madison beer interview
Credit: Julian Burgue

You could say Madison Beer has it all. A successful career, 18 million followers on Instagram and an innately beautiful appearance to match. Madison Beer has been spotted on the red carpet of Cannes Film Festival wearing Georges Hobeika, playing for packed-out crowds and just recently appeared on RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race. And in 2020, she has sights set on her first full-length musical endeavour; all of this, before the age of 22. But like any millennial living a life centred on the internet, a world in the digital spotlight is not quite as glamorous as it is to the unassuming eye.

Hailing from Long Island, NY, Beer found fame on YouTube after Justin Bieber shared her cover of Etta James’ ‘At Last’ on Twitter, and in turn transformed her into a viral sensation. By the age of 14 she had signed a record deal but as you will quickly learn, the ‘Hurts Like Hell’ artist wanted to be authentic to herself. After a handful of songs, she was dropped by Island Records at 16-years-old for wanting to move her sound in a different direction.

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“When you’re 16 and something like that happens, you obviously think it’s all my fault and no one likes me and I’m horrible,” she revealed to GRAZIA on a candid Zoom call. “You think all the worst things and I think now with age and the slight wisdom I’ve been able to gain in the past few years, I feel like I’ve been able to see that it’s given me the ability to be creative on my own terms and do things my way which has benefitted me more than I could say.”

“I stopped really caring but it’s hard when you have a ton of people criticising you for just being human.”

Since then, Beer has worked alongside Jax Jones and Offset but for the trolls of the internet, it has never been enough. While the accomplished singer-songwriter admits that she wouldn’t ever change a thing about her past, Beer does struggle with the attention and the pressure of perfection.

“It becomes really overwhelming at times and I wouldn’t say I would change anything but there’s definitely times I wish I didn’t have such a big following; I wish I could go out without thinking, oh am I going to get photographed?” Beer continues, “I caught myself altering how I dressed and how I perceived myself with I don’t think is very fair … I stopped really caring but it’s hard when you have a ton of people criticising you for just being human.”

Despite this, the young bombshell is continuing her crusade of unapologetic honesty and according to the 21-year-old, this kind of vulnerability will be reflected in her forthcoming album. From exploring topics of  “mental health or body image or bullying”, this is far from a breakup album, in fact, this is set to be the soundtrack for a misunderstood generation.

From her home in Long Island and donned in sweats, GRAZIA connected with the artist on a low-key Zoom call to speak candidly from self-isolation. And maybe, just maybe, her “dream collaboration” with Australian music export Tame Impala will one day come to fruition so we can meet Down Under, when this is all over.

Tune in below.


Madison Beer’s new single ‘Selfish’ is out now. For more, visit here.