FEATURE:
An Artist Primed to Go Stratospheric in 2023
PHOTO CREDIT: Dana Trippe for Glamour
The Sensational and Mesmeric Madison Beer
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WITH one of the coolest and most recognisable names…
PHOTO CREDIT: Bethany Vargas
in modern music, Madison Beer is an artist I wanted to return to. I have previously written about her remarkable 2021 debut album, Life Support. Beer co-wrote the album and co-produced most of the tracks. I have argued how it is a hugely underrated album. One of the most impressive and stunning debut albums of last year, I think that the New York-born twenty-three-year-old artists is going to ascend to enormous heights. There are so many amazing solo artists out there right now, but I think Beer can join the most popular artists of the mainstream. I have written a Spotlight feature about her before, but I wanted to highlight Beer again as she is an amazing artist who recently released Showed Me (How I Fell In Love With You). Inspired by The Turtles’ version of the classic, You Showed Me, it was a wonderful and hypnotic song. It ranks alongside my favourite singles of the year. Beer also released the incredible song Dangerous earlier this year too. It was another big year for an artist with a massive following across Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. I have a lot of affection and respect for Madison Beer. Such a mature and inspiring young woman, she has faced a lot of criticism and overcome do many hurdles. As someone who has borderline personality disorder, it must be incredible challenging on a day-to-day basis. Maybe Life Support was written from a slightly darker place, but it is an honest and remarkably moving album that everyone needs to hear.
I want to come to a few interviews from earlier year. Madison Beer will be releasing her second studio album next year I think. New singles have even bested the staggering work on Life Support. Here is someone who is very young yet sounds like an established star. She is an artist who will collaborate with some massive peers and see her new album proclaimed and given huge respect. I want to start with some excerpts from a Glamour interview back in August:
“As Madison prepares for the release of her second album and launches her newest single, she sits down in her backstage glam room with me to talk about inner work, her thoughts on TikTok music “I don't really care if I'm never like the biggest thing on the planet, I'd rather stay true to my artistry in my integrity and the things that I like.” she says, and what her full-beat actually looks like.
Pick me apart why don’t you…
“I've sort of been picked apart since I was super young. I got discovered when I was 12. So I've had my appearance commented on for a majority of my life, which wasn't easy. It's never gotten easy. It still isn't easy. I think that it definitely messed me up a lot especially when I was younger because in the years that I was supposed to be playing with makeup and figuring things out, people were making fun of me and saying that I looked ugly or weird or whatever. I feel like I was never really given like a full chance to just experiment with what kind of makeup I liked or what style I was into. I was always bullied for anything that I tried. People were telling me things I didn't see before… So that made me kind of crawl into a shell a bit.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Dana Trippe
Busy doing the inner work
“For anyone struggling with self image I think it all starts with you and with your relationship with yourself. It's a lot deeper than our appearances and what we wear and what we do. A lot of us have a lot of healing to do I think. You'll be surprised when you do inner work on your soul and your heart, how that manifests itself into how you present yourself, how you act and how you function in reality. It definitely affected me a lot and I was realising that I maybe was partially confused and conflicted because I wasn't happy with who I was internally.”
I love the person that I am now, but teen-me needed a real pep talk
“I think just getting older, obviously inherently helps a lot, but I had to do a lot of inner work, to be able to stop intrusive thoughts. I understand that I was letting people's opinions affect me, which is human and normal and that's totally fine. I don't feel any shame for letting people affect me as a child, and even now people’s opinions still do. Growing up, it was definitely harder, because I didn't know who I was. I was still trying to figure out, who is Madison Beer as a human being first and foremost, and I didn't know the answer to that. So when people were already hating on everything I was before, I couldn’t even give myself the chance to decide if it was right or wrong. That was really tough and confusing.”
I’m really proud of my new music…
“I think that the new music is very true to me and true to the music that I listen to in my everyday life. It sounds a lot like the things that I get influenced by. So I'm really excited to have an album and music out there that's I would actually listen to. I'm not saying my album now isn't but I guess I’m growing and I'm changing. The whole album in general has been a very emotional, awesome experience for me because I really just tried to let go of all the pressures that I put on myself.”
Tiktok is ruining music
‘I guess also TikTok has really ruined a lot of music where it's like labels and stuff are like, ‘we want a TikTok hit’. That's so stupid. It literally goes away in two minutes and it's honestly insulting. Music is my art, it's my passion. It's what has literally kept me alive my entire life. Now you're telling me I have to make a f*cking song that's gonna be sniped for 15 seconds for kids to dance, to? Like f*ck off. It's like that scene, I forget what movie it is, where this guy gets assigned to be a police officer and then they have him working the parking meters on his first day, but he's like, all I wanted my whole life was to be an officer and yet I'm literally putting coins in readers. You know what I mean? You literally dream to be an artist and then you are f*cking writing TikTok songs. That's not gonna happen ever with me and I don't really care if I'm never like the biggest thing on the planet, I'd rather stay true to my artistry in my integrity and the things that I like. So don't expect any TikTok hits coming from Madison Beer. If it happens organically. Great, but if not, oh well”.
On a bit of a tangent, like music peers such as Taylor Swift, not only is Beer a remarkable writer and producer. I think she could enjoy some huge acting roles. I would love to see her on the big screen more. Maybe that is a lot of pressure now but, with an amazingly loving fanbase and people comparing Beer to some of the modern greats, there will be a lot of demands this year. NME spoke with Beer in September. Among other subjects, they discussed the influence of Billie Eilish, and receiving deserved co-producer credits on her songs:
“Even if I still have to shout to be heard, I am heard and that’s enough,” she said. “I know what I deserve, I know what I worked for, what credit I should be given. I think that’s also another topic of misogyny in the industry.”
Beer added: “I think that women get discredited a lot and undermined for their intelligence and their ability to do things the same way men can. I definitely always want to fight for the producing credit or the directing credit or whatever I did on tour because I think it’s important for people to see a woman’s name in those titles, so they can know you indeed can do the same thing.”
When asked who she felt in the industry was doing a great job of creating change for artists, Beer mentioned Eilish and her brother Finneas as examples.
“The first person who comes to mind is Billie Eilish, because I think the topics she touches on in her music are so prolific,” she said. “She speaks about things that a lot of other artists don’t and are maybe afraid to, which is valid because we’ve all been conditioned to be afraid of speaking about certain things.”
Beer added: “What her and Finneas have created is really incredible and I really look up to them. They are two people I am very glad to see at the top because there are some who aren’t the best and who don’t stand for the right things, and I think [they really do].”
The singer also pointed to Eilish’s track ‘Your Power’ as an example of using your voice in the industry, pointing to the track’s subject matter of abuse of power and gaslighting.
“A song like, ‘Your Power’ that’s a difficult song to write and I think the fact that she did that and the fact that she fought for it to come out as one of her singles probably wasn’t an easy sell, especially to her label,” Beer told NME. “I’m sure she had to fight for that to come out, that’s awesome. She also directs her own videos, everytime I watch one of her videos and see ‘directed by Billie Eilish’ I’m like, ‘that’s my girl’.”
Last month, Beer played Reading & Leeds for her first time, and prior to the performance, she said she was “really excited about”.
“I’ve heard it’s awesome,” she said. “I hope I fit in, I hope everyone likes it. I’m a bit nervous [as] I feel like there’s a lot of way cooler people than me on the line-up, so I’m like ‘do I fit in here!’, but hopefully it’ll be fun”.
Before getting to the final interview, I want to bring in a feature from The Line of Best Fit. Catching up with her in October, they spoke with an artist currently working on her new project (whether that is an album or something else). Beer was also nearing the end of a busy year of touring. The interview led to Beer choosing songs that mean a lot to her. The selection are surprising and wonderful. I chose a few that caught my eye:
“Beer’s learned restraint and maturity have come from years of trial and error. Indeed, her new music reflects that too. Though her older tracks often feature complex layers of electronic production, she’s shifted course in her newer offerings. Beer’s latest single “Showed Me (How I Fell In Love With You)” feels effortless. It’s right in Beer’s wheelhouse, taking cues from ’60s records, an era that excites her above all others. The instrumentation is straightforward and slick, the vocals restrained while still showcasing Beer’s prowess as a singer.
“I’m excited for everyone to hear it because I think it’s a really good example of the new direction I’m going in,” she says. “I’ve been in the industry for so long, I was such a baby when I started, so I think it’s only natural that as I’ve gotten older my music has also progressed and changed with me. And I don’t think I’m done by any means.”
And as she continues to evolve into making music that she’s increasingly proud of, part of that process has been consistently drawing on the people and influences that ground her the most. Her Nine Songs selections were chosen with that ethos in mind. “I picked songs that reminded me of certain people or happy moments for me, anything I could tie memories back to or that I’ve found a lot of inspiration in.”
“Tragedy” by the Bee Gees
I love the Bee Gees and I always have, but funnily enough I’m not as into them as my little brother is - they’re his favorite band. We were in the car around three summers ago, and he was playing “Tragedy” and singing along to it. He has this amazing voice. We probably played it 70 times through this one specific summer - we listened to it every single day.
So much about that summer was amazing. We live in New York, so we were just having fun and driving around in the Hamptons. It was beautiful, and we were being silly, which was so needed after so many years of not living together. I love spending time with him, he’s one of those people I can completely relax around.
I always think of my brother when I think of this song, and so it’s one of those songs that will always put me in a better mood or put a smile on my face.
“In My Life” by The Beatles
I’m a huge Beatles fan, they’re my number one for everything. Part of it is the ‘60s, which to me were the best years for music. I don’t know why, it’s not a meticulously thought-out opinion or anything, it’s just the music that’s stuck with me. I think it was a different time, people were more eager to be themselves and experiment, and it was such a cool coming of age time for music.
When I listen to music from then, I feel really connected to it, so that’s why I always reference it. I try to do anything I can to pull inspiration from that era and give people some of its essence in my music. I try to give people the same feeling from my songs that I get listening to ‘60s stuff.
With “In My Life” specifically, I’ve known this song pretty much my whole life, but it didn’t have such an important meaning to me until about five or six years ago. I was with my dad, and we were having a really deep, important conversation about a lot of things to do with our relationship. We were driving and talking and this song came on shuffle, and I remember for a second it cut the tension and we were able to both just listen to it. We both were crying by the end of the song, but because we were having a conversation that felt super serious and deep and heavy, it was somehow able to lighten things up again. It was a way to say, “I love you.”
“Wake Up Alone” by Amy Winehouse
Amy has always been one of my biggest inspirations. She’s an incredible talent, it’s otherworldly.
This song in particular, while maybe not my most played, it’s the most special, because my best friend Lena showed it to me. She told me about this record and when I told her I’d never heard it, she couldn’t believe it. She then said to me, “You should totally cover this song.”
She had brought up the idea of the cover to me one night when we were on FaceTime and sent me the song the next day after I told her I hadn’t heard it. She just kept saying, “Dude, listen to it.” And I did, and I loved it. The record is 6/8, and I love 6/8 records, the beat of them is beautiful. Lyrically, too, it’s very special.
Lena suggesting that cover did a lot for me, because when I was first doing covers on YouTube I was always told to make covers of songs that, frankly, I didn’t want to do. They were songs that didn’t feel right to me and weren’t showcasing my vocals. So to hear someone finally say that I would sound great on something that I loved and knew I would sing well felt really good.
That’s also just the bigger picture of Lena, she makes me feel really seen. She holds a really special place in my heart. She lives in Maryland, so we don’t see each other often, but we talk every day online”.
Having been in the music industry for over a decade, Madison Beer is not new. She is an artist still coming through. Someone who will hit her peak in years to come. Having been featured on numerous covers and with her streaming figures skyrocketing, there is no doubt she is a major artist. I feel everyone should know about her. She did reveal in this interview (from October), that she has finished off her new album. It will be exciting to hear:
“I know you co-produced a lot of ‘Life Support’ - do you usually have a clear idea of the sounds you want in a song or does that get workshopped?
I go in with a list of inspiration and sounds that I wanna work from, so I usually have a pretty good idea of what I want.
I get the feeling you’re a real perfectionist. How do you know when a song is finished?
My fans would say I have a really hard time with that. It took me like five years to finish my first album, solely because I was like “wait, I wanna add one more thing!” I’m letting go of that a bit now. When I listen to the album we delivered a month or two ago, I am like “I wanna do this different”, but I think that’s how it’s always gonna be, and I just have to allow myself to grow in other areas. It’s okay if something changes, and I can always perform it differently live! It’s fun to give songs a new life when they’re out, so I’m trying to let go of that a little.
PHOTO CREDIT: Niamh Louise shooting Madison Beer during her Life Support Tour
I’m sure you’re not thinking about what would be ‘a hit’ when you’re writing songs, but do you feel pressure when it comes to things like chart positions?
No, I don’t because I don’t really chart anyways! It’s something that I’ve changed my perspective on a lot. Growing up, hits and charts were everything and that was what I was always told needed to be achieved, whereas now my focus has changed. I want [to make] something that really resonates with people; something that people organically listen to and love, and if it’s not top five on radio or the biggest hit in the world, that’s totally fine. “Selfish”, for example – my biggest record – that’s not considered a hit, because it was never on the charts. It started streaming massively a year after it came out. I stopped playing those games with myself and I’ve freed myself from the shackles of thinking “this has to do this”. That’s not my goal. My goal is to make music and if it clicks, it clicks. If not, I’m proud of it regardless.
That’s good to hear. I guess that must help it to feel less like a job, too—because I imagine there are times that it does.
Yeah! And it sucks the fun out of it, ‘cause you’re only setting yourself up for disappointment when you might not chart; you might not do those things. I just don’t think my music deserves that. I don’t even put it on myself; I’m like “you’re amazing, if you don’t chart, that doesn’t mean I love you any less”, you know? That’s the relationship I have with it now.
You’ve been quite vocal about the problems with the industry on tracks like 'Dear Society', where you said the magazines had treated you like you were “21 since 17”. Do you think there have been any cultural shifts since you wrote that track?
That’s really interesting that you bring that up. I was just talking to someone recently about how I had photos leaked when I was like 15, 16 and I wrote a lot about that on International Women’s Day a couple of years ago. It’s definitely mind-blowing because – I say this as cautiously as I can – I don’t think that a girl in my position would be treated the same way today. I received a lot of hate at the time, my photos were spread everywhere, and I do think the internet has changed in that regard.
I see a lot of younger, underage girls who are more protected now, but I’m so sad that it took people like me to get there and I do think we have leaps and bounds still to go. I don’t think the priority of the internet is child safety, or protecting influencers or artists who are super, super young, and I wish that it was seen as more important. But I do think that it has changed a lot and I don’t think someone in the same position would get the same backlash as I did.
A lot of your last album came from a dark place - are you in a better headspace now?
In ways, yeah, for sure. I’ve realised that healing is not linear and neither is your mental health journey. I think there are ways that I’m better and there are ways that I’m worse, but I’m taking things day by day and I’m definitely in an overall better place than when I wrote Life Support. I was very suicidal then; I was going through a lot of really dark things. I feel like I’m in a better place with my healing; I’m more at peace with things that have happened in my life, and that feels really good.
"Loving those parts of yourself that are unchangeable is important – I’m always gonna be a sensitive person. I’m always gonna be someone that takes things to heart. I don’t look at these things in a negative way anymore..."
If you don’t mind, I’d love to chat about borderline personality disorder (BPD) briefly. There’s a lot of stigma and misinformation out there online – how have you found the journey to understanding your diagnosis?
I think that mine is a journey, for sure. BPD isn’t the only thing that I’m diagnosed with – although I think it’s the most significant, there’s also other things that are crippling to me everyday – but what I can say about it is that the biggest shift and the biggest blessing has been my perspective change with how I view myself. For a long time, I was surrounded by people – in relationships, or on social media – who made me feel awful. They made me feel like everything I thought was right was wrong, and that screwed me up in ways that I can’t even describe. There’s been a lot of undoing for me. I used to hate what I now know as my BPD ‘outbursts’, I guess you can call them, but what’s beautiful now is that I actually look at them at a bit of a strength sometimes.
I don’t hate that I overthink stuff. I think it’s awesome that I can run through things thoroughly. And although it might feel like the end of the world when someone cancels plans, I love my capacity to care. There are of course times that I’m like “relax”, and moments that I wish I didn’t have to struggle with this, but with a lot of therapy, learning, healing, and looking at things in a different light, I think that’s been a big change in perspective. Loving those parts of yourself that are unchangeable is important – I’m always gonna be a sensitive person. I’m always gonna be someone that takes things to heart. I don’t look at these things in a negative way anymore.
If I can say this to anyone listening – whether you’re diagnosed with BPD or you’re just someone who’s mean to yourself – give yourself some positive affirmation. ‘Cause a lot of stuff in society is down to conditioning; being sensitive is deemed bad, and having your own back can come across as being defensive. As long as you have good intentions, speak from your heart, and mean well, I think everything else is gonna be okay, and that’s the biggest thing for me.
What’s been inspiring your lyrics recently?
Well, I’ve finished my album and when I was finishing it up, I was honestly really inspired by my therapy sessions! I feel like I’ve learned a lot about myself and I’ve really been able to make peace with things that have transpired in my life. I have a song in my album that’s about… a lot of things, and I’m not gonna tell you too much because I’m trying to be good and keep things secret for now! But there’s one song that’s about feeling a bit dissociated from my younger self and feeling like I kinda had formative years of mine taken, in a way, and just giving myself that; acknowledging that, and being like “hey, it’s okay to mourn homecoming, prom or camp”. Allowing myself to be empathetic towards myself has been amazing, and I think that’s been really inspiring for me. There’s a lot of that on the album that you’ll hear”.
A truly brilliant young woman and influential artist who is not only compelling future artists. She is a very honest and warm human who is connecting with her fans. Giving them strength and heart, this is a phenomenal talent who will be around for decades more. I hope that Madison Beer comes to the U.K. next year and tours, as there are a lot of fans here. Whatever you do, go and show the beguiling and super-talented Madison Beer…
SO much love.