Geelong's beloved children's supergroup, The Mik Maks, are setting their sights on more collaborations in 2026, with the group's youngest member, Ava McInnes, also pursuing her own projects.
A Decade of Musical Success
For more than half of her 18 years, Ava McInnes has been a performer, most notably as the youngest member of The Mik Maks. Together with her father Joel and uncle Al, they have amassed an international following over the past decade, now boasting nine million YouTube subscribers alone. The group has become a household name in children's entertainment, known for their catchy tunes and colourful performances.
Music continues to play a central role in what has already been a monumental year for Ava. In the past 12 months, she has gained her driver's licence, completed high school, travelled solo to Japan, taken a gap year, and appeared on Australian Idol. Now, she and The Mik Maks are reaching a new YouTube audience through a groundbreaking series: My Singalong with Catters & Mouseman.
My Singalong: A New Collaboration
This innovative series brings together some of Australia and New Zealand's leading children's music artists, including Emma Memma and Ms Moni, in a first-of-its-kind YouTube series for families. Each monthly 15-minute episode features five music videos, introduced by animated hosts Catters and Mouseman. The show aims to combine fun entertainment with early learning touchpoints, making it both engaging and educational for young viewers.
The series was created and produced by Deb Ryan and Grahame Grassby, who have years of experience working on some of Australia's most recognisable preschool entertainment shows, such as Bananas in Pyjamas, The Wiggles, Play School, and Hi-5. Their expertise ensures that My Singalong maintains high production values and educational integrity.
Joel McInnes, the group's co-founder, sees collaboration as a guiding force for The Mik Maks in 2026. The group has already collaborated with Bounce Patrol, which has 34 million YouTube followers, in January, and with a yet-to-be-named US artist a few weeks ago. They are actively seeking partnerships with content creators on a global level.
“We are actively seeking out collaborations with different partners with different content creators on a global level. We recently did one with Sesame Street, who we met at an event in New York in September,” Joel says.
“The watch time that Mik Maks content has had over the last 10 years, it’s the second largest YouTube channel in Australia. Not just made for kids, but all forms of media. It is the size and the success of our YouTube channel that puts us up there with some of the biggest creators in the world.”
Ava's Solo Journey
Ava is also looking to do more collaborating of her own, away from the group. She and two friends created an a cappella version of Fleetwood Mac's Landslide, which has garnered almost 10,000 likes and 100,000 views on Instagram. “Which is pretty cool,” she says.
Her ultimate goal is to tour the world with her music and bring people together, to “make an impact on people’s lives.” She plans to release new music with The Mik Maks, as well as her own solo work, perform on stage, and audition for “a lot of things.” A new tour with The Mik Maks is also in the planning stages.
Ava had a taste of solo performance without her trademark Mik Maks plaits and purple overalls when she appeared on Australian Idol this year. What started as a joke with her friends—she applied on the last day before the cut-off—turned into a nerve-racking but ultimately rewarding experience. She received a “yes” from each of the judges but did not progress beyond her audition episode.
“I’m very proud of myself, but it’s not an easy thing, especially for someone my age, to fly all the way to Sydney and perform in front of Australia’s biggest artists,” she says of performing Colbie Caillat's Bubbly to judges Amy Shark, Marcia Hines, and Jess Mauboy.
“I do believe everything happens for a reason and I feel like for me there’s a lot to be taken away. I’m very proud of myself; I was not disappointed in myself at all. I just think it’s another experience that I can have and take on to the next thing and the next thing and the next thing.”
She adds, “I’ve always known that I wanted to do this, but I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. I just feel like it’s such an important thing for me and growing up it’s always been there for me. I don’t know what I would do without it. So it’s write or die.”
A new episode of My Singalong with Catters & Mouseman is released on YouTube on the 15th of each month. Follow @themikmaks and @ava_mcinnes_ on Instagram for updates.
