Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Jaq MacKenzie was one of the impressive teenagers American Idol introduced us to during Season 14’s final audition episode. (FOX Photo)

And one of those impressive teenager singers was Jaq MacKenzie, who was 15 — “and a half” — when she auditioned last summer.

A student at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, Jaq waltzed into the audition room and promptly launched into an original song, “Break My Heart Next Time.”

All the judges were impressed with her raw talent and artistry, but questioned whether she had the experience to succeed in Hollywood.

In the end, they decided to give her that chance, voting unanimously in favor of granting her a golden ticket.

Harry Connick Jr. was especially impressed by the fact that Jaq takes singing so seriously.

And Keith Urban was impressed by her “distinct” style of singing.

What the show didn’t show: Jaq seemed incredibly composed for a 15-year-old auditioning before three superstar judges. Her bio is a good indication of why.

At just 15, she’s already released a pair of singles and an EP, “101,” which came out in June 2014. She’s a singer/songwriter and actress, and played David Arquette’s daughter in the 2012 film “Black Limousine.”

Last year this time, she was competing in the finals of a show called American Stars, which airs on a privately owned Mandarin network. Jaq apparently added a line of Mandarin to her song and finished second in the event.

She’s the daughter of an actress/songwriter/producer named Liane Curtis, who has appeared in a number of TV shows and movies. And Jaq’s Facebook bio says her family has been in the entertainment business since the late 1800s.

Oh, and Jaq has been writing songs since age 10 and is also a black belt in Tae Know Do. Wow.

Jaq’s dad told the FOX affiliate in L.A. that his daughter has always seemed to be able to perform without stage fright and her mom said in spite of her wide range of experience, Jaq tends to gravitate toward singing and songwriting.

She’s pretty savvy about all this, too. She’s JaqRoxMusic on Twitter and refers to her fans as RoxStars, she told the station.

And that original song she performed a snippet of for the Idol judges … the day after her audition aired, she posted the full version on her Facebook page.

Here are some Jaq links, followed by samples of her music.

Website
Facebook
YouTube
Twitter: @JaqRoxMusic