With deliberate planning and years-in-the-making, Madison Beer was on the precipice of releasing her highly-anticipated and most-intimate artistic statement to date. Then, the global pandemic wiped her calendar slate clean. Madison was forced to push back her project twice-over, eventually announcing the incredibly tough decision to postpone her debut album, Life Support, indefinitely. “It has been done for quite a while now. And it has just been on the back burner,” she said.

After a six month hiatus and redesigned musical rollout, another song was revealed off Beer’s forthcoming body of work. The catchy single, “Baby” quickly climbed to the top of the radio charts. Her empowering lyrics received phenomenal feedback, later complemented by a self-directed music video. Well actually, two music videos… Having made the costly choice to scrap the first film in its entirety and produce a new one for “Baby.”

Painting the picture of that interaction for us, the room was, “Full of very powerful and important people and then little [ole] me,” she continues, “It was really scary because I didn’t want to come across ungrateful. I was very nervous to do it.” Madison told her label, in response to that first video, “I don’t like the messaging. I want it to be more about female empowerment…” with a please on the side. Her version — a hit — viewed over 11 million times, justifying all the stress. That moment lives rent-free in her head, “That was a really big moment for me to regain my power.” 

Having shared three tracks and three videos, all Madison can do about the current predicament of her album is to wait. By dropping any more songs, she’d be giving too much away. In agreement, she expressed, “We are just waiting to release Life Support. I am super, super, excited to finally get it out. Hopefully, we can get that date ASAP.” 

V can give you a hint: It is closer than you think. 

In regards to the unforeseen delay, it’s relatively minuscule compared to the time Madi’s day-one supporters have already spent on standby — pressing her for an album since her Youtube days at the age of 12. Referring to her old singer covers, she paused before cringing, “I try not to watch them.” Still, empathetic to her younger self, who got her to where she is today, she recalls, “I don’t think [younger Madison] would believe it. I try to put it in perspective sometime. She would be so proud and like, ‘Wow, you turned out so great.’”

The 21-years-olds unique claim to fame has been subject to an overwhelming amount of media coverage; publicity, praise, and criticism await her every move. So much so, it was hard to think of a surprising fact she could share with fans, “Honestly, I think I’m out of the fun facts that nobody knows. I would just say that I love my fans.”

Since Madison missed out on the normalcy of adolescence, the singer instead notices the adult caliber she has been held to throughout her lifetime. An axiom of her observations, Madison confides in VMagazine, “I feel like I have been someone who has been misinterpreted and misunderstood… for a long time.” 

Because Beer carries herself with a calm and confident demeanor, in many ways, it has made her a bystander to her own super-stardom life. She bears witness to the internet bullies, headlines, leaks, and rumors that use her as a topic of celebrity gossip but chooses not to intervene. While in the limelight of 20 million Instagram followers, plus more on other socials, she is still her authentic self. “I feel like there are a lot of people who have big followings, who try to appease everyone with all their opinions.” Telling us that it is about the yin and yang of social media, “I’ve found a balance of how to speak my mind, but also not hurt anyone in the process.” 

Mature beyond her years, it was hard to tell that the pressures of the world were accumulating. “I made [Life Support] in a dark time and it was kind of the only thing that motivated me to even get out of bed in the morning,” Beer admits. She has kept these private thoughts safely to herself, working to gain control of them before addressing fans; now the singer is in a much better headspace to tell her story. Thus, she takes us inside the world of Madison Beer, highlighting who she wants to be seen as and the obstacles she has overcome in the making of Life Support. 

At first, it wasn’t easy. Having built up thick walls of protection, guarded by her negative thoughts, the singer was unfamiliar with emotional vulnerability. Feeling the pressure to produce the then name-less album, Beer reflects, “I was like, ‘I don’t want to do this.’ It just wasn’t something I wanted to do.” Loss of interest is incompatible with a career that requires you to perform flawlessly into a microphone. Instead, studio sessions started to become therapeutic as her team allowed the free-flow of feelings, “There were some days I went to the studio and we didn’t even write a song. I talked, cried, and they all listened.” 

An individual from the team eventually asked, “Do you want to sing about what we talked about in a song?” Realizing that this was an opportunity to show the world — not prove — they had it wrong about her. Beer proudly stated, “I’m so excited to tell my story from my point of view… I am hoping the world finally meets the real side of me.” This time, she clarified, “For who I want to be seen as.”

To do so, Madison hunkered down. Seeking refuge in the parallel universe that music can transport her to, the studio becoming her figurative haven and literal escape to execute this vision. The eccentric melodies, stellar strings, and celestial vocals are why her discography serves as her Life Support. Digging deeper lyrically, it channels a lot of her emotions and struggles. She attested the album was a healing process for her.

Her complex personality shines differently in each song. For example, on one that’s yet to be released, she features an outtake from her favorite cartoon, Rick and Morty. Explaining that “It’s the dialogue that goes on when [Rick and Morty] enter the mini verse and the micro verse. And Rick is explaining to Morty how he created this universe.” She continues, “I thought it was metaphorical, funny, and a little bit metta. Like, that’s how I’m viewing earth kind of thing.” Unprovoked, she jumped right into reenacting the scene, prefacing with an apology, “I’m going to butcher this,” she laughed.

The songs launch listeners into a space of truth, where she opens up about transcending topics including bad breakups, emotional vulnerability, and sexual empowerment. “I think that the industry puts people in a box, particularly women. And I’m hoping to break through that. I think that I already feel myself doing. I hope that my album continues to push the envelope,” said the starlet.

Thus far, “Good In Goodbye,” “Selfish,” and “Baby,” was cathartic for the different chapters of her mental health journey. With the unrevealed tracks set to add important elements to her ongoing story, now, only she can share. Madison reminded, not to allow other characters, conflicting self-doubt, and settled fears to become the center of her narrative, again. “Being happy is my number one priority,” she explained, “I’m enjoying being with myself and being somebody who’s focused on myself… I have just been doing whatever feels right to me and trying not to rush myself in any way.” But…she spilled the tea to V, “There is a boy that I have my eyes on…”  

Not naming any names in particular, “I’m just having fun with who I’ve been hanging out with and focusing on myself as well… feeling whatever feels right to me and trying not to rush myself in any way.” Loosely describing her ideal partner-in-crime as someone who doesn’t make her feel pressured to do or be anything and is “down to be along for the ride.” Cooly, reminding herself that a potential candidate is out there, she vents “I have a lot that I deal with on a daily basis.” Duh, she is Madison Beer.

She is also, so much more. To be continued… on Life Support.