FEATURE: Spotlight: Madison Beer — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

Madison Beer

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FOR this Spotlight feature…

I am featuring an artist who already has a massive fanbase. The point of this feature is to alert people to great talent; whether that be a rising new band or an artist who has an established fanbase but whose music might be widespread or known by all. For this edition, I am featuring Madison Beer. I am going to mention her new album, Life Support, very soon. I want to bring in a bit of biography about the rising American Pop artist:

“Madison Elle Beer (born March 5, 1999) is an American singer and songwriter. Born to a Jewish family in New York, she began posting covers to YouTube in early 2012. Beer gained substantial media coverage when Justin Bieber posted a link to one of her covers. She released her debut single, "Melodies", in 2013.

In 2018, Beer released her debut EP, As She Pleases. The project was supported by the singles "Dead" and "Home with You", both of which were certified Gold by the RIAA. The following year, Beer signed with Epic Records, later releasing her debut studio album, Life Support in 2021. The album was supported by several singles, including "Selfish", which gained traction on the media sharing app TikTok, leading to the single's RIAA Gold certification.

Aside from her solo work, Beer has voiced the virtual character Evelynn in the League of Legends virtual band K/DA. As a member of the group she has released the internationally charting singles "Pop/Stars" (2018) and "More" (2020). She has also appeared on television series such as Todrick (2015) and RuPaul's Drag Race (2020), and in the film Louder Than Words (2013)”.

Before getting to a review of Life Support, there are a couple of interviews that I wanted to source from. Last month, Madison Beer spoke with GQ - and we got to learn more about one of the most exciting artists of the moment:

“Almost exactly nine years ago, Madison Beer created a YouTube account. It was there where she uploaded a cover of Etta James’ “At Last”, which caught the attention of Justin Bieber and, in turn, kick-started the then 12-year-old’s career. What followed was a cookie-cutter trajectory for a child star, from a management deal with Scooter Braun to a gig with doll-maker Mattel.

When she was 15, however, everything changed.

First, Beer walked away from her major label, refusing to bow to the Disney-style brand it had in mind for her. Then, she decided to remain an independent artist, taking control of her own image and plotting for success on her own terms. Now, six years, three billion-plus streams, ten million monthly Spotify listeners, one million records sold in the UK alone and a record-breaking EP later, she’s about to release her debut album, Life Support, on 26 February, the anniversary of her YouTube channel.

When was the first time you realised you wanted to be a musician…

I don’t actually have a first memory. I look through all of my baby books and even in kindergarten I would always say a singer or a musician. I do remember that once I started taking singing lessons when I was eight, that’s when I knew I wanted to take it really seriously.

The first time you played in front of a live audience…

I’ve been performing since I was four years old. I used to do these after-school plays where the parents would come and watch. But my first real performance in front of an actual crowd as the artist Madison Beer was Arthur Ashe Kids' Day at the US Open when I was barely 13.

The first time you realised you were any good…

I actually don’t feel like that happened for me until the last three to five years, because I really started figuring out exactly how I wanted to sound and what I could improve. I was a little bit insecure when I first became popular in the industry, because I didn’t feel like I could compete vocally with any of these other artists who were “real singers”. I was always really down on myself about that, so I started really heavily training and figuring out what I had to do to make my voice better. I’ve definitely, over the past few years, felt like I’ve achieved that. Singing the national anthem at the Stanley Cup was a really pivotal moment for me: lots of people saw it and said, “I had no idea you could sing like that,” which was really affirming”.

I only discovered Beer’s music fairly recently, so I am sort of catching up when it comes to her story and progress. I really like Life Support. I feel we will be talking about her in the same way we do massive Pop artists like Ariana Grande. She is only twenty-two, so there is a lot of career ahead of her. I think that Beer will continue to evolve and, when restrictions are lifted, embark on a huge touring schedule.

Madison Beer was interviewed by NME recently. I would advise people to read the entire article, as she discusses mental-health, cosmetic surgery, her career rise, online divisions and much more:

“This is partly due to her colossal social media presence – she has 22.6million followers on Instagram, and 13.7million on TikTok – and partly because she deals with being frequently “cancelled” by confronting the problem herself on Twitter. Beer isn’t a pop star who hides behind PR statements or tries to cultivate old-school mystique.

“You know, sometimes someone will meet me and be like, ‘Wow, you’re much smarter than I thought,’” she tells NME. This might sound like a humblebrag if it weren’t followed by some crushing honesty: “But even though people can sometimes meet me and be pleasantly surprised, it does make me sad as well. For a long time I’ve been trying to prove my intelligence and artistry and the fact that I’m someone who should be taken seriously. That does get a bit exhausting because I shouldn’t have to be constantly proving that to people.”

Beer says she hopes her debut album, ‘Life Support’, will prove once and for all that she’s a “legitimate artist”. It’s definitely strong enough to do so: unfolding languidly over 17 tracks, it’s a bold and ambitious pop-R&B record with lots of surprising moments. Though the sad-eyed ballad ‘Blue’ owes a debt to Lana Del Rey and Beer’s angelic vocals have an Ariana Grande-like quality on ‘Effortlessly’, the overall impression is distinctive, not derivative. Just shy of her 22nd birthday, Beer sounds like an artist who’s pushing herself musically and pouring her heart out in the process.

Beer’s career began in earnest nine years ago when she started posting covers on YouTube. According to industry folklore, Justin Bieber was so impressed with her rendition of Etta James’ ‘At Last’ that he tweeted it, then signed her personally to his record label, Island Records. So at 13 years old, Beer swapped Long Island for Los Angeles, where she still lives today. Bieber also appeared in the video for her 2013 debut single, the perfectly serviceable pop banger ‘Melodies’, and for a time she was managed by his manager, Scooter Braun. But the label’s attempt to mould her into a “very pop, very Disney queen” sat uncomfortably with Beer, and by 2016 she and Island Records had parted ways.

Even the staunchest Madison Beer stan would concede that she is sometimes a polarising online presence. Beer says she has opened Twitter to find #MadisonBeerIsOverParty trending “probably five or six times over the course of the past few years”. It happened most recently last June when Beer had to deny using a Black Lives Matter protest as a photo opportunity. “I will not allow anyone to make me protesting day after day into something it is NOT,” she tweeted, alongside screenshots in which a photographer said he was being “sarcastic” when he told media outlets that his photo of Beer at the rally was a “set-up”.

With all those Gold and Platinum singles to her name, and with the brutally honest ‘Life Support’ here to set the record straight once and for all, what would Madison Beer like to replace the misconceptions about her? “I’d like people to think of me as an artist who stays true to herself,” she says. “And as a mental health advocate, because that’s a really honourable thing that I would really be flattered to take on. I’d also like people to realise that I’m someone who’s been put through the wringer by the industry. It’s been a very long journey for me, and not an easy one, but I’ve come through the other side stronger. I’m definitely a fighter”.

If you have not got Life Support then go and get a copy, as it is one of this year’s best Pop albums. It has a lot of different textures and sounds that one cannot compare it to any other album. Madison Beer is very much her own artist and she has so many different shades and moods at her disposal. In their review, this is what Riff Magazine said about Life Support:

“Madison Beer has been waiting a lifetime to release her debut album. The 21-year-old pop singer-songwriter got her record deal almost a decade ago, after posting videos of covers to YouTube and getting the attention of Justin Bieber. Despite all that promise, the moment never arrived and whatever she’d written never surfaced. In the years that followed, Beer switched labels, released a handful of songs, collaborations and an EP, but never a complete body of work. That all changes with Life Support. Released nine years to the day of her original YouTube post, it’s a surprisingly mature, eclectic and smart pop record.

Tracks like “Effortlessly” fall closer to a Grande-influenced R&B ballad, with an orchestral feel. Beer wanted to distinguish herself from her big anthemic tracks with a more well-rounded sound and this track feeds nicely into that realm. She has an impressive vocal range, from a quiet whisper to a confident upper register. “Stay Numb, Carry On” is a slick, restrained track that falls right in the tight grove of the the backbeat. “My mind gets dark and ominous/ Can’t change it that’s just how it is/ At least I’m being honest/ No lie” she sings about letting go of the bitterness and hiding feelings in the aftermath of a broken relationship.

PHOTO CREDIT: Louisa Meng/HYPERBAE

The synth-heavy “Blue” leans heavier into alt-pop. “I know when to run/ When my makeup does,” Beer sings on a simple but effective lyric. It’s a refrain she repeats a cappella when the beat drops at the end. There’s an effective transition to “Interlude,” a vocal interlude heavy on orchestral drama.

“Stained Glass” features one of the album’s best loops, a heavy but raw drum backbeat with synths and electric guitar that make for an infectious and memorable track. Beer simplifies things on “Emotional Bruises,” a bluesy ballad about an on-again, off-again relationship and the mental roller coaster it takes. “Everything Happens For A Reason” then recalls “Alice In Wonderland” and fuses all of her sounds and styles on Life Support to make for a ballad that’s equal parts throwback and contemporary.

It may have been years in the making, but Madison Beer’s first album is worth the wait for pop fans”.

I will wrap things up, but I was keen to feature an artist who is making big waves and is one of the most interesting young artists coming through.

I just want to introduce one more review for Life Support to show how it is being received. This is how NME assessed the album when they sat down with it:

“The LA-based musician displays these private battles with brutal honesty throughout the record. ‘Effortlessly’, an ethereal tune that couples ‘Dangerous Woman’-era Ariana Grande with spacey art-pop, dissects Beer’s first experiences of taking medication for her mental health, as she breathlessly testifies, “I’m still fading / I can’t save me,” before adding: “[I] used to do these things so effortlessly”. Later, on the bombastic, Twenty One Pilots-style ‘Stay Numb And Carry On’, she admits: “I’ve become emotionless / My heart can’t help but wonder where the feeling is”.

Moments of vulnerability are coupled with resilience, mirroring the journey Beer took while writing ‘Life Support’. ‘Blue’, a sleek slice of synth-laced alt-pop filled with vocal turns worthy of Lana Del Rey, sees Beer wave goodbye to a toxic relationship: “We were like a California sunset, faded to die any minute / Getting rid of you might be the best thing I ever did“. And the Radiohead-influenced ‘Stained Glass’ shows Beer recognising the healing process: “‘Cause you will never know what I’ve been through / You should be a little more gentle”.

This candid lyricism is carried by a host of genres and a bevy of sounds across ‘Life Support’. Mega-watt pop moments, from sex-positive belter ‘Baby’ to icy R&B-flecked ‘Good In Goodbye’, shine the brightest. Elsewhere are more unusual compositions, such as the spooky, Evanescence-style strings on ‘Default’ and the chugging psychedelic rock of ‘Sour Times’, offering intrigue as to where she might go next. And the record is anchored by the likes of ‘Home Sick’, a slow burner with country sensibilities and the ballad ‘Everything Happens For A Reason’.

On a lesser album, the eclecticism might lead to a lack of coherence, but this record is always threaded through with Beer’s diaristic lyricism. With its consistent, gut-punching honesty and witty wordplay, you’ll always find something special on ‘Life Support”.

I think that Madison Beer is a wonderful artist who is a very inspiring person. On the strength of Life Support, I think that her career in rude health. I would not be surprised if you went on to become a Pop icon…