Madison McWilliams is our Next Up Artist of the Week!
The young talent stopped by 102.7 KIIS FM for an exclusive performance and interview with EJ. McWilliams hails from Austin, Texas and discussed her recent performance at SXSW, as well as what it's like to be a pop star coming from a city that mainly produces alternative or grassroots singers.
Check it out below!
At just 16 years old, Madison McWilliams is the official spokesperson for the Kindness Campaign's The Art of Kindness, a charity which promotes art through kindness and anti-bullying. The charity is also paired with Lady Gaga's Born This Way foundation. She performed at their "Kindnesspalooza" at SXSW!
McWilliams also discussed her song "Living for the Weekend" which highlights the consequences of partying too hard. She talks about the harms of underage drinking and going out every weekend. She emphasizes the importance of living your whole life to the fullest and focusing on the important things!
Growing up, McWilliams had a wide variety of musical influences. Her first concert was Celine Dion in Las Vegas when she was just 6 or 7 years old! Even at this young of an age, she knew that she wanted to be a performer just like Dion.
"She's a great example of a strong, empowered woman and I feel like that really resonated with me. Her voice is just phenomenal," said McWilliams.
McWilliams is continuing to develop her skillset, now taking on songwriting. She explained that she wrote all the lyrics and melodies on "Living for the Weekend."
In terms of the writing process, each song is different. In some situations, she will come up with lyrics off the top of her head and continue from there. Other times, she will hear a beat and add lyrics to it based on that. Sometimes she even comes up with a song title based on a phrase she heard someone say!
At the moment, McWilliams' biggest song is "Melodramatic." The song has over 77 thousand streams on Spotify and 122 thousand views on YouTube! The music video is very colorful and bright, showing her in a field of flowers as well as at a tea party with cupcakes.
Watch the video below.