Hailing from California, Madysyn is a rising star on the country music scene. At just 18 years of age, Madysyn has developed an acoustic-based pop country sound and released her first country single, “Girlfriend.”
“I think the genre that I would call myself is country-pop. My music definitely is that more acoustic-pop kinda feel with a little bit of country vibe to it,” she says regarding her sound. Madysyn’s career path towards country music was in some ways foreseeable, and in others not so expected.
“It’s kinda weird cause I’m California born and raised, but I grew up on country music, my whole family — not always would play it, but for the majority they would. So I grew up on George Strait and Johnny Cash and all those legendary country singers. It’s a beautiful genre and I’ve gotten a lot of inspiration from country artists.” She continues, “I feel like a lot of them are amazing performers. And I think a really important part of music is the vocals as well, because I know in today’s era you don’t really have to be able to sing, so I appreciate that about country music — that there’s real talent in there.”
And how did music come to be her path? “Ever since I was little — I’ve been singing my entire life. I sang for the first time on stage when I was five years old when I did a duet with my dad at our church. I just loved singing, I would write songs from the age of nine, and it’s just always been my outlet for everything in life. Just writing and singing melodies and just getting to sing, I’ve just been drawn to it, and it’s always been that one constant thing in my life where it’s like, I feel like this is my purpose, like this is a big part of what I’m supposed to do with this life that I’ve been given.”
In terms of musical influences, Madysyn’s inspirations stray from what you may expect from a rising country star. “The biggest portion of my life for music, my number one inspiration has been John Mayer,” she says. “He’s not exactly country but his song “In the Blood” has been played on country radio which was really surprising to me because he doesn’t put himself in a box, which I just think is incredible, and if you go through his albums they’re all so different from each other and so unique, but they’re all so him, which I — I’ve just always thought that was so amazing, and he’s completely talented and all his performances, they sound just like his tracks which I think is awesome, so definitely John Mayer.” She adds, “a big female influence in my life has been Tori Kelly. I just think her vocal range is incredible and I don’t think I’ve ever heard her hit a wrong note. I’ve seen her live a couple times and every time I was in awe.”
For young artists, an early rise to prominence can be overwhelming and in some cases, present as a barrier. Madysyn, however, takes an optimistic view of her age in the music industry.
“I’m really blessed that I get to start at such a young age and that I’m doing what I’m doing at this age. Because I mean, this is what I want to do forever and the fact that I get to start now is a blessing because it’s just, more time of doing what I love and if I can connect with people they and I continue to grow and resonate with music the more I go on.”
“I also think it’s great that right now — I have like my sound and the stuff that I want to sing, but I know that maybe in a couple years that’s gonna change, and everyone grows as they get older and their creativeness and what they resonate with and I think it’s really cool that my fans and the people who listen to my music get to grow with me and they get to learn more about me the older I get as well.”
Of course, for many, their introduction to Madysyn will be her new debut single, “Girlfriend.” The release of the single is a major milestone and achievement for the young singer-songwriter.
“I am so, so, so excited. It’s the first original I’ve released in like, three years so I’m finally making new music and releasing it and I feel so amazing about it. “Girlfriend” is such a feel-good, sassy song and it’s so catchy, I felt like it would just be the perfect debut single release. Everyone’s always telling me it gets stuck in their head and it gets stuck in mine too. When I first heard the song I was like ‘oh I need to sing this’, and it was written by amazing writers like Ross Copperman — who’s a very talented Nashville songwriter. It’s just such a fun song, like everyone can sing along to it and it’s a little bit summery which I enjoy.”
Copperman, of course, is behind major chart hits like Florida Georgia Line’s “Confession”, Eli Young Band’s “Love Ain’t”, and Dierks Bentley’s “Women, Amen”. The chance to work with him was a big one. “The song was written by Ross Copperman, Logan Turner, and Cali Rodi. Those three wrote it together and they’re all incredible. I liked the song right off the bat and getting to have my first single be written by Ross Copperman was such a great opportunity and I feel definitely blessed to have that song because it is a really great one.”
Madysyn’s breakout is a little bit unorthodox. Her early claim to fame was a viral Facebook video posted by her father, a seemingly innocent move that sparked a career. “That was so unexpected and so just like, out of the blue crazy,” she says. “The video was taken at a singing camp that I was going to, and I didn’t have social media at the time, so it was just little Maddy wanting to become a singer at this singing camp and my dad was there filming me practice for an audition to get into one of the classes, and I was just going over the song that I was gonna sing and he just decided to randomly film it and it was just like this sweet little moment that he posted on his Facebook and overnight it got like, ten million views and then I think now it has twenty million. And I was so little, I didn’t have social media at the time, but people started to create accounts under my name and I was like ‘oh, they’re pretending to be me, I guess I should get social media’. So that’s kind of how I got my start. I created all my social accounts and then people who had watched the video went to follow me on all my socials.”
Madysyn’s breakout does exemplify a growing trend in the music industry; that is, the ability to build a fanbase through social media and the internet. “I think it’s definitely a lot easier to become an artist nowadays then it was way back when just because of social media and all the different streaming platforms we have. You can just make your music and put it out there to the world and I think it’s really great because a lot of people have been found through social media. Like, even Justin Bieber started on YouTube, like he would post his little singing videos of him on the street and he’s, you know, who he is now which is just crazy. And that was only a couple years ago and now it’s getting more and more where you can have your big break on social media which, I think it’s a great tool to be able to use in the music industry.”
As a rising female artist, Madysyn is wholly aware of the challenges inherent in the industry that relate to gender. “I’ve been in meetings before where they told me, not necessarily you won’t make it because you’re a woman but it’s way more difficult, especially as a country female artist. You know, we have so many male country artists and they all get played on the radio and then when it comes to women it’s just a smaller group and I was told every single female country artist, you know you have to sound completely different to the next, because you can’t do that style because we already have this female artist who sounds like that, but then you listen to the men and it’s like — there’s a lot of men who do have similar styles, but they still get played.”
She does also acknowledge the gradual changes we’re seeing, and sees hope for the future. “It’s definitely a difficult thing to hear, like the fact that it is more difficult if you’re a female. But it’s definitely changing, I feel like especially now, a lot of women are standing up for themselves and starting to get more radio time, more opportunities, which I think is great, so it’s definitely starting to change and I can see that, which is a great thing. It is hard to hear sometimes but if that’s how it is that’s how it is and you’ve just got to work harder until it’s fixed.”
A lot of the problems, of course, tie back to the importance of female role models in the industry, a topic Madysyn relates to. “When I was younger I had like, Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert to look up to, and I think it’s such an important thing because we need more — they’re icons, of course — but I think the more female artists we have and the more attention they’re getting and the more plays, the more the little girls out there who are looking up to these women, and who are like ‘I wanna be like you one day’, the more — I don’t want to say it’s easier, but it’s definitely more inspiring when there are all these women who are doing this. You feel like you have a bigger chance, you know.”
And when asked for an artist we should all be listening to, Madysyn excitedly endorsed a close friend of hers. “One of my really good friends out here in Nashville, Brianna Alomar — she’s absolutely incredible. She’s another country artist and I believe she’s 18 as well, so she’s young and up-and-coming, but her voice is absolutely incredible. I really resonated with her music and I think a ton of people out there will as well.”
Madysyn’s career is only just beginning, and the signs of a rewarding and exciting future are evident. For those following the country music scene, she’s an act more than worth keeping an eye on.