‘‘Es gracioso porque el otro día me probé una peluca que era igual de larga por ambos lados y parecía una persona totalmente distinta’’, se ríe Ava Max (1994, Estados Unidos), refiriéndose a su seña de identidad: el ‘Max Cut’, su corte de pelo con la melena un lado más larga que por el otro. Su rubio platino se ha hecho tan popular como el ‘dance pop’ de su álbum debut de 2020, ‘Heaven & Hell’. Por eso, me pregunto cómo se las arregla para ir a los sitios sin que la reconozcan. ‘‘Uso gorros de pescador, los tengo de todos los colores’’, explica.
The 27 -year -old artist, talks with us from her home in Los Angeles and, although the theme of her hair cannot be missing in conversation, the rest of her appearance is surprisingly discreet for a pop star that once presented himselfto the VMA's MTV gala dressed in superheroine.She also whom she has been compared to Lady Gaga in more than once.'' We both have a very theatrical sense of things and we like to wear daring clothes, '' she says, while she wears a dress of a small Venice Beach boutique below a black T -shirt by Brandy Melville and a couple of Converse.‘‘ Sports but feminine.Always a bit of both things.Maybe for the next albums I venture my head.But only half!Because duality will always be present in my life, ’she sentences.
Those who have followed Max since he reached success three years ago with the catchy ‘Sweet But Psychcho’ (with more than one billion views) will know what we are talking about.Because, like his hair and his way of dressing, it is the duality of his music that has made him stand out among his classmates.His first album could be divided into two parts: one with songs that they empowered and another with darker melodies, which explored the aspects of the emotions and ups and downs that life has reserved for us.
When this talk takes place, he is about to go on tour with Maroon 5. More than two years ago he does not.At the beginning of this, he locked himself in the recording studio to work on his second album (still without a title) and of which he does not want to reveal anything, since the release date is still far away.‘‘ It will make you dance and cry at the same time ’’, he confesses, next to the track that the single ‘Every time I cry’ (released last June) is similar to what the rest of the album will be like:
It is an interesting issue, since he has always kept silent about his.‘‘ Right now I am living a very confusing moment ’’, she laughs when I ask her if she still still without a partner.‘Let's say she hasn't done very well.I like to love, but I guess I have not yet achieved what I want ’.Maybe these issues have served him as therapy: ‘‘ That is.Everything was born from me.I didn't plan to make such a personal album, but anything I wrote had something to do with what was happening to me.They are letters that are very close ’.
This short distance is the key to the appeal it has. His achievements: a contract in 2016 with only 22 years or a place in the prestigious list of young talents ‘30 Under 30’ of Forbes in 2021. On paper, it may seem impressive, but its path to fame has not been easy. She was born in Wisconsin with the name of Amanda Koci and spent her childhood in Virginia. Her mother, opera singer, and her father, pianist, fled from Albania after the fall of communism in 1991. ‘When they arrived in the United States, with my seven -year -old brother, my mother was pregnant with me. They didn't know how to speak English, they had no money and had to work on three different places each to get ahead. They sacrifice themselves so much, that now I am willing to give them everything they want ’. She tells that she was very excited when she was able to buy a house in The Valley's family, a neighborhood not far from the one she currently lives in Los Angeles. ‘‘ People tell me: ‘You must be very happy, you want a lot of money’. But I don't see it that way. For me, it is a way of being able to help others ’. Seeing how her parents struggled has greatly influenced the way she has faced her musical career. ‘‘ I know that it sounds like Cliché, but I never surrender. I thought: ‘I have to do it, not only for me, but for my family too’. They renounced so many things, I couldn't give up. It does not enter my plans ’’.
There have been many occasions when those that, the easiest for Max (who adopted Ava's artistic name at age 14 when his family moved to Los Angeles), would have been to bend his knee.In fact, she wrote the single ‘Who’ S Laughing Now ’in response to how the music industry had treated her during those first moments.‘‘ At that time, I met many lyricists and producers, and nobody bothered to give me the time, ”he recalls.They laughed on my face and told me: ‘You will never get it.’It was very hard, I'm not going to deny it.I didn't know whether or not I would.But the only thing that was clear about this is what I liked to do ’.
Move to South Carolina when I was 15 years old, enroll in the institute - after years of home education - and try to lead a normal life only meant more problems.‘‘ They got with me because she was the new girl of the institute.I had never told this before, but a boy invited me to go out and we went to her parents' house.He tried to kiss me and the next thing I saw was a group of children looking out the window and laughing on my face.He told me: ‘I don't want to go out with you!Everything was a joke! ’That made me stronger.Every time I cry, I get a little stronger, ”he laughs.This is the letter of her last single, by the way.
Although, jokes apart, to overcome such a situation was not easy for her.‘‘ At that time, I thought the world sank under my feet.She didn't stop crying and she told my mother: "We have to leave.This is not my home.She wanted to lock myself in my room and stop going to class.But I matured a lot as a result of that, and very fast ’.Two years later, she was again in Los Angeles, back to music, and she still had to discover the darkest side of this industry.
‘‘ I wanted to do it in my way and meet with composers and producers, since I didn't know any ’’.Once he got his hole in a study, he dedicated himself to writing and recording demos, with the only result of the blackmail of the producers.‘‘ They played with me because they considered me a little girl.They used to say: ‘If you do this, I can do this another’ ’.The most complicated question comes: was sexual harassment?''Yes.It is hard to say it in an interview.They told me that I had to sign a confidentiality agreement, but I refused.You have to be careful with sexual harassment at work.You are there and you must stay alert.Now I am surrounded by incredible people but, then, nobody knew me, nor supported me.
The turning point in his professional career was to know, in 2014, the Canadian record producer Circut, who has worked with a multitude of artists such as Rihanna or The Weeknd.He was having a drink with his boyfriend, while Circut celebrated his birthday.He sang the mythical congratulatory song and the rest, as they say, is history.‘‘ Now it produces all my work and it is everything for me ’’.
As for the future, being a poster head of a world tour and collaborating with other artists is what you most want at the moment.He loves Rita Ora, Baby Rexha, Dua Lipa and, recently, has launched a collaboration with Charli XCX.‘‘ I didn't know her and, when we stayed to write the lyrics, I said: ‘Wow, you are the friendliest person in the world’ ’.But, above all, she wants to continue writing hymns to empower.‘That is my number one goal.It is important to encourage people.When someone is depressed, he puts the radio and feels a little better, right? ’And how is a singer encouraged to empower others, especially in these times of Covid?
‘‘ At the beginning of quarantine, I was so afraid that I didn't want to go out.She disinfected all the food.I became crazy.It was a hard blow to my mental health, because my way of conceiving the world changed and the uncertainty invaded me ’.To overcome those bad moments, she scored five things every day for which she was grateful and listened to her favorite music.‘‘ When I have anxiety, the only song that helps me is ‘sos’ by Rihanna.I also go out to take the Aire and I see comedies of the 2000s. I love any of Drew Barrymore! ’’.
Social networks can be a challenge for mental health, especially when you have 2.3 million followers on Instagram and almost 5 million on YouTube.‘‘ I usually publish a ‘selfie’ when I wake up, feeling with my feet on the ground, as if I could conquer the world.Other days, when I do not feel pretty, I compare myself with the girls who have undergone many plastic surgeries.Sometimes it is impossible not to do it: Instagram is like a well where you sink ’.Therefore, he acknowledges that he does not like to see what people write about her.‘‘ I prefer to focus on the positive.I am a little fearful, yes.But also brave.The duality of Ava Max.
Hairdressing: Marty Harper by Wall Group.Makeup: Kale Teter of Wall Group.Deputy Editor and Brand Director: Chloe O'Brien.Cover styling: ‘Body’ by Brandon Maxwell, Nina Ricci skirt, agent provocateur corset, Chloe Gosselin boots, Pandora rings.
