She may have performed on New Zealand’s biggest stage with one of the world’s biggest bands, but Frankie Venter’s hometown headline show is what really changed things for her.

“I just happy-cry all the time now,” is what the 18-year-old singer-songwriter said as she expressed her gratitude for the crazy year she’s had while performing.

Her small headline tour around New Zealand, which included a show at Mount Maunganui’s Totara St in April 2024, was the biggest turning point for Venter – well before her performance in front of 57,000 people with Coldplay at Eden Park in November.

Singing songs before she could talk, Venter grew up in a small Coromandel town and moved to Mount Maunganui when she was 13.

Tauranga was the second of three performances for some of her very first headline shows.

“When we went to Tauranga, which is kind of my home town, my whole team, my manager and even my parents realised that people were buying tickets to my show.

“They were such a loud audience. They were screaming, singing along, reaching out to hold my hand and videoing – it was great,” Venter said.

She spent an hour meeting and greeting people after the show, and said when she got home, she realised it was “a proper show and people loved it”.

Venter performed on stage with Coldplay in front of 57,000 people, but said her headline tour of three local shows is what really changed things on her musical journey.

“I had a few people cry when they met me, and I kind of realised how much the songs meant to people.”

Venter hadn’t done any headline shows previously.

“To do my headline shows and for them to be packed out, it was super-cool.”

Venter has gained more than 15 million Instagram views, a number-one spot on the Hot NZ Singles Charts, had significant mainstream radio play, supported international acts like Griff and Keenan Te, and is playing at Rhythm and Vines and Soundsplash this summer.

“I’m so blown away by how much stuff I’ve done this year and how much I’ve grown. I did not expect it at all, and it’s so mind-blowing what’s been happening.

“I just feel like I’m in a dream.”

Venter’s journey started when, aged 11, she started posting videos on social media of her singing. At 13, she was writing her own songs.

“I like writing to get my feelings out, and a lot of the time it’s about real-life experiences or ones that my friends have had,” she said.

Having amassed over 15 million Instagram views and supported international artists, Venter said she's blown away by how much she's done this year.

“If I have nothing to write about, which is not often, movie plots always make for interesting songs. But the songs I write reflect what’s going on in my life, and I think that’s super-therapeutic for me.”

When asked what her long-term music goals were, Venter said travelling around the world would be the absolute dream.

She said being able to go see different countries and “call it work” would be awesome.

“I’m doing that just on a smaller scale right now, which is really fun.”

She wants to play at Spark Arena and Madison Square Garden in New York City and is “so keen to win a Grammy one day”.

“Just to be really busy with music is the absolute goal.”

Venter feels after her once-in-a-lifetime Coldplay performance, “anything is possible.”

Kaitlyn Morrell is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has lived in the region for several years and studied journalism at Massey University.