SunLive Competition

You could see him at the supermarket and wouldn’t think twice, but once the costumes and make-up is on, performer Kenny Wizz is the world’s number one Michael Jackson impersonator.

“I could go up on stage as I am, with a bunch of Michael Jackson dancers and people would boo me off. I don’t look like him at all.”

This was something Kenny says he didn’t pursue, but something he fell into when those around him noticed a similarity between him and the singer.

“It was just something that people would do back then, with the Thriller album out and the curly hair style. Everyone would say that when I wore my hair like that I looked like MJ, but I just laughed.”

With a background as a dancer in a street group in America in the 1980s, Kenny was plucked from the street, playing MJ for the first time in a kid’s production. One thing led to another, and an agent signed him up. He has now toured around the world for 26 years and is bringing his latest show ‘This is HIStory’ to Tauranga on March 18.

Despite his worldwide following of fans, Kenny laughs and says “sometimes I don’t think it is real”.
“I just do what I love to do. It is a production effort, not the Kenny Wizz show.”

Kenny constantly develops and perfects his performance, “studying videos of him, interviews and develop him like a character. You study it so much – how to walk and dance like a character, and you just keep at it”.

The upcoming show is a two-hour experience of music and dance, tying the audience into an emotional journey.

“I always make a point of staying until the last person has left the building. Michael was never able to give people this closeness because of how big he was, but people like that they can talk to me after the show.”

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Competition Results

Sandy Toner
Welcome Bay