Madison Beer on new album Locket and the toll of child fame

US pop singer Madison Beer has released her third album, Locket, and spoke to the Guardian about growing up in the industry, online abuse and her evolving sense of success. The day before the interview it was announced that her single Bittersweet, released in October, entered the US Hot 100 at No 98.

Beer, who first gained attention at 13 after Justin Bieber tweeted a link to a YouTube cover, has built a large Gen Z following with more than 60m followers across Instagram and TikTok. Her career has been described as a slow burn: her 2023 album Silence Between Songs produced sleeper hits Reckless and Home to Another One, and her 2024 single Make You Mine reached the UK Top 50 and earned a best dance pop recording Grammy nomination.

She recounted years of feeling unsupported and targeted online, saying “people can be quite cruel” and that she learned that early. She was signed as a management client by Scooter Braun after her move to Los Angeles, recorded commercial tie-ins and collaborations, and said she was dropped by Braun and Island Records at 16.

In a recent Cosmopolitan interview she said she felt Braun and her label “stole years of my childhood that I’ll never get back.” Beer has also spoken publicly about a borderline personality disorder diagnosis and in 2023 published a memoir, The Half of It, to share her experiences.

Key Topics

Culture, Madison Beer, Locket, Bittersweet, Make You Mine, Silence Between Songs