22-year-old, Alt-Pop artist Madison Olds has brought us two raw, yet upbeat and fun, singles during quarantine, “Best Part of Me” and “3’S a Crowd”, following her 2018 debut album release, Blue, which has racked up over 2 million streams. Madison’s fiery spirit and sound are reminiscent of Pop icons such as Billie Eilish and Julia Michaels. Madison addresses topics such as anxiety, loneliness, and “mental disparity” with lighthearted music to back her vocals.
“I think my exact words were, ‘It feels really good to just sit on the floor, cry and give into an anxiety attack.’ This song [“Best Part of Me”] is meant to make the listeners feel reassured with taking a moment to just feel sad. You don’t always have to be happy or even okay all the time.” — Madison Olds
BTS: Please introduce yourself to the readers.
Madison Olds: My name is Madison Olds and I’m a singer/songwriter from B.C. Canada. I’ve been playing music for as long as I can remember and I come from a very musical family, so playing music is in my DNA.
BTS: How would you describe your sound to someone who’s never listened to you before?
Madison Olds: If I had to describe my music for someone who hasn’t heard it yet, I would say it’s gritty, Alt-Pop that’s drawn from lots of personal experience. I’m a pretty happy person as well, so I like to keep the mood relatively light and happy.
BTS: What are/who are some inspirations for your music?
Madison Olds: Some of my main inspirations for songwriting come from Julia Michaels, Ed Sheeran, and Billie Eilish. They really know how to hit you in the feels while still being able to turn up to it haha.
BTS: You recently released “Best Part of Me” – a product of a solo writing trip to Nashville. Tell me about the inspiration behind the song and the experience you had on that solo trip.
Madison Olds: I was feeling pretty lonely during this trip. It was my first solo trip to Nashville meeting with people I had never met before, so everything was feeling way bigger than it probably was. But by the time I showed up to this session, I had driven an hour out of Nashville to meet with people I didn’t know, and I really just wanted to lay down, drink tea, and kind of soft cry. Like not a big sob, just a soft whimper, and have my own sad movie moment. I obviously pulled myself together and ended up channeling all my anxiety into the song. It really changed how I approach sessions now too. No matter how crappy I feel, I always go into a session assuming it’s gonna produce a banger.
BTS: What was it like to work with two prestigious engineers, Ryan Worsely and Chris Gehringer?
Madison Olds: I didn’t get to work with Chris directly, but I love what he did with the mastering of ‘Best Part of Me’. Ryan and I have worked in person lots actually. He is a super talented producer and totally got my vision with the song. We always seem to have a good time creating music and it always seems to turn out magical.
BTS: Tell me what it was like to have secured support slots for artists such as Kacey Musgraves and Willie Nelson.
Madison Olds: It was sort of like winning the lottery haha. I was in a girl band at the time and had never played a big stage like that before. We were pretty early in the day, but it was a great showing and it’s definitely one of the best and most fun shows I think I have ever played. I remember our drummer coming up to us and we were like where did you go? He said, “agh, I was just rolling some joints with Willie’s band.” Classic.
BTS: How have you been spending your quarantine?
Madison Olds: I’ve been doing lots of baking and gardening during my spare time in quarantine. It’s been a rather chilly summer here, so I have been craving lots of fall treats. The other day I woke up and just made a homemade pumpkin pie cause I wanted to smell autumn, cinnamon, and pumpkin throughout the house. Other than that, just songwriting; lots of songwriting.
BTS: How do you connect with your listeners?
Madison Olds: I am always active on social media and love to hear from listeners about my music. My Instagram is a bit more serious, but Tik Tok is where I have lots of fun. It warms my heart when people reach out and share what songs they are listening to, it makes it more personal for me, and after all, music is pretty personal and how a lot of us communicate.
BTS: What’s something readers should know about you?
Madison Olds: I love to make people laugh. A dream of mine has always been to try to stand up, but I’m just way too scared to try. At home I’ll tell stories, usually at my own expense, and have my family in stitches and maybe one day I’ll get the balls to try it on a stage.
BTS: What does the rest of 2020 and beyond look like for you?
Madison Olds: I’m not entirely sure what the rest of the year looks like exactly, but I do know for sure that there is more music coming and lots of songwriting. With live performances and traveling kind of being out of the question, I’m focusing on collaborating online, writing, and releasing.
Be sure to check out Madison’s latest single, “3’S a Crowd” below.
Follow Madison Olds on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok to stay up-to-date on all of her forthcoming releases.
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Photo credit: Kaylee Smoke
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