Many people will be unfamiliar with singer Madison Beer’s story. How did she first become famous?
Madison Beer was discovered by Justin Bieber in 2012 while she was uploading song covers to YouTube. Bieber signed Beer to Island Records and she released a couple of singles with the label. Following creative differences, Beer left Island and began releasing music while unsigned.
For more on Madison Beer’s early career and how she found fame, read on.
Madison Beer
Madison Elle Beer was born on March 5, 1999, in Jericho, New York. She is from a Jewish family and has a younger brother, Ryder.
She has shared the story of she was riding in a car with her mother on Long Island at 11 years old. Justin Bieber’s single “One Time” began playing on the radio and Beer, who had never heard him before, said that she would be friends with Justin Bieber one day.
This innocent remark was proven to show a great deal of foresight just a year later.
Getting Discovered
In 2012, Beer first started uploading videos of herself singing covers of popular songs. After uploading three other songs, she uploaded a cover of Etta James’s “At Last”.
Despite having had no previous interaction with Beer, the video found its way to Justin Bieber and he posted a link to the video on his Twitter account. Bieber’s significant reach on social media saw Beer trending on Twitter and drawing the attention of mainstream media.
Beer was signed by Bieber, joining Island Records, and was managed by Scooter Braun, who had discovered Bieber in a similar manner some years earlier.
Her first meaningful act under Island Records was recording a theme for “Monster High”, entitled “We Are Monster High”.
Beer’s true debut single was “Melodies”, released on September 12, 2013, with a video featuring Bieber in a guest role.
She began working on her first album, which was said to be influenced by R&B and pop music. For reasons unknown to the public, the album was seemingly scrapped and Beer has spoken about her need to be happy with music she produces.
Her second single, “Unbreakable”, was released on June 17, 2014, and she made a guest appearance in DJ Majo’s “I Won’t Let You Walk Away”, followed by her third single “All For Love”.
Despite her youth and the remarkable way she first gained attention, Beer felt unfulfilled by her association with Island Records. Her early singles had not gained traction with the public, failing to chart in any country, and her album had been abandoned.
In a more recent interview, Beer has said Island Records wanted her to use “melodies and teeny-bop”, something she was uninterested in but felt that her age meant she had no power to stand up for herself.
Beer and Island Records went their separate ways in 2016 and Beer has called the period very difficult, saying that she felt the parting labeled her as a failure and made any other label reluctant to give her another chance.
Hiatus and Return
Rather than chasing a new record deal, Beer took a hiatus from her music career, saying that she “wasn’t well”. She had been discovered at an early age and felt she needed to take time to herself.
She recorded her first EP, “As She Pleases”, over the next three years and released the singles while unsigned.
Her single “Home With You” released on March 10, 2018, and peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart in August of that year. She was the only female solo artist to chart without being signed to a major label.
In August 2019, Beer announced that she had signed with Epic Records and was recording her debut album, half a decade after her planned debut album had been abandoned.