It's been four years since Kenyth (formerly Kenyth Mogan) released the Wizard of Oz themed video to his hit song “Unlock My Heart.”
“Unlock” has been seen nearly two million times since.
How did “Unlock My Heart's” success change your life? It's a very strange experience to get messages and marriage proposals from people you've never met, who are literally on the other side of the world. I love, that four years after it's release, I'm still getting asked about “Unlock Your Heart”. A little known fact, to tie it into Holy Water, Unlock Your Heart was written by Aaron Harris and Matthew Hayes. Hayes, is a close friend of Tiffany's and she actually sang on his demo for the song.
You mentioned that the song has an addiction metaphor and that it's personal—how so? When I first heard the demo, which was several years ago, I was right in the middle of watching someone I was in love with and dating losing his struggle with a meth addiction.
So, I could relate to it.
It was frightening and heartbreaking time.—eventually, he ended up spending a few years in prison. I loved Tiffany's version, and when it didn't show up on any of her subsequent albums I reached out and asked if I could record it. I couldn't be more honored that they gave me permission to do so. It's a wonderful song, and one I know a lot of people, especially in the LGBT community can relate to.
You talk about growing up in Montana a lot—Why?
I've always talked about how wonderful my growing up in Montana was like. Everyone assumes that because it's the country – I grew up in a little town called Glasgow, filled with cowboys and other macho-masculine stereotypes— that it must've been a horrible experience to grow up there. It wasn't. My grandmother was very protective of me. She fought for me every single day of her life, and made sure I knew I was loved and protected. She was an amazing woman. It took other members of my family a little longer to be as open and accepting as my grandmother, but they are now. A few of my older family members even tried to hook me up with a police officer back home, whom they thought I would be “totally cute” with. I loved growing up in Montana.
Missoula, the place where I went to college was really where I came into my own. It's like a liberal little Bohemia, hidden within the mountains. It's still one of my most favorite places in the world.
What's next? After two EPs, I am about halfway done with my debut album. It's been a long time coming, and I couldn't be more excited about it. I was given licensing rights to a very special property from my youth, so there is a theme to the album that's very fun, and really exciting for me. I can't wait to share.
Holy Water (Basement Acoustic Mix) is available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and all online retailers.
Watch “Unlock My Heart” below.
