It’s hard not to dial in on the age of a young artist - after all, the Billie Eilishes and Taylor Swifts of the world command admiration and respect for having only been kids at the time of their meteoric rise. For 16 year old country artist Madelyn Rose, she embraces her youth with her new (aptly titled) EP, Teenage Heartache. At the beginning of our interview, I was greeted by a fresh-faced Madelyn, who politely asked how I was doing. I had just listened to the EP and had plenty of questions for the budding music star.

Are you from a musical family? If not, how did you get into music?

I would say yes and no. My dad has always been into music, just as much as I’ve been, but it was kind of just a hobby for us. In the past, there hasn't been anyone like my mom or grandparents or anything that had any connection to it.

A problem a lot of aspiring artists have is the act of “just doing it” and having the courage to post - what led you to push through any fear you had of being heard?

I feel like it was especially hard for me because I knew deep down that I was never as good as, y’know, anyone else. I kept telling myself that everyone has to start somewhere, and you can always take things down. Even Carrie Underwood released songs when she was 14 if you dig way deep into YouTube. I just told myself, “You just have to keep pushing yourself to start going.” I look back a year or two ago at a recording I did and think, “Wow, that sounds nothing like me.” I still like the song, probably because it was professionally done, but at this time in my life, I might have not released it again. So you’re just always in that cycle of your standards changing.

I read that you started in a home studio and that you’ve started teaching yourself the basics of mixing and mastering. Do you have any influences when it comes to production, and are you going for a particular sound? And do you continue to have input on production now that you’ve been recording in Nashville?

When it comes to sound I've kind of been all over the place. I mostly stick to pretty original country, I really don't steer towards pop at all. With “Sober” just releasing, that was definitely more on the rock side and we got a brand new band. When we were in my bedroom recording back in 2020, we weren't even trying to do anything. We were just messing around and seeing what we could come up with. So I really didn't have any mixing inspiration per se, I was just trying to get anything on the computer, getting something recorded.

I hear you’re recording in Nashville now, do you like having someone taking the reins on that?

Oh, definitely. It lets me be more creative because there are two completely different sides. You can have an amazing musician and they don’t know how to record anything, and you could have an amazing producer but they can't sing for the life of them. It’s kind of amazing. I try to do both and it's impossible. Some people can do it amazingly, but [having producers] lets me take the reins myself on the actual songwriting. It does definitely help having a production background to tell my producer, “Hey, we should do this kind of drumbeat and layer it here, and fade it in.” It really helps us both out a lot.

Artists draw inspiration from anything and everything, from the feeling of warm summer evenings to the most raw, crushing heartbreak - what do you draw inspiration from?

Just as you said - definitely the heartbreaks. I would say that's the most pure, crushing feeling ever. All my songs that have been released so far are about that. For me, that was the most pain imaginable besides a pet or family dying. It was really kind of traumatic for me to say the least. I wouldn't talk to anyone about it, so writing and getting it off my chest and almost having it be a documentary of like, “Okay, I’m healing from this.” I can look back at it and say I don’t feel that way anymore. If I look back at “Sober” which I wrote in December, I can't relate to it at all, which is amazing and I want other people to feel that same way - that it's almost like a documentary or a diary. Sometimes I'll record on my iPhone, and I can feel the pain when I watch it back six months, seven months later. It's interesting.

Your EP, Teenage Heartache, is coming out on July 28th. An EP is a huge accomplishment, so congrats! What was the creative process for this project? Did you have an overall vision?

This is a mix of singles. There wasn't really this grand plan, it was more my label's idea to wrap everything up instead of having 5 singles out there. For me, it kind of represents an era of “These are my first loves, this is my first kiss.” For the name, I kind of had a little trouble picking. I didn't have much time to figure out the name! I was kind of stressing a little bit. I see Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood with all these amazing album names and I'm like, ugh, all I can think of is “Madelyn Rose” or something like that. But the whole time everyone was asking me what it’s about - it's obviously about heartbreak. Initially, I was thinking “American Heartbreak.” It's very country, pure, kinda Taylor Swift-straightforward. That's how I think of myself - very straightforward. But obviously, I wouldn't want to pick anyone's album name. I looked up “American Heartbreak” and it ended up being Zach Bryan’s. I figured out that, yeah, I’m a teenager, and it's a very teenage heartache kinda vibe. They were tiny little relationships and I blew them out of proportion which is a teenage girl thing to do, so I had the advantage of putting teenage in the title.

I love the hook for “Won’t Be Me” - what was the process for developing/writing it and how did you “know” you had something good?

I didn't. Whenever I get a new idea, I’ll think it sucks but I’ll write it down anyways. I was in a Zoom call with my producer and another writer for the first 3 singles on the EP and we just had 0 inspiration. They came up with the idea for “Taillights Fade” and I'm like, “Ok, let me look through my notes.” I keep a big running list on my phone of ideas, and I’m looking through them on my computer like, “Yeah that one sucks, I probably shouldn’t use that, yeah that one sucks, yeah that one sucks” and my producer’s like, okay, just name any one. And I write “won’t be me”, “sitting on the dock in the rain”, and then “2 AM texts” and I put in quotes, “Are you okay?” Because I've gotten that text before. I was so happy that I came up with that idea. I feel like it's so straightforward and so pure that anyone can relate to it. Not even about a relationship - maybe you got replaced at work, even for me, putting it into lake life - getting a new boat, that objective of being replaced. Change is weird. I was scrolling on Instagram one night and I came across a picture, and I thought, you know what? That's not gonna be me, period. I wrote it down, it is what it is and that was kinda the vibe like this happened and this happened and it's not gonna be me. She's gonna get that instead. And I kinda spilled all of that out. And we took it and ran with it.

The writing for “Heart Space” is very strong - it’s descriptive and thematic, and it's so catchy! What was the process for this song? Did you start with music, lyrics, or did they go hand in hand?

I normally start with lyrics, which is what happened here. Again, I got on a Zoom call with my producer and a different writer this time. We said what we were struggling with, which honestly was the hardest thing about writing for me. Flat out saying all my struggles to the whole world and having anyone be able to listen to that song was so scary, and I'm still getting used to that. I live in such a small town that you can run into anyone that you don't like, and I was all about getting out of town. I was like, why don't we write a song about trying to move away because of an ex or a friend? And so we did “Heart Space.'' It took us 15 minutes to figure out the title because we had an idea, but “heart space” wasn’t the tag. I remember we would switch out words with “heart” and “space” and I remember us doing that for like, 20 minutes. That song is actually my least favorite! I don’t know why.

(At this point, I am thoroughly shocked, which Madelyn can definitely see.)

I know, I know! I get the same reaction every time. That's my best friend's favorite song of mine. I’m like, yup! Not mine. But everyone’s got their opinion.

Any interesting stories from the writing and development of the project, such as creative challenges, stories from the studio, or funny memories with your team?

I was recording “Heart Space” and “Won’t Be Me” in Nashville on the same day. The vocals came out great and we had a good time, and it was my first time in an actual studio. Singing in front of my producer was a big deal for me at the time. The next day I had a photoshoot in the morning, and we recorded “Heart Space” in the afternoon. The photoshoot was exhausting. It wasn't just standing there and taking pictures, it was like, 108 degrees outside. I was in really big, chunky, boots and sweating off makeup and because it was in Nashville, I had really bad allergies that I didn't know I had until I got there. I was literally crying off fake eyelashes and makeup, like it was so bad, and of course my nose was completely stuffed, so by the time I got to the studio I sounded so bad! I was exhausted. For the longest time I wanted to redo the vocals and everybody was like, it's fine, let it go. But yeah, I was barely awake when I was recording “Heart Space.”

What are your plans for the future? Or are you taking it step by step, seeing where the wind takes you?

I don't have a huge plan right now. I’m trying to get through Teenage Heartache and then I’ll have a conversation with my team. I’m gigging a lot, like 3 shows a week, and doing that helps me grow a lot as a performer. I love to write and record and work behind the scenes, but I’m also working on my performance skills and earning some money to save for the next album. Hopefully there will be another EP or an album next year.

How can we find you online? Drop your socials!

I’m @Madelynrosemusic on just about everything.

As our interview concludes, I prepare to thank Madelyn for her time and sign off. Before I get the chance to say goodbye, she quickly asks me if I want to see the sunset. It’s twilight and she turns her camera to show me a stunning lake view, a perfect hazy blue with the remnants of a sunset on the horizon. During our interview, Madelyn reveals herself to be humble, casual, and cool, undoubtedly with a bright future ahead of her.

Teenage Heartache releases July 28th, 2023. Find Madelyn Rose at her socials:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

TikTok

**originally published to Lovebomb Magazine**