Ava Max shares her creative process behind some of her hit singles including: “My Oh My,” “Whatever” and “Sweet But Psycho.” She dives in-depth about her collaborations with Kygo, David Guetta, Tiësto and why she emphasizes the importance of vulnerability and authenticity in creating her music. She explains her new era, what it was like to make a track for Barbie, how she handles criticism along with her mental health, dream collaborations with Bad Bunny, J Balvin and more!
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00:00that my music heals.
00:01That's my number one, number one goal always.
00:03I just really hope my music continues to heal.
00:06Hey, I'm Ava Max, and you're watching Billboard News.
00:09♪♪
00:12The song is,
00:13Tell me why this was the one to establish this new era.
00:16♪ I'm like my, oh my, baby, this my kind of night ♪
00:20I wanted to start this era with no heartbreak attached
00:25and no man attached to it,
00:27because this is the beginning, I feel like, of me.
00:32It almost feels like my first album coming out.
00:35That is a heavy statement,
00:36and what do you feel like this era
00:38or this new form of music is gonna say about the new you?
00:41I mean, for the first time,
00:43I'm really finding myself honing in on, like, healing.
00:49I mean, it's funny.
00:51We see, like, healing era all over,
00:52like, TikTok and Instagram.
00:53I really feel like this is everyone's healing era,
00:56and so I just wanted to release a record
00:58that made everyone feel incredible and have fun
01:02and just feel like they can just go out
01:04with their girlfriends or their guys
01:06and not think about anything relationship-related
01:08and just be their best selves.
01:10I mean, you heard me. I already had it stuck in my head
01:12when you walked in. I'm like, 90s paparazzi.
01:14Like, the lyrics are so fun,
01:16so tell me, like, what was the inspiration?
01:17Was there a night you went out
01:19or what helped you write those lyrics?
01:20First of all, thank you.
01:21I'm really excited you liked the song.
01:23We never know. Like, I feel like as artists,
01:26anyone's gonna like our songs, right?
01:27So when I put it out, I just really just let it out
01:31and just let it do its thing,
01:32and the response has been so beautiful.
01:35And I don't know. Like, I'm just freaking out
01:37that people are loving it. That's all I can ask for.
01:40And then now that, you know, you're having fun with this era,
01:42tell me about filming the music video,
01:44because that was a good time, as well.
01:45That was fun.
01:46So I wanted something, like, 90s, early 2000s grunge dance.
01:50Like, no storyline, just a fun club vibe.
01:53And so we found this, like, warehouse.
01:55I just wanted it to be just about the dance.
01:57I wanted people to feel the energy.
01:58I wanted the whole video to be dance.
02:00You know, growing up, I watched
02:01a lot of Britney Spears' music videos, as we all did.
02:04Yes. After finishing the song,
02:08I wanted it to just be about the energy
02:11and the dance and nothing else.
02:13And I think when I finished the music video
02:16and I watched it back, as I was doing it,
02:18I was a little concerned because it didn't have a storyline.
02:20I really enjoyed it.
02:21Oh, we're definitely gonna talk a lot of bit,
02:23a little bit more about dancing and all of that.
02:25But I want to ask you, too, about your style,
02:26because you're always killing it.
02:27Do you feel like the kind of 90s vibe
02:29is also inspiring, like, where you're going fashion-wise?
02:31I feel like it depends on my mood when I wake up.
02:34I could be in all pink one morning or in all black.
02:38It depends on how I feel.
02:40But I am more of, like, a comfort-first girl.
02:44So let's talk about more music that you've been putting out.
02:46Whatever got over 115 million streams.
02:49Whatever, whatever took his life forever.
02:53I've never seen it.
02:55Tell me how it was working with Kygo on that track.
02:57Those numbers still freak me out a little bit.
02:59But Kygo is such an amazing human.
03:03I've been wanting to work with Kygo for a few years now.
03:06So when he sent over the record, I freaked out.
03:11I was like, OK, you know what?
03:12I'm going to try this out in the studio.
03:13And it worked out.
03:14And he's been amazing to work with.
03:16You're talking about Kygo, but you
03:18also work with David Guetta as well.
03:20So how is it to work with these massive dance artists?
03:23And is that where you see your music going?
03:26I mean, I live moment to moment.
03:28I try not to overthink things.
03:32So when the opportunity presented itself,
03:35of course, I jumped to it.
03:37And especially the past two, when I worked with TSO
03:39and David Guetta, it just felt right in the moment.
03:43I visualize a lot of things, but I'm not
03:45going to force anything.
03:46Even when I'm making a song, I'm not going to be like,
03:49OK, it doesn't feel right now, but it
03:51might feel right tomorrow.
03:52No, if it doesn't feel right in the moment for me,
03:54I'm not going to work on it.
03:55Because I live on that feeling, that first gut instinct.
03:59I mean, that's so cool to me.
04:00You say it so casually.
04:01Like, when I work with TSO, TSO, David Guetta, Kygo,
04:04these are massive dance artists.
04:06So when you've been able to have that in your career so far,
04:09is there a dance artist that you haven't worked with yet
04:11that might be on your list?
04:12Ooh, ooh, I haven't really thought about that.
04:16I mean, I love Bad Bunny and Dave Alvin.
04:19Maybe go into a little bit of a Spanish genre more.
04:23I mean, I did do something with Pablo Alboran a few years back,
04:26and that was incredible, going to Spain
04:27and shooting that music video with him.
04:29And I just love the culture so much.
04:30So maybe I would love, yeah, a Spanish feature, to be honest.
04:34I can leave the Spanish.
04:35I'm David Maxack.
04:36We're waiting on it.
04:37And then, so as dance, do you feel like your favorite genre?
04:39Is that the one that's always inspired you the most?
04:42Yes, for sure, because I love to dance.
04:44So I've danced since I was probably seven or eight years old.
04:47So if I can't dance to something, it's
04:50a little harder for me to put it out,
04:52because I want to enjoy it as well, you know?
04:54But obviously, we have the emotional records,
04:58but I also make them dance.
05:00So I need to figure out now, like, all right,
05:03let's get a little vulnerable and maybe just sit on this.
05:06Just sit with this one.
05:08Maybe later in the year, I'll release something slower.
05:10Maybe.
05:11But no, I mean, we love to see you dancing.
05:13Is that something that you think
05:14about when you're recording?
05:15Like, do you think about the stage, the choreography,
05:17and kind of, like, where you want to go with that?
05:19Always.
05:20Every song I make, I visualize it first.
05:23And I'm, like, instantly seeing it or not.
05:26With My Oh My, I actually saw some of the dance in my head.
05:29I choreographed it with a choreographer friend
05:32that I worked on it with.
05:33But I choreographed a lot of that myself.
05:35I mean, I love to choreograph a lot of my moves.
05:38That is awesome.
05:39I don't think I knew that.
05:40So were you in dance, like, your whole life?
05:41Like, did you take dance as a kid?
05:43Yeah, I'm a little bit of a perfectionist, though.
05:45Like, I dabble in editing in my music videos.
05:48I really have my hands on everything.
05:51Or else, I don't feel like it feels like me.
05:54And also, my vision doesn't come across.
05:56So I kind of take the extra time on everything,
06:00which is a little exhausting for me.
06:02But in the end, it's so worth it.
06:03And I love it.
06:04So what do you feel like, in your career,
06:06is the part you are most excited to do?
06:09Is it the recording, the dancing, the performing?
06:11Like, which one gives you the most excitement?
06:13Performing.
06:13But making a record, of course.
06:14But if I had to put it in order, there's
06:17nothing like being in front of a crowd
06:19and hearing them scream the lyrics
06:22and dancing to your music.
06:23And feeling that energy back, that exchange of energy,
06:26is just so exhilarating and incredible
06:29that I can't even express the feeling properly.
06:32Because it's just so, it gives me life when I'm on stage.
06:37I feel like I'm gaining years to my life, which sounds crazy.
06:40But I feel like I'm also doing the same back.
06:42So it's a beautiful experience.
06:45Oh, that is beautiful.
06:46And of course, with pop stars like yourself,
06:48I feel like a lot of times, they're
06:49compared to other people.
06:50Like, you have Tate McRae going through the Britney Spears
06:52comparisons right now.
06:53But I feel like, in some ways, I feel
06:54like you kind of escape that.
06:55Do you feel like you've been compared to a lot of people,
06:57or are you in your own lane?
06:58I think none of us escape that, you know, as artists.
07:02I've been compared to a lot of people in the beginning.
07:05But I think it always falls off, you know?
07:07The consistency is everything.
07:08So if you stay consistent as an artist,
07:11honestly, if anyone's watching this and they're a new artist,
07:13just know that that will fall off.
07:15You just have to keep going.
07:17And the hardest thing to do, I think,
07:19is be consistent and keep going.
07:20But that's the most crucial thing.
07:22And, I mean, you have been consistent.
07:23So who would you say are some of the artists that did
07:26inspire you to be who you are today?
07:27You were talking about Britney Spears.
07:28And that made me think about, oh my god,
07:30I used to record every music video and learn choreography.
07:33So I'm glad to hear somebody else did that, too.
07:36I mean, it wasn't just Britney Spears.
07:37It was Destiny's Child.
07:38And obviously, when Beyonce went and did her own stuff.
07:41Like, I mean, it was everyone growing up
07:44in the late 90s, early 2000s.
07:46I was so inspired at the time.
07:48My eyes are glued on the screen, on the computer.
07:51And then you said, you know, you've been consistent.
07:53So since 2018, when you've kind of been on the scene
07:55in such a big way, what do you think
07:57has changed the most about you?
07:59I'm a little bit more carefree.
08:01Although, growing up, I have always been like, whatever.
08:04I don't care what anyone thinks of me.
08:06And I'll just, I'm kind of an out of the box.
08:08I was like that as a kid, too, person.
08:10And in school, I didn't care what people thought.
08:12And I did weird things.
08:14But it's gotten to the point now where I'm just like,
08:17it's expanded to a place where, like, I found myself.
08:22And also, still, I keep a bubble around me.
08:25I don't let negative comments get to me.
08:28And I think that's super important.
08:32Mental health is number one for me.
08:33Whatever I do, mental health is number one.
08:35And is that easy to do?
08:37Like, I can't imagine, like, even, like,
08:39when you're avoiding comments or feedback
08:40on, like, an album or a post, even.
08:43Nothing's easy, right?
08:44Everything takes work.
08:46It's a habit.
08:47I've been trying to change little things every day.
08:50So, like, maybe not read them every day.
08:52Maybe give a little space with me and my phone, you know?
08:55It's a time limit.
08:57Because it does get to me.
08:58I'm human, right?
08:59But I also am like, you know, people
09:02will talk bad because sometimes they want attention.
09:05And I look at it that way.
09:07And it helps me when I read something bad.
09:10Well, listen, I don't think you're
09:11going to be hearing a lot of bad stuff
09:12because my own mind's a bum, OK, girl?
09:14Now, let's talk about, like, let's rewind
09:16and go back to Sweet But Psycho.
09:17Oh, sweet, sweet but a psycho, a little bit psycho.
09:21Like, talk me through that time period.
09:23And how did it feel when that song was, like, everywhere
09:26and you were like, oh, wait, I did it.
09:27I did it.
09:28That was a crazy feeling.
09:30I remember being in this massive sprinter.
09:34I think I was in Finland.
09:36And yeah, it was.
09:37Why were you in Finland?
09:38Because the moment Sweet But Psycho took off,
09:40it went number one in a lot of countries in Europe first.
09:42So Sweden, Finland, Norway, it went number one.
09:45And I had to go over there overseas.
09:47Actually, it was my first time going over to Europe.
09:48I had never traveled, really.
09:50Wow.
09:51I was a studio rat.
09:52I lived in the studio for, like, 10 years.
09:54But after that, I got to travel the world and see my fans
09:57and also promote my first song, Sweet But Psycho.
10:02And I think when I heard it for the first time,
10:04I was in the sprinter, right, with everybody.
10:06I heard Sweet But Psycho on the radio for the first time.
10:07And I remember, like, crying because I was like,
10:10this isn't real.
10:11Like, I almost, like, is it imposter syndrome?
10:14Or I felt, like, almost like it wasn't real.
10:17That is so cool.
10:18And did you feel that song was special?
10:20Like, did you know that was the one that
10:22represented you the best?
10:23Yes, because I am sometimes sweet and a little psycho.
10:28I think we all are.
10:29Yeah.
10:31And then you also got to work on the Barbie soundtrack.
10:34So that had to be really cool.
10:35It was such a cultural moment.
10:36So how was that?
10:37Ooh, OK.
10:38So when I got asked to do a song on the Barbie movie,
10:42I jumped up so high.
10:45I almost, like, hurt myself.
10:46I, like, almost fell.
10:47So I was freaking out.
10:48Whatever you want, baby, choose your fighter.
10:55I mean, who doesn't love Barbie?
10:56And they're making it with Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling,
10:59obviously.
11:00So I was just like, of course I'm
11:01going to do this.
11:02And so I went in the studio.
11:04It took us, like, two hours to make.
11:06Just two hours.
11:07Really?
11:08Greta heard it.
11:09Mark Ronson heard it afterwards.
11:10And they had no notes.
11:12Oh, wow.
11:12And I freaked out, obviously, because I'm like,
11:15how do you guys have no notes?
11:16Like, what? You don't have any notes?
11:17Tell me something.
11:18I need to know something.
11:19What about maybe a word in the chorus you don't like?
11:21They're like, no, this is perfect.
11:22I'm like, OK, thanks, guys.
11:25You know, Greta's a legend.
11:26That makes me interested to know,
11:27like, at what point in the process,
11:29like, is the movie done at that point
11:30when they're asking you guys this?
11:31Or do you know, like, while they're filming it?
11:33I saw part, like, half of the movie
11:36before making the record.
11:37An hour before making the record,
11:38they played it on Zoom.
11:40Wow.
11:41Yeah.
11:42So it was really exciting.
11:43I saw it, like, in the beginning stages.
11:45And then you just also put out a new album,
11:47like, just in 2023.
11:49And you were already here with new music.
11:50So how do you feel like your sound has
11:52evolved since then to now?
11:53I mean, I was going through a lot of heartbreak
11:55on the second album.
11:56My mind was everywhere.
11:58It's so funny.
11:59People online always ask, what happened to the visualizers?
12:01What happened to this?
12:02What happened to that?
12:03I was in the middle of changing management.
12:04I was in a tornado, almost, of emotional trauma.
12:11I don't even know how I put out that album,
12:12because I was so mentally unwell at the time
12:15that I look at that almost like just,
12:19I didn't even think about, like, numbers of the songs
12:21just as, like, a, here you go.
12:23This is what I'm going through.
12:24And this is my heartbreak album, you know?
12:26So that was a tough one.
12:28This one, I'm like, you know, the light
12:30at the end of the tunnel?
12:31This is my light at the end of the tunnel.
12:32This is that album.
12:34Well, I do want to ask you, like, how do you feel when
12:36you're going through, like, an emotional time like that?
12:38And obviously, your fans might not know,
12:40like, because you were saying, like,
12:41where's the visual services?
12:42And I feel like that's something all fans do,
12:43no matter who the artist is.
12:44They're like, where's the video?
12:46Where's the album? Where's the tour?
12:47They have those questions.
12:48And you're like, I'm going through some stuff right now.
12:49So how do you balance that?
12:51I mean, it's hard, because obviously, I filmed them.
12:56But I put out a small little chunk of all of them,
12:58because I also didn't want to keep all of it from them.
13:00And I don't know, I just, I went into hermit mode, you know?
13:03And I needed to for my mental health.
13:06And I think the response to the second album was incredible.
13:10And then going on my first world tour last year was insane.
13:14That was an experience that I'll never forget, ever.
13:18And I can't wait for the next tour.
13:19I mean, you talked about getting to see those fans
13:21out on the road, and them singing back to you.
13:23So what was some of your most fond memories
13:25from touring the world?
13:26It taught me a lot.
13:27It taught me that just, yeah, we're all human,
13:30and we all get hurt, and it's okay.
13:31And to be vulnerable more,
13:33because I had a really hard time with that
13:36when I first started in this industry,
13:39because I am a very private person,
13:42especially with my personal life.
13:44Even now, I'm still learning how to kind of tell everyone
13:47like a little bit of my personal life.
13:49It's hard for me.
13:50I'm just super private.
13:52And do you feel like it's easier for you
13:53to put that in music, though?
13:55Definitely.
13:56It's like therapy.
13:57And do you feel like, okay, so now I'm wondering,
13:59when you're working with an artist,
14:00like a producer even, like a Kygo or whatever,
14:03do you have to get personal with them?
14:04Do you have to tell them the stories
14:05about what you're writing about?
14:07Or do you still just kind of keep it to yourself?
14:09Yeah, I mean, we definitely, we talk.
14:12We sit there and talk about our lives a little bit.
14:14But I guess it's easier for me to get open
14:17with close friends and family.
14:19But when you have to tell the whole world
14:22and be vulnerable, that's a different beast, you know?
14:25And I'm now just learning, learning, hey, you know what?
14:28It's okay to open up a little,
14:30because everyone's going through stuff.
14:31Everyone goes through heartbreak, and it's okay.
14:34Well, I'm glad I don't have to do that
14:35in front of the world.
14:37So we've talked a little bit
14:38about like the new music you're creating.
14:39So do you think you're creating a full body of work?
14:42What can fans start to, you can hint at,
14:44that they can expect?
14:46I am working on an album, and it is almost done.
14:50I'm really, really excited.
14:52But I can't say much more than that, because-
14:54Well, you were hinting at it on Instagram already
14:55a little bit.
14:56Yes, what did I, I don't remember what I said.
14:58AM three or something like that?
14:59Yeah.
15:00Or the fans on that.
15:01I'm excited.
15:02There's so much more.
15:04This is just the beginning, so.
15:06How do you want to evolve yourself
15:07and your sound when you think about creating it?
15:10This album definitely has a couple records
15:14that have style and lyric-wise and melody-wise
15:18that I've never touched on.
15:21So it's a little different, yeah.
15:22And I mean, you said earlier that you kind of went
15:24through this dark period, or in that you feel
15:26like you've arrived at yourself, if you will.
15:29So if you had to explain yourself to somebody
15:31that doesn't know you as your new self now,
15:33who would you say is Ava Max?
15:36That's a good question.
15:39Ava is learning every day, and she loves to,
15:46you know, I hope, sorry, I hope that my music heals.
15:50That's my number one, number one goal always.
15:53I just really hope my music continues to heal.
15:56Well, we're having so much fun watching you
15:58and everything you're doing.
15:59So thanks so much for hanging out with Billboard.
16:00Thank you.