By Laura Frykberg
With vocals reminiscent of Curtis Mayfield and Smokey Robinson, listeners could be forgiven for assuming Mayer Hawthorne is African American.
It is a stereotype the Detroit-born musician thrives on breaking, he says, ahead of his Auckland show tomorrow.
Originally Hawthorne wanted to be a DJ as his only singing experience was behind the shower curtain.
However since he stepped into the limelight, audiences have sometimes struggled to match the face with the voice.
“The fact that people are listening to the music first and then seeing it later is awesome for me because I get to blow away all their preconceived notions.”
While Hawthorne says he has never met a fan expecting him to look like Curtis Mayfield, he has been mistaken for a politician.
“There's actually a town just outside of LA called Hawthorne, and we did a show and there was an older gentleman who showed up and he was extremely disappointed because he thought the Mayor of Hawthorne was going to be speaking.”
With obvious influences including Smokey Robinson, he relishes the challenge of making his classic sound, sound new.
But his high-pitched voice comes naturally.
“The falsetto stuff is actually really natural for me, I never really thought about where my voice would naturally sit until I started singing professionally a few years ago.”
Hawthorne says to protect his voice he doesn't party too hard and he is encouraging fans to follow suit.
“Stay in school, don't do drugs, eat your vegetables, and uh only floss the teeth you want to keep.”
3 News