WALLER, Texas —
This week, KAGS got the opportunity to meet rising country star Matt Mercado. Now Mercado is not your average Texas teenager. Not only did he graduate from high school at 15, but at 17 he already has a hit song on the country music charts.
Mercado co-wrote and recorded “I Should’ve Never Left Mexico”, and the song quickly gained popularity. Originally, Matt was not sold on the idea of being a country singer, but his father Vic Mercado, knew his talents were special, and next thing they knew, Matt was under the bright lights of the hit NBC reality competition “The Voice”.
“I went on to the second audition and I made it past that... and I had to do a bunch of questionnaires and they were getting ready to send me to LA. And that’s when I got a call from Nashville and like “we can help you out over here and go do that” and so that’s when I chose the Nashville thing, yeah I want to do this.”
Although Vic Mercado’s first dream for his son was to be in the rodeo, this dream took a backseat to country music, although Matt still uses it as a way to escape and have a little fun.
“I’ve been on a horse since I was two years old thanks to my dad. And ever since then, shoot I’ve been riding, that’s all I wanted to do. He got me my first horse, and we’d come out here and ride and ride once I started working for that trainer, that’s when I really excelled at everything.”
When Matt is not helping out on the ranch, he’s traveling to Nashville to work with some legendary writers like Roger Springer, who wrote many of Mark Chestnut’s hits, and Lenny Holmes, who wrote Troubadour for George Strait.
“The big thing about him singing, he’s 17 year old. We’re not rushing. We don’t want to rush anything. We don’t want him to be an overnight sensation at all” said Vic.
Matt has been spending a lot of time crafting his band, finding people through Facebook and other social media platforms. He is in no rush, and the group is taking their time to find their sound and create their bond, with his dad is supporting him every step of the way.
“So in the next 3 to five years, I mean he’s 17 for crying out loud, his voice is going to still be developing. His peak is still developing. But in the next two three years we do have a group leading the way, backing him and we’re going to start touring, and getting him exposure from Texas first…other countries, Canada Ireland…so we’re working on some things to get him on the road.”
Matt Mercado may just be 17, but he’s got dreams and a humble heart as big as Texas.
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