When singer-songwriter Madison Beer began to piece together her debut LP, she knew it would be a breakup album. But after writing and recording three strong, lovelorn tracks, she sat back and thought, “Where do I go from here?”
"I had to go deeper into myself," she says. "I had to pull the emotions out. It was hard for sure, but it was worth it."
Over the past year and a half, Madison has poured every ounce of her creativity into her first full-length effort after signing with Epic Records in August.
Blending grunge, R&B, and pop with the help of producers Big Taste and One Love, Madison’s album, due late this year, finds her digging into the complex and emotional ups and downs that lead to her breakup.
She's devoted herself to getting more personal on this collection than she did on her self-released EP As She Pleases, released in early 2018.
On the seven co-written songs, Madison aimed to establish who she was as an artist. She empowered her fans through flexing her independence and showcasing her brazen disposition over a mix of keen pop, feel-good folk, and lustrous R&B.
Following the release of As She Pleases, which has accumulated over 650 million streams
globally, Billboard included Madison as one of their "21 Under 21" young talents to watch in 2018.
Named the "sensation of the moment" by Vogue Italia and tipped as an “artist to watch” by NME, Madison also became the first independent female solo artist to break the top 20 radio charts with the emboldened "Home With You."
In early 2018, her first-ever tour sold out in Europe. Following her Glasgow show, The Guardian said Madison "pulls off somersaulting vocals and pin-drop performances with regal
poise."
Paper said, "With a voice that could be the product of a Christina Aguilera and Amy Winehouse union, it’s no wonder Beer is hot property."
In November 2018, Madison released the soul-trap hit "Hurts Like Hell," which was penned with Charli XCX and featured Offset.
"The catchy breakout anthem has all the ingredients of a major hit," said Idolator.
On her forthcoming album, Madison remains committed to forging interconnections with fans through raw storytelling.
Calling out her neglectful lover on the airy, funky dance track "Baby," Madison sings "I look too good to be in this bedroom without someone to touch me like you do."
Lead single "Good In Goodbye" finds Madison singing "I would take a bullet for you just to prove my love/ only to find out you are the one holding the gun" before delivering the chorus, "You put the over in lover/ put the ex in next/ ain't no I in trouble/ just the you since we met, cause you're toxic, boy/ I ain't even gotta try to find the G-O-O-D in goodbye."
Haunting piano notes elevate Madison's dispirited lyrics on the song, the ominous tone a detail she wanted throughout.
"I've always had dark goggles on when I look at life," she says. "The whole album has eerie undertones to it."
The visuals that accompany the tracks, drive home Madison's fascination with what torments us. In the video for "Good In Goodbye" she plays dual roles: herself and her evil twin.
"I wanted to explore my inner demons," she says, adding that the duality represents condemnation as well as self-reflection. "I make myself out to be the (bad) one, not my ex-boyfriend. I always try to think of ways to flip things on their head and give them a second meaning and add more fuel to the fire."
Similarly, Madison’s attraction to disturbing imagery stains the visuals for the slightly menacing, slow acoustic jam "Selfish." In the video for the song she attempts to stitch together her dismembered man while singing "It was almost two years that I chose to spend here/ all alone on New Year's thinking what the hell?"
For Madison, her visual artistry is as important as the tracks themselves. "The song is like checkmark one, but then there are so many boxes underneath that that I feel like need to be ticked off to really round it out," she says. "I dump so much of my brainpower into creative."
Madison's over 20 million combined social media followers can attest to that.
After the Long Island, New York, native showcased her honey-coated vocals on YouTube via covers of songs like Etta James's "At Last," she gained a devoted, burgeoning audience. It's one that bears witness to the inspiring lifestyle Madison displays online.
Her lifestyle includes collaborating with David Guetta on 7, his seventh studio album, featuring on K/DA’s track “POP/STARS,” which went to No. 1 on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart, and appearing on the Jax Jones and Martin Solveig dance hit "All Day and Night," helping it land in the top 10 of the U.K. Official Singles Chart.
It also entails teaming with fashion brands. Madison recently created her own fashion edit using threads from their FW19 collection. And last year the singer launched a collaboration with Global fashion brand “Missguided” and was the face of Bvlgari's Omnia Pink Sapphire fragrance.
But the singer knows better than anyone that things aren't always what they seem. "You can't really judge someone 100 percent off of social media," she asserts.
Her followers may have missed her melancholy mood following the demise of the relationship she details on her new album. Or they might not have picked up on anxiety she felt while taking her time to create a solid album.
"My fans could have given up on me,” says Madison. “But I'm lucky that they didn't. Making this music and my fans have been my life support."