MADELLINE
Invites You to Uncover “Mary Poppins core” with “Uh Uh (outside)””
Photographer/Editor: GRACIE GIANOUKOS
Stylist/Designer: TWIGGY MOORE
Writer: ERIN TATUM
Madelline has always been a musical girlie. “I would say that being in theater, choir, and band really shaped me into the artist that I am today,” she reflects. “I love the sounds of flutes, trumpets, and orchestral sounds. I love dramatic elements. I love playing parts in my songs and playing different characters. My exposure to those things growing up helped shape that in addition to my parents playing a lot of eclectic music around the house.” This artistic nursery is finally yielding ripening fruit. “Music is so endless, and there’s always ways to push barriers or push boundaries or explore other parts of myself. As I’ve gotten more comfortable with myself as a person, I feel like I’ve been more free to explore different topics and try different things out.”
Such a moment is the culmination of a quest for self-love that fills Madelline with reflective jubilation.“The shoe finally fits. The jacket finally fits. It’s so funny because I spent so much time running away from who I felt like I genuinely was at my core. I spent a long time trying not to be this big theatrical, expressive person. I wanted to have a voice more like Clairo or a more chill, soft voice, which is amazing, but that’s not me. Now I’m going full circle back to who I’ve always been since I was a kid at my core. And that’s what makes me stand out. That’s what is authentic to me. That’s what I can do better than anyone else because that’s who I am. I’m not trying to be something I’m not.”
She strives to infuse her performances with unforgettable theatricality. These elaborate displays enhance and embolden her craft. “A lot of my exploration as an artist and my experience as an artist is following where my curiosity, my excitement, and my joy leads me. For example, I love to have theatrical moments in my songs and especially in my album that I’m making right now. It makes me
feel good to have these fun, playful moments and to accentuate that because it’s just what I do naturally and it’s how I have fun. That’s how I like to guide my project.” A smile creeps across her face at the thought of blending her two great passions. “I’m so excited to highlight the parts of myself that make me shine and that feel good to me.”
The theatrics carry onward! Madelline’s new single, “Uh Uh (outside)” cheekily salutes those nights at the club that are just the right amount of unhinged.
“I did the session for that song when I had just moved to LA. I was working with this artist Emeline and this producer Boy Blue, and we were listening to a lot of Gwen Stefani and Fergie in the studio before and watching their music videos on a flat screen above the producer’s setup. That definitely bled into the song. It’s a fun, sexy, bad bitch anthem. It’s a callback to some of my older songs that are from my EP Noise Complaint that are a little more vibey and fun and a little less lyrical. The intro almost sounds like a Mary Poppins vintage movie. That part of the song melds all my worlds together well and makes the song make sense and contextualizes it in my project.”
The track marks the crystallization of “Mary Poppins core,” irreverently combining pop and theater. “I’m creating this new sound that’s theatrical and vintage and dramatic and then the core part indicates a more modern twist. It’s blending together two genres - blending theater with dance and modern elements, basically.” Madelline emphasizes the importance of releasing your inhibitions to become who you’re meant to be. “It feels good when people resonate with my art. It feels extra satisfying because I’m trusting myself. I’m not listening to a lot of different voices in my head or different people or outside sources. Obviously this career is tough and it has a lot of highs and lows, and I think that’s one of the things that really makes it all worth it, especially when you’ve done that and then fans are resonating with it. They’re coming to your performances, singing your songs, supporting you, and that is just so satisfying.”
She also preaches the potential and potency of renewal. Every day is a new opportunity for a more fully realized personhood. “I find it boring to try to create what’s expected of me over and over again. That’s just not the artist I am. Sometimes I think that I should stick to doing something because that will give me more sustainability in my career, but I realized it’s not worth it.
Sacrificing that isn’t worth it. Following what excites you and what interests you can actually lead you to more success. I think I’ve felt stuck in what would be the way to market this and become this and make this work for myself. But then I just find that it makes me feel so stifled and anxious, whereas when I open myself up to reinvention and possibilities, it makes me feel so open and excited and inspired.”
To Madelline, agency is synonymous with having the autonomy to celebrate the spontaneity of life‘s changes. “Living freely to me feels like being present in the moment, being grateful for what you have around you, and just finding beauty in the little things in life. I think it is a sense of presence, and just following what feels good to you without changing yourself to please other people. It’s letting yourself shine and letting the people who resonate with you come to you. Do the things in your life that bring you joy. That’s what living freely is to me - not worrying about expectations or judgments or putting time limits on things for yourself. Living freely also feels like self-belief, and it feels like being spontaneous to me as well.” Find that happiness by streaming “Uh Uh (outside)” now. v