Madison Beer Doesn’t Want to Remember 2016

Madison Beer needs no introduction. The 26-year old singer, songwriter, producer, and author has been in the game for over a decade, a journey kickstarted when Justin Bieber tweeted her YouTube cover of Etta James’ “At Last” with the caption “#futurestar.” The rest was history. After two quietly successful pop projects, Life Support and Silence Between Songs, she’s back with her third studio album Locket, an 11-track opus that twists and turns between pain and pleasure, blending sultry ballads and synthy dance-pop with her signature, unconventional chord progressions. After a busy week flying between L.A. and New York for album signings and talk show appearances, we called up the two-time Grammy-nominated singer to find out how she’s feeling.

———

MADISON BEER: Hello?

SIMON DWIHARTANA: Hi. Is this Madison?

BEER: Yeah. Hey, how are you?

DWIHARTANA: I’m good. How are you?

BEER: I’m great. Can you hear me?

DWIHARTANA: Yes, I can hear you perfectly.

BEER: Sorry to have kept you waiting, my day has been a little hectic.

DWIHARTANA: It’s all good. Let me just say, full disclosure, I’m such a big fan of yours. I’ve seen you live three times.

BEER: Oh my god.

DWIHARTANA: The first time I saw you was at WeHo Pride. Do you remember that set? It was in 2022.

BEER: Of course. Oh, thanks for coming!

DWIHARTANA: And then I saw you headline LaLaLa Fest in Indonesia, because that’s where I’m from. 

BEER: Jakarta. Oh my god, that was so great. 

DWIHARTANA: Anyway, now that I’ve already proven to you how much of a fan I am, you know I’m not messing around. I have so many burning questions for you, and I’ve been searching, but the answer is right in front of me. See what I did there?

BEER: There you go, baby. There you go.

DWIHARTANA: Congratulations on this album. How are we feeling now that the reviews are in?

BEER: I’m feeling really good. I love reading everyone’s responses and how they’re sitting with it. I love this album so much, so having it out in the world now feels really good.

DWIHARTANA: You were recently in New York, right? You were on Jimmy Fallon?

BEER: Yeah, last week.

DWIHARTANA: Your performance was so good. You were hitting G5 three times in one song for every chorus. That’s crazy, and you did it effortlessly. Were you nervous?

BEER: Thank you, first of all. I was really nervous and my dress actually broke right before I walked out, so it made my nerves even worse. I mean, it’s a hard song to sing and I just wanted it to translate because it was also where I was debuting it. I was like, “Okay, I have to do it justice or else people aren’t going to listen to the song.” So I tried my best. It was definitely scary, but I think it went well. 

DWIHARTANA: Well, it was perfect. This is your third record, a follow-up to two amazing records, Life Support and Silence Between Songs. Did you feel like there was an itch you couldn’t scratch on the past two albums that this time you could achieve?

BEER: That’s a good question. I mean, I think that I achieved what I wanted to at the time of both of those albums coming out, but I’ve definitely grown a lot as a person and as an artist. Out of the three of them, Locket feels the most representative of who I am today. I wouldn’t say that in the past I felt like it was something I couldn’t do, but I feel like each album has been a really good representation of where I’ve been when I wrote them, if that makes sense.

DWIHARTANA: Totally. One thing that I noticed when I first listened to the album front to back was that you sort of ditched the spacey, alien themes that were present in the past two records. Was that intentional?

BEER: It wasn’t something I actually thought of, but it’s just something I grew out of, I guess. I have been doing all that stuff for a really long time, and I’ve transitioned into other things, but I always will love that stuff. 

DWIHARTANA: Right. I love the symbolic message of Locket. What I gathered is that it’s about getting something literally and metaphorically off your chest, taking it off and putting it down so you feel weightless. What are you hoping to let go of?

BEER: Aw, I think that you’re absolutely right. That’s definitely symbolically what it is about. I hope I can just keep growing in a healthy way and maintain self-love and try to uphold my mental health. I still struggle to this day, and it’s something that I have to work on every day. I have to try and set boundaries and protect myself. I just really hope for the next year and the years to come that I can just continue to prioritize that and be happy and healthy and try to just focus.

DWIHARTANA: Speaking of “Healthy Habit,” are there habits that you’re trying to quit?

BEER: [Laughs] Habits that I’m trying to quit? Honestly, there’s nothing that I really have to quit currently, but I’m trying—boring answer, sorry, in advance—to drink more water. I’m trying to go to bed earlier. But now it’s kind of kicking me in the ass because I literally can’t stay awake past 10:00 PM. Last night I got dinner with my friends and we were like, “Oh, let’s go at 7:00.” They were like, “Oh, let’s go in the hot tub after.” It was 9:30 when dinner ended and I was like, “Guys, I’m going to bed.” I used to stay up till four in the morning, so that is a new habit and I don’t even know if I like it.

DWIHARTANA: Well, I heard that you might be planning to drop a deluxe version of Locket. Can you tell me more about that?

BEER: Yes! As of right now it doesn’t exist, but it will. I can’t say anything is 100% ever, but I’m 99% certain this will have a deluxe someday. I honestly picked 11 songs for the album because I kind of knew that I wanted to make a deluxe. I never really did one, so it was something that I just thought was cool. So yeah, you’re most likely going to get one, but as of now, it does not exist, and I’m being so honest with you. [Laughs]

DWIHARTANA: Will we ever see “Strawberry Sweet” or “The Way She Loves Me” be released?

BEER: Oh, not the leaks! [Laughs] I actually love “Strawberry Sweet.” That’s such a cute song. And I also love “The Way She Loves Me.” But you know what? Y’all already have it, so I don’t even need to put it out. 

DWIHARTANA: We need a properly mixed version. It feels wrong to listen illegally.

BEER: I know. 

DWIHARTANA: Okay. So I don’t know if you’ve seen this on Instagram, but everyone is posting stuff from 2016. 

BEER: Yeah, I’ve seen it.

DWIHARTANA: How do you feel about that?

BEER: I definitely feel way better in my life now than I did then. There are nostalgic moments from 2016, the music and the Snapchat filters and the mannequin challenge and whatever, all that stuff that I think is really funny. But as someone who did not have the best time in my teenage years, I definitely prefer to stay in the now, honestly.

DWIHARTANA: Of course. But what’s one thing you wish you had kept from 2016 Madison Beer?

BEER: Let me think. I would’ve been 17. Maybe some clothes, because I feel like a lot of clothes are coming back in style that were popular then. I probably would’ve hung out with my little brother more because, I don’t know, when we were teenagers he used to really annoy me and now we’re best friends. But other than that, nothing.

DWIHARTANA: You were you recording As She Pleases in 2016, do you think?

BEER: Yeah, that’s probably when I started recording it.

DWIHARTANA: Right, right. Do you still think about “who’s your friend”?

BEER: Yeah, I see memes about it literally all the time. I’m like, “I’m so proud of her.” She stood on business. I look back and I’m proud of my younger self and I’m like, “Honestly, good for you that you stood up for yourself.” I like to think that I’m not too confrontational, but apparently I’m wrong. At this point, I can’t be embarrassed over that. I’d rather laugh at it. I’m like, “Honestly, you ate, girl.”

DWIHARTANA: Back to the album, my favorite track is probably “Bad Enough.” When did you start recording that one? Because it was just like, girl, where has this been all along?

BEER: I love “Bad Enough” so much. We were writing that in the thick of the album and I feel like it was actually a really eye-opening experience because I was still in a relationship while I was writing a song about not being happy. So you’re kind of forced to be really honest with yourself when you’re writing. Things were just not great and it was a very telling time. But I feel like this album was really healing for that reason. I was able to work through a lot of my issues through my lyrics. You can really hear the emotion and it was all very real, the ups and the downs of that relationship. 

DWIHARTANA: Are you a lyrics-first or melody-first type of singer?

BEER: Definitely melodies first. I can’t write without the melody.

DWIHARTANA: Right, right. Okay, so you are a tastemaker and trendsetter to many. My gay bestie stacks his Cartier Love rings exactly like you on the middle finger, the silver ring first and then two gold ones.

BEER: Yes!

DWIHARTANA: And then my other bestie literally has a Bernedoodle and she walks it with big gold hoop earrings every day, just like you with Presley. So I’m just wondering, what are your obsessions right now?

BEER: Aw, oh my god. That’s so cute. First of all, that’s so sweet of you. Tell them I say hi…  I honestly have been wearing diamond studs recently and not wearing my gold hoops as much, which is new for me. I usually always wear my hoops, but they’re so heavy and sometimes they hurt after wearing them all day. But I don’t know what else. I’m not really up on the trends. I actually have one of those face masks with the LED light in it. I know that’s very trendy right now. 

DWIHARTANA: Okay. To turn that around, what propaganda are you not falling for?

BEER: A lot. Again, I don’t really know that much of what’s going on. I feel like I’ve been in my own world recently. But I feel like every time I go on TikTok, my whole For You page is like, “Change this and look better” and “Do this and feel way better.” Everything feels like it’s always trying to tell you you need to change. Obviously there’s some videos that are just trying to be helpful, but I hate it when it’s like, “You need this product.” I hate all the ads and shit. I can’t.

DWIHARTANA: Definitely. So, the last time you were on Interview, you were interviewed by Lana [Del Rey].

BEER: How could I ever forget?

DWIHARTANA: Are you still in touch with her? 

BEER: I haven’t spoken to her in a while, but I know that if I needed her, I could lean on her, which is really cool. She’s a really special person and she’s very genuine and I think she’s incredible.

DWIHARTANA: Okay, let’s move over to the music videos, which were also amazing. You referenced Jennifer’s Body in your “Make You Mine” music video, you referenced Severance in the song “Complexity,” and you also referenced Beauty and the Beast in your “Bad Enough” music video. So I was wondering what would be in your Letterboxd top four?

BEER: Ooh. In no specific order: The Shawshank Redemption, probably The Prestige, I have to say Fight Club, and I guess I would say Interstellar.

DWIHARTANA: Those are really good choices. 

BEER: Thank you.

DWIHARTANA: Do you think that you would ever dip your toes into the movie world?

BEER: I would love to. I mean, I’m such a big fan of movies and cinema. I would love to direct something, write something, star in it, maybe all three. That’s the dream. One day, that would be really awesome.

DWIHARTANA: I would love to see you in a movie. You’re not on Twitter anymore, are you?

BEER: I try not to be, no. I don’t have my own account, but I’m logged into the Madison Beer HQ account. I don’t have the app on my phone and I try not to download it and look too much.

DWIHARTANA: Okay, this is going to be my last question. Would you say that you’re an L.A. or a New York person?

BEER: I feel like my heart will always be in New York. L.A. has been a very transformative place for me, but I always feel like I’m home when I’m in New York, so I’m probably going to end up back there at some point in my life. Who knows?

DWIHARTANA: So many people move to New York to make an album. Are you the type of person who would do a creative retreat?

BEER: Yeah, I would definitely do a retreat. I’ve done some before. They can be really fun and really inspiring.

DWIHARTANA: Do you have any destinations off the top of your head?

BEER: I went to Ojai, which is a really cute town in California. I wrote some songs there. Honestly, no songs that made it on the album, but it was still a really fun time and I feel like we were actually able to really develop the sound there, so it was a great trip.

DWIHARTANA: Amazing. Thank you so much for your time.

BEER:  So nice to meet you, cutie.

DWIHARTANA: I hope to see you at Madison Square Garden. Thank you for being who you are, and being inspiring. Congratulations on everything.

BEER: Oh, thank you. Love you.

DWIHARTANA: Love you too. Bye!