There\u2019s a lot going on in Maggie Lindemann\u2019s new album, as the title I Feel Everything clearly suggests. But the theme that stands out the most is heartbreak. Although the 27-year-old singer values her private life, she knows that listeners will try to decode what inspired these songs \u2014 and that\u2019s the hardest part about releasing them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hate anyone knowing anything. That scares me,\u201d Lindemann tells Elite Daily. \u201cI’ll put it out and people can say what they want, and I’ll just really never talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Several songs on the album, which released on Oct. 17, seem to be aimed at an ex, including the biting lyrics of \u201cevil,\u201d the primordial howl of \u201clet me burn,\u201d and the sad realization of \u201cmourning.\u201d For Lindemann, it\u2019s easy to be vulnerable in the songwriting process, but it\u2019s tough to let the rest of the world in on the intimate details of her life. \u201cI think I struggle with honesty,\u201d Lindemann says. \u201cI feel like I want to protect people that hurt me, and I don’t like airing things out. But unfortunately, I do write about my real-life experiences, so that will come out in music. Even though it is my story to tell, I hate that feeling. I get anxious about that.\u201d<\/p>\n
I pushed myself to write an angry song because I was angry, and I had a right to be angry.<\/p>\n
Lindemann singles out \u201cevil\u201d as the most difficult track to write. On the scathing diss, she calls out a \u201cman that never knew good\u201d who can \u201cplay the victim so well.\u201d \u201cYou\u2019re not sad, you\u2019re just evil,\u201d she seethes in the chorus. \u201cThat hurt me to write, because I\u2019m not an angry person. I don\u2019t hold grudges,\u201d Lindemann says. \u201cBut I pushed myself to write an angry song because I was angry, and I had a right to be angry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Christopher Polk\/Billboard\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
I Feel Everything is a massive departure from Lindemann\u2019s musical beginnings. She first blew up in 2016 with her empowerment pop hit \u201cPretty Girl<\/a>,\u201d a song she\u2019s had complicated feelings about over the past decade. \u201cAs I’ve grown, I can really respect what that song did for me,\u201d Lindemann says. \u201cI don’t relate to it as much anymore, but I definitely have a great appreciation for it.\u201d<\/p>\n While Lindemann\u2019s sound has changed, the superstars she admires are still the ones she idolized as a kid. Below, she reveals the three musicians who have had the biggest impact on her.<\/p>\n Lana Del ReyPascal Le Segretain\/Getty Images Entertainment\/Getty Images<\/p>\n As an avid Tumblr girl back in the 2010s, it only makes sense for Lindemann to count the artsy site\u2019s queen Lana Del Rey<\/a> as one of her biggest inspirations. \u201cShe was Tumblr personified,\u201d Lindemann raves. She describes first hearing Del Rey\u2019s 2012 album Born to Die as a \u201cliterally life-changing\u201d experience.<\/p>\n \u201cI couldn’t believe it when I first heard that,\u201d Lindemann says. \u201cI was a really big fan of \u2018This Is What Makes Us Girls,\u2019 and of course the big ones, like \u2018Blue Jeans\u2019 and \u2018Video Games.\u2019 That whole album literally paved a completely new direction for music.\u201d<\/p>\n Lindemann continues to look to Del Rey for inspiration in terms of music, aesthetics, and more generally, how to live an authentic life. \u201cShe\u2019s always so cool and just true to herself,\u201d Lindemann says. \u201cEven now, she has changed her aesthetic, but she’s stayed so herself and nonconforming. She just married an alligator tour guide<\/a>! Even her smoking cigarettes on stage. All those little things, it’s just she’s so human and so authentically her.\u201d<\/p>\n She\u2019s fully on board with Del Rey\u2019s new Western era<\/a>. \u201cI’m excited for the country album,\u201d Lindemann says. \u201cShe\u2019s calling it Stove, which is so funny. I love her album names.\u201d<\/p>\n EvanescenceAnne-Marie Forker\/Redferns\/Getty Images<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to see how Lindemann was influenced by Evanescence on I Feel Everything \u2014 many of her new songs blend operatic vocals with hard rock production, which is a staple of the Amy Lee-led group. Lindemann has been a devotee of their sound since her childhood.<\/p>\n \u201cI had to have been 6 when I first heard them,\u201d Lindemann says. \u201cMy mom listened to a lot of Evanescence when I was really little. The Fallen cover art is such a core memory. I thought it was so cool. We would always sing \u2018Bring Me To Life\u2019 in the car. I was this little kid screaming, \u2018Wake me up!\u2019<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n Although Lindemann didn\u2019t have a full-on goth phase, she still felt very inspired by the Evanescence look. \u201cI was more on the emo side than goth, but I loved the white makeup, the hair, all of it. I wished I could do it, but I didn\u2019t,\u201d Lindemann says. \u201cI always listened to the scene and grunge music, but I didn’t dress like it.\u201d<\/p>\n She hasn\u2019t officially met Lee yet, but Lindemann dreams of one day collaborating with her. \u201cIt would definitely be something hard: a heavier production with our vocals,\u201d Lindemann imagines. \u201cI would love that.\u201d<\/p>\n Gwen StefaniAmy Sussman\/Getty Images Entertainment\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Another one of Lindemann\u2019s childhood car songs is \u201cHollaback Girl.\u201d \u201cI had to have been a literal baby the first time I heard that,\u201d Lindemann says. \u201cMy mom loved Gwen Stefani so much.\u201d<\/p>\n