As she prepares to release her third studio album Locket on 16 January, we chat to US popstar Madison Beer about finding confidence, making peace with the negative aspects of the music industry, and her affection for her Irish fans.
Madison Beer is waxing lyrical about her love of Ireland.
“I always tell people that driving through Ireland is my favourite part of tours because the countryside is so beautiful,” she tells RTÉ Entertainment.
“I don’t know what route we take, but we always end up in the middle of nowhere in Ireland! It’s so beautiful. And I see so many sheep, I absolutely love it.
“I really enjoy Ireland because I think it’s one of the most beautiful places on earth. And then the fans are so fun. What is the chant you guys do?”
“Olé, olé, olé?”, I offer.
“Yeah! I look forward to that every show,” she laughs. “I think it’s a really awesome place. I love Dublin. I’m excited to get back there.”
Madison Beer: “I really enjoy Ireland because I think it’s one of the most beautiful places on earth.”
Beer last performed in Ireland when she brought The Spinnin Tour to Dublin’s 3Arena in March 2024. The 26-year-old American singer-songwriter is now preparing to release her third studio album, Locket, on 16 January, which will be bringing her on the road again.
It follows 2023’s Silence Between Songs, widely considered her most introspective album, and her 2021 debut Life Support. From the songs I’ve heard so far, there’s a mix of stone-cold dance bangers (Yes Baby, Make You Mine) and pop anthems (Bittersweet) in store for fans.
“I can’t believe that it’s coming out, I’m just pumped!”, she says. “I feel really proud of this music, it feels very authentic to who I am. I’ve worked to get to this place where my music just feels like me.”
The popstar puts the progression down to finding confidence.
“With Silence Between Songs, I just wanted to tell my story, and I was also writing a book simultaneously. I was in this mindset of telling the stories [I] haven’t told and showing my deep side and introspective side.
“With this one, I was like, ‘I did that and I feel like I can be more free now’. There are songs that are super deep, but Locket feels like a really fun version. I do feel more confident and I also feel less pressure because I’m making music for me and my fans – and that’s kind of it.”
Madison Beer says her new album Locket “feels very authentic to who I am”
Part of that confidence comes from pushing herself vocally – showing her fervent fanbase what she’s capable of in the studio.
“That was definitely a goal going into it. Coming off of tour, I was like, ‘I really want to sing more on this album’. I feel like I don’t push myself vocally all the time and I had a really fun time doing that with Locket.
“I love singing – obviously, it’s my favorite thing to do. I definitely tried to push myself to sing a bit more this time around.”
The 26-year-old popstar has been a fixture in the music industry since she was just 13, when Justin Bieber shared a YouTube video of her preternaturally gifted cover of Etta James’s At Last in 2012.
She remembers thinking her break into the music industry was “the coolest thing ever”.
“I couldn’t believe that it was happening to me and I was getting this chance,” she says. “I didn’t really understand I was signing up for the rest of my life, I guess, as such a young kid.
“And I didn’t really anticipate all that I was giving up. I don’t regret anything, but I think that maybe I was a bit too young.”
Since then she has had a fair few ups and downs in the industry – including being dropped by her record label at the age of 16.
“I don’t regret anything, but I think that maybe I was a bit too young.”
She has a philosophical approach to success now, and is navigating her way through the music industry on her own terms.
“I’ve come to peace with all of the negative stuff that comes with it. I’m ok at the end of the day, no matter what,” she says. “That’s what’s really important – regardless of how things perform or how my career goes, I will feel ok.
“That’s like a very big improvement for me from where I was a couple of years ago, where all my self-worth was dependent on how things performed and how I did in my career. I just don’t think that’s healthy.
“There’s no point in doing this if I’m not having fun”, she continues. “What is it all for? I just don’t think that should be everything. I love everything I do, but I think there is more to life.”
Beer admits that her first tour, Life Support in 2021, was “brutal” and “really intense”.
“It was just hard on me, it was just too much, honestly. I was doing 4 shows back-to-back and I felt like I got no days off,” she says.
“There’s no point in doing this if I’m not having fun.”
Things have improved as her career has progressed, and she has found “a community on the road”, which is comforting for any future tours.
“I am close with my band, I’m close with all my crew personnel, my management – I really feel not lonely. I miss my cats for sure!,” she says.
“Tour is kind of what you make of it. I’m very lucky to be living my literal dreams when I’m on the road and seeing the whole world through this lens. It’s the coolest thing ever, I do really enjoy it, but it wasn’t always the case. I’m happy that I’ve come around.”
As well as a less punishing schedule, Beer is exerting a lot of creative control over her music videos, which she conceptualises and co-directs. As a “huge movie fan”, this is massively important to her.
“It’s been a really exciting part of my career, but it’s something that I’ve always loved to do,” she explains. “When I was younger, I was editing my own fake music videos as a kid, I love the whole process of it all. I feel very connected to myself when I do these things.”
She says that’d be “the dream” to move into film or television in the future, saying she would “love to write and direct a movie of some kind or a TV show”.
“I’m just excited to keep going down this journey.”
As for music, “just connecting with people” is her primary aim as she heads into 2026.
“I think the charts and numbers and all those things are really cool, and I’m always excited when I get them, but it’s not why I do this, it’s really not,” she says. “I do this for the love of the art and love of performing and connecting with people.”
That being said, the music star has got some big ticket items on her bucket list.
“I would say selling out Madison Square Garden is my biggest dream for sure. I’d love to win a Grammy at some point, it’s all very cool! I’m just excited to keep going down this journey,” she says.
“I’m so excited for 2026. I think it’s going to be an amazing year.”