Madison Beer admits dealing with silence helped her grow as a singer

She got her start by posting covers on YouTube at the age of 12, and scored breakthrough when Justin Bieber posted a link to one of her videos. So how has Madison Beer handled a whirlwind decade in the music industry?

Sitting with silence has not come easy to American singer Madison Beer – like many, her natural way has been to fill quieter moments with distractions.

“I have always been someone that kind of turns to distractions, and I try to run from my thoughts and the ugly truth of situations,” Beer told Insider.

“That has just been how I used to live my life and, at a certain point, it caught up with me. I was like, I need to take time to figure out what is going on internally and I need to answer these questions that might not be so easy.

“I did that when it was tuning out the noise, not being on tour, not having distractions, that is where I have learnt the most and I’ve been able to grow.”

It is this premise that sets the scene for Beer’s new album, Silence Between Songs.

Madison Beer has a new album, Silence Between Songs, out now. Picture: Vivien Killilea/Getty Image

She spoke to Insider via Zoom from her home in Los Angeles. At 24, you could say she is already a veteran of the music industry with a decade in the game so far.

She got her start by posting covers on YouTube at the age of 12, scoring a breakthrough when Justin Bieber posted a link to one of her videos. Her debut album, Life Support, which spawned several singles, was released in 2021.

Madison Beer doesn’t “do amazing” with silence. “I am someone that has music playing all the time, or the TV on.” Picture: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

She is a platinum-selling music artist, songwriter, producer and author – her book, The Half Of It: A Memoir, was released in April and details the highs and lows and in-betweens of her life in the spotlight.

“I don’t do amazing at it still to this day,” she said when asked how she handles silence.

“I am someone that has music playing all the time, or the TV on. When I am in silence, my brain will take over, which can scare me. I do better now than I used to and, metaphorically, I can face things better now but my brain is still scary.”

Silence Between Songs features 14 tracks with some of the songs titled Dangerous, Reckless, 17, I Wonder, Sweet Relief, Nothing Matters But You and At Your Worst.

Beer co-wrote and co-produced all of the tracks on the album.

Her artist bio touts Beer as “one of the most influential voices of her generation” with an audience of 65 million across her different social media platforms. That is 37.3 million followers on Instagram and 18.7 million on TikTok alone.

Outside of music as herself, Beer voices the character Evelynn in the League of Legends virtual band, K/DA.

She also appeared in 2013 film Louder Than Words and as a judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Madison Beer is known for being raw and honest in her interactions with fans. “I try to be honest because I think that people need to know that they are not alone in their struggles.”

Beer is known for being raw and honest in her interactions with fans. If she’s having a bad day, she will talk about it, which is refreshing in the controlled world of celebrity in 2023.

“There are so many people who look up to you if you are an artist or whatever, that I feel like it is kind of your responsibility to be as honest as you are comfortable being,” she explained.

“We live in such a facade time with social media, where everyone is putting their best foot forward. We are all a part of it and we are all doing our best to be transparent but I know for me, in interviews or those longer form places, that I can actually really speak.

“I do try to highlight that I have gone through a lot. I try to be honest because I think that people need to know that they are not alone in their struggles and, just because someone looks happy, it doesn’t mean they are.”

In a recent magazine interview, Beer was asked about the positives of the life she has lived. She was genuinely surprised as most in her experience have focused on the opposite of that.

As an extension of that, looking at the positives for others that might want to follow in Beer’s footsteps, she urged others to follow their dreams.

“I am so used to talking about the negatives that I feel like I can almost be discouraging towards people who want to pursue a career that is similar to mine, and I don’t want that at all,” she said.

“Obviously if I was so miserable then I wouldn’t be doing it still, so there are definitely a lot of upsides, and I think that in the least cheesy way possible, and in the most gentle way possible, my fans and the people I have been able to connect with … enjoying music and enjoying life is just such a beautiful thing to me and that I feel is the best part.

“I just feel really lucky sometimes, like I am really pursuing my dreams … so I try to remind myself that there are so many positives, but it is also important to highlight the negatives because I don’t want to sound like a fake.”

* Madison Beer’s Silence Between Songs is out now