When Kenadi Dodds finally made it on the stage of “America’s Got Talent,” a show she had unsuccessfully auditioned for twice before, she wanted to make a statement.
Wearing rhinestone cowboy boots and a dress with a denim jacket, the then-15-year-old started strumming her acoustic guitar and belting “One Way Ticket to Tennessee,” a song she had written at the age of 13 about her dream of becoming a country singer.
She was timid when she talked to the show’s judges. But as she performed, her belief in what she was singing shined through her powerhouse vocals.
“Well you’re a little firecracker, aren’t you?” Simon Cowell told her as the judges gave her a standing ovation.
Cowell was so impressed with the distinct country style that he had a hard time believing Dodds was born and raised in Logan, Utah.
“Your voice sounds as if you were from Nashville when you sing,” he said. “I love artists, particularly people your age, who know what kind of lane they want to go down.”
“One Way Ticket to Tennessee” launched a run on “AGT” that saw Dodds make it all the way to the finale as a top 10 contestant.
To date, Dodds’ audition, which aired in the summer of 2020, has more than 6 million views on YouTube.
But in the five years since her “AGT” debut, Dodds has steadily been crafting a different statement than the one she gave the millions of viewers tuning in to the reality competition show.
She’s still a “firecracker,” like Cowell said. But the energy and spunk has been redirected, repackaged in a style that is more in the vein of Avril Lavigne than Miranda Lambert.
And on Friday, Dodds released her new statement through her debut single “Toxic.”
“I was country for so long, and now my first single coming out is … so not,” she said with a laugh, describing her new song as “a dark pop-rock mix. “It’s gonna throw everybody off, but it’s gonna be awesome.”
The rebrand
Dodds is speaking on a Zoom call from her studio in Logan, where she frequently films TikTok videos.
In the corner where she’s sitting is a keyboard, guitar and microphone. Behind her is a mattress covered with an Elvis blanket that her grandmother gave her.
This is the space where her style has been shifting, her sound gradually evolving.
Dodds considers “One Way Ticket,” the song that made the tough-to-please Cowell smile, her “extreme country song.”
After “AGT,” the songs she was writing weren’t coming out like “One Way Ticket.” But, to her surprise, they didn’t feel anything like country music.
Dodds’ songs, regardless of genre, often come out like diary entries, the product of songwriting sessions that serve as a kind of therapy as she works through her emotions.
But as her challenges evolved, moving into her late teens, so did her music. She wanted to write whatever came to her, even if it didn’t match what had come before.
“Genres are weird,” she said. “I hated the box of you had to be a certain kind of country. I was getting all these new emotions, and working in the music industry after ‘AGT,’ there were a lot of people who would pretend to be your friend, or want to help you, and then they’d totally take advantage — you’d find out their agenda.”
The 20-year-old singer continued, “And so I wrote ‘Toxic’ during a time when a lot of bridges were being burned because of that.”
“Toxic” also draws inspiration from her experiences with ADHD, and how it has sometimes led to struggles in her friendships.
“I was like, ‘Am I a toxic person?’ Because I say things without thinking sometimes,” she said. “If you could see my heart, I love everyone. ... So I wanted to write a song about taking that label and changing it into a power statement, owning yourself and just loving who you are.”
It took Dodds about a day to write “Toxic,” but a year to get it all finalized, the singer said.
Produced by Brian Howes, who co-wrote the Hinder hit “Lips of an Angel” and has worked with bands including Nickelback and Simple Plan, the song ended up developing an upbeat, anthemic feel.
“It hits you in the face,” she said. “And when I showed my friends from high school, their jaws dropped.”
And, to Dodds’ palpable joy, the song has received a resounding endorsement from a legendary musician who also calls Utah home: Air Supply’s Graham Russell.
‘A wonderful friendship’ with Air Supply’s Graham Russell
It’s almost comical how nonchalantly Dodds mentions crossing paths with Air Supply.
The singer initially met the duo at a meet and greet for one of their shows back in the early days of the pandemic, not long after her time on “AGT.”
Their interaction was fairly limited, but Dodds was able to tell the musicians she knew their former bass player, Jonni Lightfoot, who was now playing for country singer Charley Jenkins.
When Dodds later opened for Jenkins at the Sandy Amphitheater, Lightfoot invited Russell out to the show. The singer/guitarist of Air Supply, who lives in Kamas, saw Dodds perform and instantly got her number.
Dodds didn’t think much of it, figuring Russell would quickly forget about her. But he called her the very next day.
“Do you want to write a song?” she recalled him asking.
Not much later, Russell came to her family’s home in Logan, and sat with her in her studio.
“And it’s been a wonderful friendship ever since,” she said.
Dodds has opened for Air Supply a few times, and the band brings her back out on stage occasionally to sing their hit song “All Out of Love.”
She also happens to be a backing vocalist on a new album from Air Supply that commemorates the band’s 50th anniversary.
It was through that album that Dodds came into contact with Howes, who wound up producing “Toxic.”
Russell, meanwhile, has been instrumental in helping Dodds figure out her new sound, and helping her to break out of the country genre that has defined her for so long.
“He’s really big on not following the trends, and being yourself and paving your own path in music,” the singer said. “Air Supply, they were totally unique. ... He always tells me, ‘Make sure you’re being something unique.’”
That advice, for now, is leading Dodds down a different road than she had envisioned when she was singing her heart out on “AGT.”
But that doesn’t mean she’ll never turn around.
A possible return
When she was on the country music path, Dodds had everything more or less figured out.
She had an established look — everyone knew about her black hat and cowgirl boots.
Now, she’s trying to piece together something new.
“I had to start over, and it’s been really frustrating, but I think that will come naturally as the music keeps coming out,” she said.
The singer is currently working on an EP, and she’s been learning more about marketing and social media strategies, doing everything she can as an independent artist to get eyes on her first official release that is now available on major streaming platforms.
“I need all the Gen Zs to listen to it,” she said with a laugh.
Dodds does want to make something clear, though: She’s not ashamed of that girl who sang “One Way Ticket to Tennessee” with every fiber of her being on “America’s Got Talent.” Quite the opposite, actually.
“I loved my 15-year-old self. She’s so special to me, and she’s still here, you know?” she said. “And I still love country music, don’t get me wrong. I’m probably gonna end up going back to that.
“I wanted to live more of my life and get more experiences to write deeper country songs, because they’re all about the story. ... I wanted to feel my album, and so I’m gonna wait for country. I think it’ll be more special if I do.
“But I have to start somewhere.”