Taylor Henderson on Australia’s biggest in-school initiative, Music: Count Us In.
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Taylor Henderson on Australia’s biggest in-school initiative, Music: Count Us In.

Aussie singer-songwriter Taylor Henderson has been smashing goals in the music industry since 2013 when he was the runner up of X-Factor. The 24 year old has two #1 ARIA albums and a third album on the way.

Just when you thought Henderson couldn’t get any more perfect, he’s now taking part in a program allowing school children to have music brought into their lives, something very close to Henderson’s heart.

“Growing up I’ve always had music around me and I understand the importance for it, it is a very educational thing,” Henderson says. “It’s great that it can be a talent and it can be something you do in your spare time, but it can also be very therapeutic and it’s something that has helped me through hard times as a kid growing up and going through things and I just felt like it was something I really wanted to be a part of.”

Music: Count Us In (MCUI) is Australia’s biggest schools initiative and is well overdue in Australian schools. The extravaganza involves hundreds of thousands of students across the country singing the same song, on the same day, at the same time. It’s not just any song either, it’s a program song that’s written by students with the help of the program ambassador, John Foreman and the program mentor, which this year is obviously Taylor Henderson. The unique program is all about bringing teachers, parents, students and the music industry together in celebration of music and music education.

Henderson who never had the chance to take a music class in school knows just how important it can be for a child to learn about music not only for the growth of their musical skills, but also for their self confidence.

“I think it’s important if you have a talent like that, it shouldn’t be something that you should be ashamed of, it should be something that should be encouraged, and I think the education is an important part of that” he says. “It was important for me growing up to have someone tell me that that’s really good, or to help encourage me to do what I do, because if I didn’t have that then I probably wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today.”

The kids’ infectious enthusiasm when working on the song is proof enough that music really does spread happiness and joy and is a vital part of maintaining wellbeing. “They were so excited to be able to perform to me and I’m just thinking, wow I just know what that’s like to be a kid, and just being excited to perform in front of anyone. They were just so much fun” he says.

Many more exciting things are to come from Henderson with his new album hopefully coming out soon, which according to Henderson himself “is the best album I feel like I’ve created”.

We can expect to see more personal and deeper lyrics, with a variety of intense emotions, from heartbreak to love and a lot of happiness. The album doesn’t have a release date yet but there is no need to worry Henderson assures us, “It is coming, please forgive me for the wait but it is worth it.”

Written by Jasmine Turner