Madison Beer

• 1. Introduction

  ›

  In July 2012, Justin Bieber sent a short message to his millions of followers: "wow. 13 years old! she can sing. great job. #futurestar". The girl he meant was Madison Beer, an American singer-songwriter. At the time, she was a teenager with a handful of homemade cover videos and a fan's devotion to the star who had just noticed her. A single tweet can start a career. It cannot decide what kind of career follows. How did a family Facebook post travel far enough to reach Bieber? Why did Beer walk away from her first record label? And what does a young artist do when the industry's plans for her do not match her own?

  11121617

• 2. Roots and Influences

  ›

  Madison Elle Beer was born on the 5th of March 1999 in Jericho, on Long Island in New York. Her father, Robert Beer, founded Built By Beer, a luxury home builder. Her mother, Tracie, worked as an interior designer and invented the contour hanger. Tracie later paused that work and moved to Los Angeles to help steer her daughter's career.

  Her parents divorced in 2006, when Madison was 7 years old, though she says they stayed in touch with each other. She has a brother, Ryder, who is three years younger. Her maternal grandfather, Marty, came out as gay later in life. Earlier, under societal pressure, he had married a woman and had three children in an attempt to change himself. Beer counts him as a major inspiration. Her family is part Ashkenazi Jewish and part Moroccan Jewish.

  Her first name comes from a character in Splash, the 1984 film her mother loved most. At four years old, she won a modeling competition and appeared on the cover of Child magazine. She says she knew by kindergarten that she wanted to be a singer or a musician. Singing lessons began at age 8, and she performed in after-school plays. Gymnastics took six years of her childhood, and a neck sprain ended it.

  Arthur Ashe Kids' Day at the US Open hosted her first solo performance, when she was barely 13. The Grateful Dead filled the family home because her father is a huge fan, and she also listened to The Rolling Stones and Nirvana. Her adult taste runs in other directions. She says she is "completely and utterly obsessed" with Arctic Monkeys, and she runs an unnamed fan account for Rihanna. Lana Del Rey, Daft Punk, Melanie Martinez and Lady Gaga also rank among her favorites.

  Ariana Grande is on that list too, and Beer has pushed back on how the press frames it. Asked whether Grande influenced her, she said the influence is real but that she hates the narrative of a rivalry, calling Grande someone she idolizes and looks up to.

  In 2012 she celebrated her bat mitzvah. That same year, at 13, she left Long Island for Los Angeles and was homeschooled from grade 7 through grade 12.

  234894

• 3. A Chain of Shares

  ›

  In early 2012, Beer started posting covers of popular songs on YouTube. In May, her mother shared one of them on her own Facebook page. It was Beer singing "At Last" by Etta James.

  One of Tracie's Facebook friends watched the video and sent it to Scooter Braun. Braun forwarded it to Bieber, and the tweet that followed sent Beer trending on Twitter. Media coverage came in quantity.

  Beer had been a huge Bieber fan, and she describes her reaction as "hysterically crying, not really knowing what to do with myself". Meeting him, she said, "was the happiest day of my life". Bieber then signed her personally to Island Records, the label that also housed him. She also signed a talent management agreement with Braun, who managed Bieber.

  Money did not change her home life. Beer says she saw none of the earnings from that first label signing, because her parents wanted her to "be a normal kid". A later deal was a different story. After one of her first big deals, she bought herself a Rolex, her first.

  The label's first projects for her were not a debut album. They were smaller, stranger partnerships, and the first of them involved a toy company's monsters.

  111216171

• 4. Unsigned Years

  ›

  In February 2013, Cody Simpson re-released his song "Valentine" with Beer on it. In June of that year, she recorded "We Are Monster High", a theme song for Mattel's Monster High franchise. Her own debut single, "Melodies", followed in September 2013. Peter Kelleher, Ben Kohn, Thomas Barnes and Ina Wroldsen wrote it, and the music video included a guest appearance by Bieber, which boosted her career further.

  By 2013, Beer had also started on a full debut album, planned with pop and R&B influences. Then came the conflict. She disagreed with her label's "Disney"-style plans for her music, and the album was scrapped. The disagreement led her to leave the label and become an unsigned artist. The separation was finalized in 2016.

  Leaving did not stop the releases. "Unbreakable" arrived in June 2014, written by a team that included Jessica Ashley and Evan Bogart. Emanuel Kiriakou and Andrew Goldstein produced it. In February 2015, Beer was featured on "I Won't Let You Walk Away" by Mako, which reached number 43 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. September 2015 brought "All For Love", featuring Jack & Jack.

  In February 2017, Beer walked the runway for Dolce & Gabbana's Fall 2017 show at Milan Fashion Week. "Dead" came out in May 2017, with its music video following in August. "Say It to My Face" arrived in November. The EP As She Pleases, recorded over three years, was released in February 2018.

  The EP's momentum showed on the charts. In March 2018, Beer released "Home with You". By August it had peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40, which made her the only unsigned female solo artist on that chart. That same month she made her festival debut at Lollapalooza in Chicago. In September 2018 she was featured on "Blame It On Love", from David Guetta's seventh studio album, 7.

  November 2018 took her somewhere stranger. Riot Games released the song and video "Pop/Stars" as the theme for League of Legends. Beer, Miyeon and Soyeon from (G)I-DLE, and Jaira Burns performed it as K/DA, a virtual K-pop group. Beer voiced the character Evelynn. That month she also released "Hurts Like Hell", featuring Offset.

  Beer's years without a label were nearly over.

  1924252733

• 5. Life Support Years

  ›

  In May 2019, Beer released the single "Dear Society". Three months later, in August 2019, she signed with Epic Records.

  January 2020 brought "Good in Goodbye", the lead single from her debut studio album, Life Support. The second single, "Selfish", reached number 19 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart and was later certified Platinum by the RIAA. She also released the promotional single "Stained Glass" and co-directed its music video. "Baby" followed in August 2020.

  October 2020 sent her back to K/DA. She reprised Evelynn on the group's EP All Out, appearing on "More" alongside the original lineup and Lexie Liu. She also featured on "Villain", which includes German singer Kim Petras. "Boyshit" arrived in December 2020.

  That December, Vevo named Beer its new LIFT artist. She released live performances of "Selfish" and "Boyshit", and a short film for the campaign, Dreams Look Different in the Distance, came out in January 2021.

  Life Support itself arrived in February 2021. Beer co-wrote the entire album and co-produced most of it. Critics were split. Dani Blum of Pitchfork called it "ambitious yet shallow, seemingly intent on proving its own seriousness". Hannah Mylrea of NME gave it 4/5 stars, and Mike DeWald of Riff Magazine scored it 8/10. The album debuted at number 65 on the US Billboard 200 and reached the top 30 on both the Canadian and UK album charts.

  In May 2021, Beer announced The Life Support Tour across North America, and the next month she added a European leg. June 2021 also brought "Reckless", which drew critical praise for its lyrics and vulnerability and reached the top 40 on the Billboard US Mainstream Top 40.

  Her first soundtrack song, "Room for You", appeared in November 2021 on the soundtrack to Clifford the Big Red Dog. Film work would keep returning in her catalog.

  4151525356

• 6. Silence and Locket

  ›

  In July 2022, Beer released "I Have Never Felt More Alive", a song used in the film Fall. A memoir came next. She announced The Half of It: A Memoir in February 2023, and HarperCollins published it in April of that year.

  August 2023 brought the single "Dangerous". Her second studio album, Silence Between Songs, followed in September 2023. In October she released "Showed Me (How I Fell In Love With You)", a cover and variation of "You Showed Me". She toured behind the album on The Spinnin Tour across Europe and North America. At the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, the album earned a nomination for Best Immersive Audio Album.

  In February 2024, "Make You Mine" topped the US Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart and peaked at number 10 on the US Pop Airplay chart. It earned a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Pop Recording at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards. "15 Minutes" followed as a standalone single in July 2024.

  June 2025 placed Beer on the soundtrack album for the film F1 with a song called "All at Once". In September she released "Yes Baby" and described it as the "closing bracket in an unintentional trilogy", following "Make You Mine" and "15 Minutes".

  October 2025 delivered a milestone. "Bittersweet" debuted at number 98 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number 68, her first entry on that chart. That month she also performed at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2025. She then appeared on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve on New Year's Eve 2026.

  Her third studio album, Locket, was released in January 2026. The Locket Tour began in May 2026.

  6669717690

• 7. Beyond the Studio

  ›

  In September 2020, Morphe Cosmetics launched a collection called Morphe x Madison Beer. Nine months later, in June 2021, Beer co-founded Know Beauty with Vanessa Hudgens, a skincare brand built around DNA personalization. In August 2021 she launched a 90s-inspired clothing collection with Boohoo.com.

  Her screen credits began young. In 2013 she played Amy in the film Louder Than Words. In 2015 she played Wendy in an episode of the series Todrick. In 2020 she took part in RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race as a contestant, and she later appeared as a guest judge on RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. In July 2022, she made a cameo, alongside other internet celebrities, in the video for "Dolls", from Bella Poarch's debut EP of the same name.

  Fortnite is a quieter passion. Beer is an avid player, and her songs appear in the game as emotes and Jam Tracks. She also appeared in a launch campaign for Lego Fortnite, including LEGO Fortnite Odyssey and Brick Life.

  In February 2026, on Hot Ones, she said she loves the game but feels it has "changed too much" from its earlier seasons. She urged developer Epic Games to keep parts of its original formula and jokingly asked for her own in-game character skin. Epic Games acknowledged her requests, including the idea of a collaboration.

  6669717690

• 8. Identity and Struggle

  ›

  In 2016, Beer discussed her sexuality during a YouNow chat. "I'm not a lesbian, but I definitely love girls," she said, adding that she had been in love with a woman before. In March 2020 she was more direct, saying she "came out, like, four years, three years ago" and "I am bi, always have been; it's nothing new". She has said she has never understood why anyone would be affected by another person's sexual preference.

  Her mental health history is among the most openly documented parts of her life. At age 7, she was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. As a child star, she was once told, "We can't have you in anything remotely revealing because you're already so hot and you're only 13". She has said social media made her struggles worse, leaving her constantly needing to "self-validate" and be complimented by others. She also had lip filler dissolved, a decision that itself became a subject of many posts.

  At 15, nude videos she had sent to a boyfriend were leaked online. She says the incident reminded her of sexual abuse she experienced as a child, around age 6 or 7, by someone frequently around her whom she has not named. The leak contributed to post-traumatic stress disorder and to two suicide attempts. At 16, she tried marijuana for the first time and feared a video would leak and harm her career. She does not drink alcohol.

  In 2019, she saw 6 psychiatrists. One misdiagnosed her with schizophrenia and gave her anti-psychotic sedatives that turned her into a "zombie", in her words. She was then diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

  Beer has also taken public positions. She has supported Black Lives Matter and endorsed Joe Biden in the 2020 United States presidential election. In January 2024, she posted on X about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: "You can be Jewish and also want peace for all people, including Palestinian people, which is, of course, what I want. No innocent person deserves to die."

  4998996