[2][3][4] Mertzlufft talked with NBC news about the difficulties in 'preserving the evergreen aspects of making a musical while also being conscious of how quickly trends move'.
"[8] Mertzlufft's TikTok video Grocery Story has received over 4.6 million views,[6] and has prompted other users to create hundreds of duets of it.
[12][13] He was one of the creators of Ratatouille the Musical, which debuted in January 2021 online during the COVID-19 pandemic,[14] starring Titus Burgess, Wayne Brady and Adam Lambert.
[16] It was there that he met lyricist Kate Leonard, frequent collaborator and a co-writer on For You, Paige and Ratatouille the Musical.
[30][31] Mertzlufft graduated summa cum laude from SUNY Potsdam in 2015 with a double major in music education and composition.