association Female Artist of the Year winners 21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters 21st-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers 21st-century Canadian women singers 21st-century Canadian women pianists Actresses from Alberta Big Loud artists Canadian child actresses Canadian country fiddlers Canadian country singer-songwriters Canadian film actresses Canadian television actresses Canadian voice actresses Canadian women country singers Canadian women singer-songwriters Canadian women violinists and fiddlers Living people Singers from Alberta People from Medicine Hat