Two-time Grammy nominee Madison Beer is offering a closer look at the making of “bittersweet,” the emotional new single from her upcoming third studio album “Locket,” set to be released January 16. The track follows her first single from the project, “Yes Baby,” and marks her return to music after her album “Silence Between Songs,” released in September 2023. Beer said “bittersweet” emerged from a moment she felt compelled to document, calling it a turning point in the deeply personal world she explores throughout the new album.
In an interview for Variety’s Behind the Song presented by TikTok, Beer reveals that her fans played a meaningful role in shaping the sound of her new work. “I am very close with my fans and their opinions definitely mean a lot to me,” she said. Touring, she added, gives her immediate feedback about which moments resonate most. “I can see what people are reacting to; the moments of the show they post the most,” she said. Her fans also inspired her to bring back ad-libs, something she used heavily early in her career but later moved away from. “My fans are always like, ‘Girl, you do so much fun stuff on stage — do it in your songs,’” she said. Their encouragement led her to include subtle ad-libs in “bittersweet,” helping her reconnect with a part of her artistry she once loved: “I fell in love with doing ad-libs again because of this song.”
The song itself began when Beer felt compelled to process a difficult emotional experience through music. “I was going through something very emotional and real and I was like, ‘I need to write about this. It feels insane not to,’” she said. Though the track centers on heartbreak, she said it reflects a larger personal evolution. “I can be bitter over things, but I’m choosing to be bittersweet,” she chuckles.
Beer’s longtime collaboration with music producer Tim Sommers — known professionally as One Love — played a key role in shaping the track. The two have worked together since 2016, a partnership Beer believes has helped fuel her artistic growth. “We have a language,” she explained. “I can say, ‘Make that weirder,’ which isn’t a technical thing to say, and he knows exactly what I mean.”
Together, they leaned into unusual textures and nostalgic tones throughout the track, including synth moments that reminded Beer of early-2000s video game, “Super Mario Galaxy.” She noted her enduring affection for “anything that’s distorted and kind of weird sounding.”
In the bridge, the song shifts into a more confrontational tone. “There has to be a moment where you’re like, ‘No, you did me dirty,’” she said. She incorporated that emotional shift into the song before returning to a final note of acceptance. “At the end of the day, you’ll know I tried my best with you,” she said.
Beer also spoke about the growing attention around the “bittersweet” music video — which has surpassed 8.9 million views on YouTube — featuring Sean Kaufman, who portrays Steven Conklin in the hit series “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” She admitted she hadn’t seen the show before casting him. “I am totally a fraud and I have never seen ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty,’” she confessed, adding that her unfamiliarity ultimately made their collaboration easier. “If I’m a fan of yours, I can’t even look you in the eye,” she admitted. “We just became friends instantly.” Beer joked that now that he has appeared in her video, she plans to watch the series and is “team Steven, of course.”
Watch this episode of Variety’s Behind the Song with Madison Beer above.