Nurtured as an artist in a small urban township,25-year old country pop artist Jenni Smith is now a uni-graduated singer-songwriter who happily embraces the girl-next-door image with her straight forward, and fun, songwriting. Building momentum towards a debut album release in 2026, her latest single Shopping was funded by NZ On Air Music and included on the December NewTracks compilation.

What’s your given name and where do you live?

Jenni Smith. I was born in Auckland and grew up in Waiuku (it’s a growing town now, but it was once considered small). I now live in west Auckland, where I teach music part time and regularly perform.

What instruments do you play?

I can play eight instruments: guitar, banjo, mandolin, voice, ukulele, piano, a little bit of drums and violin. I primarily write on guitar and piano, but I’ve enjoyed experimenting: I recently wrote a song on ukulele.

Any previous artist projects that we might we know you from?

In 2024 I released a single called T-Shirt which charted at #3 on the Aotearoa Music Singles chart which was amazing! Some people may know me from that. When I started doing country music competitions I went by Jennifer Smith. Getting into my teens I realised the name didn’t entirely fit me and I preferred Jenni instead. The only people who call me Jennifer today are family, and old friends.

What were the main steps leading to you to becoming a recording artist?

I’ve always wanted to be a performer. Taylor Swift played a huge role in discovering this dream – when I was 7 or 8 years old I would watch C4 a lot. One day Taylor’s Love Story came on I begged my mum to get me the CD with the ‘Romeo and Juliet’ song on it, and once I had that album it stayed on repeat – I either listened to it or sang it. My grandma picked up on my new passion for singing and bought me my first guitar. I started lessons when I was eight and never put it down.

I began writing songs around 10 years old, but will always claim my first good original was written at 12, called Gonna Be Famous. The song went on to win a local country music competition songwriters section and that boosted my confidence as a writer. When I was 18 years old I won the NZ Country Music Association‘s Entertainer of the Year award for best song!

After high school I further developed my songwriting skills, majoring in Popular Music at the University of Auckland, where I also learned about recording and performance. During my study, I won the best original song award at the Palmerston North Country Music Awards, and the prize was a full day recording session at The Stomach, which gave me the opportunity to record my debut single Make It or Break It. After graduation I continued to record and release music. It’s funny when people call music a hobby, for me it’s my entire life.

Aside from this release, what’s been the big highlight to date?

This is a tough question! I went on my first tour this year and it was an incredible experience. I think most musicians (me included) have a fear that they’ll play to an empty room. So to have people come to my shows and hear them sing along and see them dancing was incredible and so encouraging. The Auckland show was my favourite, that atmosphere couldn’t be recreated.

You got started in country. How has your writing evolved from those days do you think? 

I love country music and it definitely played a huge role in my writing as it’s very story based. However, I find myself gravitating towards soft pop these days, both as a listener and as a writer. The country influence will always be prevalent in my music.

What made Shopping stand out for you as a single choice?

Shopping is a unique story, but you’d be surprised how many people can relate to having a retail crush! Since the release I’ve had people tell me they had crushes on supermarket workers, bank tellers, and bar staff. When I was writing Shopping I had a vision of making it a music video that resembles a rom-com! I think the idea of making a hilariously cute music video convinced me it would be a great single.

Is there a ‘real’ story behind Shopping?

Shopping itself is a fictional story, but it is based on real events. I was honest in the opening lines, “I don’t like shopping at the best of times,” and I still don’t.
The song idea was born during lockdown. I was living with my parents in Waiuku and did the household shopping. I noticed over a number of weeks that there was one particular checkout that had a long line despite other checkouts being open. That checkout had a rather attractive young man working the register and I thought, ‘Gee these people must just have a crush on him.’ I thought it would make a hilarious song, but it took me about six months to get the feeling right. The checkout operator had a unique nickname and I managed to squeeze it into the song – I like to see if listeners can find it!

What’s your favourite moment, musical or lyrical, of the song?

My favourite lyric is, “these groceries ain’t the only thing I came here to check out” – I felt like a genius when I wrote that! It’s cheekier than I actually am, but sometimes it’s fun to create a character.

Who did you record/produce the single with and where?

I wrote this song solo and recorded it with Neo Aiono-Fukushima (Back to the Hillside) and Scott Seabright, in Scott’s studio. Neo plays guitar for my band and is the session musician behind most of my recorded music – I love working with him, he’s incredibly creative and a great friend. Scott has been my producer since 2023. His brain is a mind-blowing thing to witness, he’s so quick with editing and mixing, and always comes up with the coolest chord progressions. They’re the dream team, I can’t imagine recording music without them.

What would you like listeners to take away from the song?

Shopping is a feel-good song so I hope it leaves the listeners feeling ecstatic – like they’ve just watched a good rom-com, or a comedy show! I’d love for Shopping to make actually shopping more enjoyable for those who dislike it (like me).

You’ve posted lots of covers and songs on Youtube. What sort of response do they get?

I’m currently doing a self-set Taylor Swift covers challenge where I cover every Taylor Swift song ever by mid-2026. I’m posting the full length covers to my YouTube channel, and snippets to my short form socials. My main goal is to connect with other Swifties – it’s strange, there’s so many of us and yet I don’t know that many! I’ve been getting a lot of support from viewers and I’ve loved meeting more Taylor fans. The overall response has been so positive and I’m currently done 65/261 covers, so I’m on track for completing this challenge on time.

It’s been really enjoyable to go through her discography and learn some of the songs in more detail. It’s also been very nostalgic to cover songs I learned when I was eight!
I generally aim to post videos daily – but I’ll be honest, it doesn’t always work out. Independent artists have soooooo much to do, we’re basically our entire label! There have been times where I’ve taken a step back from posting due to burnout, but that’s a work in progress. I’ve been developing better editing systems and time management to help prevent burnout.

Your 2024 EP ‘Nightfall’ collected singles from the year prior. What were some of the key things you learned from that process? 

‘Nightfall’ was semi-unintentional. I was just planning on releasing singles until I’d built a following. I was experiencing terrible insomnia in 2023-2024 and one night as I laid awake thinking about my music career, I realised my singles all had a nighttime theme! Whether the song was about what I call the ‘midnight scaries’ or mentioned being awake at night, they all fit the same theme. I decided that night to release the ‘Nightfall’ EP.

I definitely learned that my music had linking themes, even if I wrote them at different times or about different events/people. It helped me create my future projects, such as my debut album ‘Girl Next Door’, which is coming out March 2026. This album has been two years in the making and there are some songs that no one has heard before, so I’m anticipating their reactions.

Which of your previous singles has done best?

I think T-Shirt is my top previous release. I promoted it independently and felt out-of-this-world when More FM playlist it, and to my surprise it charted at #3 on the Aotearoa Hot Singles Chart! It’s the song people know the most and it’s so much fun to play live. I have a running competition at my shows where the crowd tries to sing, “Well I bet you did” the loudest – my Girl Next Door tour Auckland show currently hold the trophy!
Shopping was funded by NZ On Air and they were incredible with supporting it. So many amazing things have happened with this release: it was #1 on the 7 Sharp weekly countdown; it’s been playlisted by iHeart Country; it led to me being here with NZM; the music video premiered on Juice TV; and I got to work with so many talented people.

Who else is in your team?

I’m an independent artist so fill most of the roles myself, but I’ll shout out my talented friends who regularly create with me: Scott Seabright – producer, amazing human with exceptional talent; Neo Aiono-Fukushima (Back to the Hillside) – session musician, great friend, insanely talented; Riley Aitken – videographer with crazy skills; Connor Magatogia – director, storyboard designer, 10/10 pal; Octavio Benitez Laje – talented photographer + videographer, beautiful eye for detail.

My band is Dee Fields (drums), Gabby Fortune (bass + BVs), and Neo Aiono-Fukushima (guitars). For this latest release I’ve been working with Key 2 Artists PR, so a huge shout out to Therese and Ally for their incredible work. Friends and family – best cheer squad ever!

Can you name three other local tunes that would fit well on a playlist alongside your song. 

I love this question!
Kaylee Bell: Boots and All
Grace Kelly: Supermarket Aisle
Stephany Beck: Country Strong

Have any of your other singles been included on NewTracks? 

Yes, a few have, T-Shirt in April 2024 and Stuck On You in June 2025

Have you previously received NZ On Air funding? Any challenges with the criteria?

I received funding for Shopping and it was amazing to work with NZ On Air for this release.
I keep a list of the NZOA criteria and use them as goals. I found the written answers about who you plan to work with tricky – do you go with people you know and have worked with before, or do you try someone new? In the event I reached out to my music big sister, Steffany Beck, and asked if she had any advice on NZOA funding as she’d previously been selected. She was so amazing and went through my past applications with me and gave me tips. I felt slightly embarrassed to ask
but she was a legend! If any independent artists out there are looking for tips, reach out to your friends – it can help so much!

Are there any musical blogs, Youtube channels or podcasts you’re into?

I regularly watch Damien Keys on YouTube, he has some interesting promo tips. Not all of them have worked for me but they’re worth a try.

How can we find you on social media?

Facebook: 
Instagram: 
YouTube: 
Spotify: 
TikTok: 

Who did you make the video with?

I made the music video with Riley Aitken (videographer) and Connor Magatogia (director). I’ve worked with Riley and Connor before and trust them to create a special world for the song. We had a blast making this video. We wanted it to feel like a rom-com and decided the checkout operator could only exist in the store, so we had a gummy-ring ring, and celery as a bouquet!
My hometown New World were a huge supporter of my music growing up and they used to have me sing Christmas carols in store. They were extremely generous in letting us film in store for this music video – and hilariously, it’s the same place where I came up with the song’s concept! We somehow ended up filming on the night Daylight Saving ticked over… so we actually had an hour less than we thought we did! We were able to capture everything on time and I’m super happy with how it turned out.

Any last words?

Thank you very much this NZM!