Harder featured on and co-wrote P-Money's hit single Everything, and wrote and produced Come On Home for Kiwi boy band Titanium, both reaching Number One in New Zealand.

He himself has toured extensively, sharing the stage with international artists such as Kanye West, Nas and Fat Boy Slim.

He won the 2015 APRA Maioha Award for Aotearoa, sung by Stan Walker, with the pair also co-writing Start Again for the soundtrack of Born To Dance, the NZ hip hop dance movie starring Walker and choreographed by Parris Goebel.

Harder’s latest collaboration is with his wife, singer-songwriter Abby Lee, with the couple recently releasing their debut single, Closer.  The track was born out of challenges brought by 2020 and was created and recorded in their home studio. 

Having played the lead role of Simba in the stage production of The Lion
King, and placing third in The X Factor Australia, Harder has ‘been there done that’, putting him in an accomplished position to guide aspiring artists on their musical journey. 

What are you hoping to discover amongst the hopeful contestants?

I’m really hoping we find not just one, but a bunch of next-generation artists that have the ability to impact our music industry, to discover some fresh and raw musicians that creatively push boundaries and find a career in it. 

The biggest thing I look for in an artist is potential and spark. I guess as a producer as well as an artist, sometimes I can hear how something could sound as opposed to how it does sound, if that makes sense.

Other important factors for me are stage presence and vocal ability.

How do you feel about working with Kimbra and Nathan?

I love working with Kimbra and Nathan, we’ve really become good friends through this show.

They both have such extensive experience in their fields but are also just awesome human beings, which makes working together super. 

It’s cool because we all come from such different backgrounds both musically and in general, so we all have something individual to bring to the table, and different perspectives to speak from.

Nathan has invaluable experience from fronting one of New Zealand’s most successful bands to turning solo, and Kimbra is a Grammy-winning artist of international acclaim and has experienced a lot of this industry on the world stage.

What kind of mentor are you?

My main trait is I’m an encourager who is always trying to push people to their best by playing to the strengths and experimenting creatively through that. 

What advice would you give someone starting out in the music industry in this way?

My advice would be to be persistent, keep grinding, use whatever you have to keep creating.

Collaborate with people where you can and if it really is what you want to do, don’t give up.

What is the main thing you hope contestants take away from this experience?

The main thing I want contestants to take away from this experience is the ability to develop and grow, it’s something you never stop doing as an artist, and I reckon it helps to set you up for longevity in this industry.