Two years after Mackenzie Sol sang his way into the Top 20 on season 22 of “American Idol,” he signed up for another TV competition — “America’s Got Talent” — and his debut on the show couldn’t have gone any better on June 23, 2026.
After performing Sombr’s “back to friends,” Sol received the coveted Golden Buzzer from Mel B, automatically advancing him straight to the live shows. The huge accomplishment comes after a tough couple of years for Sol, 25, including navigating his mom’s breast cancer diagnosis and opening up to his millions of online followers about his mental health struggles.
Mackenzie Sol Wants to Be Known For Singing More Than Pranking People
Sol has made a name for himself on social media as a prankster, racking up more than one billion YouTube views and becoming a huge TikTok star by pulling pranks on his mom and friends. But what the British-born singer really wants to be known for is music.
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. That was also his first time singing for the original “American Idol” judge Simon Cowell, who later became a judge on “AGT.”
When Sol was 13, he and his mom moved to Los Angeles, where he landed some small acting roles, and they later moved to Las Vegas. He told VoyageLA in 2023 that during the pandemic, he started making prank videos for fun and went viral with several of them, quickly amassing millions of followers across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.
DisneyWhile that’s been fun and lucrative, he told EntertainmentNow in 2024 that he decided to audition for “American Idol” because he “wanted people to see me for my talents,” explaining, “Unfortunately, the viral videos were comedy so now I’m trying to convert my fanbase to music, my true talent and passion.”
His time on “American Idol” convinced Sol that he was a talented singer and gave him the confidence to keep pursuing music, he told EntertainmentNow.
Mackenzie Sol Has Grown Through Tough Times Since ‘American Idol’
The two years since competing on “American Idol” have not been a breeze for Sol. He was so focused on highlighting his musical abilities on the show that he intentionally hid his struggles with anxiety, ADHD, and Tourette’s Syndrome, he told EntertainmentNow, not wanting that part of his story to overshadow his singing.
After season 22 ended, however, he bravely decided to open up about his diagnoses, releasing his first single, called “Anxiety.” He was blown away by the response from fans, who were grateful for his honesty and related to his struggles.
In 2025, Sol was also flooded with support when he revealed his mom, Nicki, had been diagnosed with breast cancer. In an Instagram post expressing her gratitude for her son’s support, she wrote, “Life’s been a rollercoaster, just the two of us til 2020 navigating the ups and downs together. We’ve faced tough challenges and now another, but with love, resilience and our bond we always come out stronger.”
Fortunately, after five months of treatment, including a lumpectomy and radiation, Nicki celebrated being cancer-free in May 2025.
Nicki was in the audience for Sol’s performance for the “AGT” judges, including Cowell. When Sol told him he’d auditioned for him at age four, Cowell’s jaw dropped, and he said, “I swear I was about to say we’ve met.”
Sol’s moody and soulful rendition of Sombr’s tune had the crowd and judges on their feet, and his mom in tears. Mel B was the first judge to give feedback and before hitting the Golden Buzzer, she gushed, “I think you are absolutely extraordinarily fabulous. And I’m glad I got to speak first because I’m gonna do this!”
Cowell called Sol’s performance “brilliant” as the singer walked off the stage in a daze. Sol will return for the live shows, which kick off on August 18.
