While competing on season 22 of “American Idol,” contestant Mackenzie Sol was already a viral sensation, known on social media for his popular pranks and self-deprecating stunts-gone-wrong. Though he’d found great success online scaring his mom and playing jokes on his friends, the British-born singer said on “Idol” that his dream was to become just as well known for his true passion — music.
“I wanted people to see me for my talents,” Sol told EntertainmentNOW in June 2024, after making it into the Top 20.
His strategy seems to be working. Posting a combination of the slapstick clips he’s known for with videos for his new music releases, including his vulnerable pop single “Anxiety,” has catapulted Sol to a mighty social media milestone. On January 14, 2025, Sol shared a screenshot of his YouTube stats in his Instagram Stories and wrote, “we just crossed 1 billion views on YouTube … Yall are incredible man 😭❤️”
Mackenzie Sol Says ‘American Idol’ Helped Him Believe in Having a Music Career Again
Born in a small town in Northern England where his parents were professional singers, Sol’s been going viral since he was four years old, when he adorably auditioned for Britain’s “X Factor” despite the minimum age for contestants being 16.
When Sol was 13, he and his mom moved to Los Angeles, where he landed some small acting roles, and later moved to Las Vegas. During the pandemic, he told VoyageLA in 2023, he started making his prank videos for fun and went viral with several of them, quickly amassing millions of followers across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.
“Unfortunately, the viral videos were comedy so now I’m trying to convert my fanbase to music, my true talent and passion,” he told the outlet.
As Sol’s prankster videos went viral, it distracted him from pursuing a music career, he told EntertainmentNOW, but his experience on “American Idol” fully reignited that passion.
“I lost the music because my music was never successful before,” he said, adding that he was wary about appearing on “Idol” because he’d become known for his comedy.
“I figured having the amount of social media followers I had, it would be a disadvantage because a lot of people would think, ‘He’s already got a big following, why does he need American Idol’?'” Sol said. “But it was comedy. I’d never pursued music on social media. So that was kind of a big leap for me, a big change.”
“But ‘American Idol’ brought out more of the music in me again,” he continued. “It just helped me a lot.”
Mackenzie Sol Was Amazed by the Social Media Reaction to His Music & Honesty About His Struggles
After season 22 ended, Sol — who told EntertainmentNOW he struggles with anxiety, ADHD, and Tourette’s Syndrome — released his first single, called “Anxiety,” and shared his own experiences with the condition on his social media accounts.
He was blown away by the response, as people who were used to seeing him be goofy and confident in his videos finally understood — through his music — another side of him.
After the show, Sol landed a weekly residency at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas and formed a duo with fellow season 22 alum Jordan Anthony called J+M. In November, they released the music video for their first single, “Don’t Ya.” An acoustic version released in December has already racked up over 400,000 views.
On December 30, he posted an Instagram video of himself singing to himself, only to have hitmaker Jason Derulo peek his head in to listen and praise his voice. Many of his fellow “Idol” alums from season 22 flipped over the video, leaving fun comments for the rising music star.
Mia Matthews, for instance, wrote, “kenzie whaaaaatttttt😭😭😭😭” and McKenna Faith Breinholt commented, “INSANE.”
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2024 ‘American Idol’ Contestant Hits 1 Billion YouTube Views: ‘Incredible’