Latest news with #FirstDance
USA Today
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Meet Maddox Batson, rising teen star who went from TikTok to Lainey Wilson tour opener
Meet Maddox Batson, rising teen star who went from TikTok to Lainey Wilson tour opener Show Caption Hide Caption Maddox Batson explains why he covered Justin Bieber's 'Love Yourself' Singer-songwriter Maddox Batson tells USA TODAY's Ralphie Aversa about his inspirations, including his parents and Justin Bieber. NEW YORK – Maddox Batson's latest trip to New York City is going much better than the last one. In April, the 15-year-old singer was forced to postpone a sold out show at Irving Plaza due to illness. But about a month later, Batson is back in the Big Apple and in better health. He caught a Yankees game in the Bronx, visited the Empire State Building, ate pizza in Manhattan and made up the concert, performing for a capacity crowd of 1,200 adoring fans. "You want to have confidence, but in the back of your mind you're like, 'What if no one shows up?'" the country singer admits before headlining USA TODAY Acoustic, a new series that provides a stage for notable and rising talent across the USA TODAY Network. "But when I get out there and I finally get on stage and I see all my fans singing the words back to me, it's just like the coolest experience ever. I mean, blows my expectations out of the water." Coming off his March debut at the Grand Ole Opry and ahead of his tour dates supporting Lainey Wilson, Batson chats with USA TODAY about his songwriting, the artists who inspire him and how it feels to go viral. Maddox Batson breaks down his songwriting process In March, Batson released his debut EP, "First Dance." The artist also dropped "First Dance (The After Party)" with three additional songs. He said he whittled down the 10 songs that went public from hundreds, and his key criteria involved checking three boxes before deciding on a song. "You got relatability (lyrics), just to like my fan base but can also branch out to other people that aren't necessarily fans of me yet," he says. "Then you have catchiness; how good the song sounds. Then you have sound and production. There are plenty of songs that have one or two keys, but not a whole lot of them have all three." As far as the relatability part, Batson admits he's not living a typical teenager's life as a touring musician, but he's still finding inspiration on the road. "Every night there's things that happen to me or just things that I see that just sparks that little, 'Hey, you should write about this,'" he says. "Sometimes you really got to dig deep and sometimes it's right there in front of you. But I love writing." What else is inspiring his music? Earlier this year Batson told The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, that girls and his social media feed have provided that "spark" for studio sessions. Maddox Batson recalls his first 'viral' moment Batson has 3.4 million followers on TikTok. Before becoming a sensation on the platform, his account was getting banned but was unclear as to why, he says. While there's no public knowledge of music artists being outright banned for performing on the platform, TikTok has run in to royalty disputes with publishers that have forced the removal of certain song catalog (one such dispute with Universal Music Group was resolved last year). Batson would go live on TikTok, performing with his father Dan. Then in August of 2023, he decided to post a cover of Zach Bryan's "Something in the Orange." The floodgates opened. He sat in his garage, refreshing his page and watching the views increase exponentially. "I remember it hitting 1 million views and I ran around my house," Batson recalls. "I thought I was on top of the world. I thought I was 'him.' I thought I just entered celebrity status." It currently sits at 5.4 million views. Here's how Justin Bieber inspired Maddox Batson Batson is not at a loss when asked about artists who have impacted his young career. The first name he mentions his country singer Bailey Zimmerman, who Batson says has become a friend. He also lists Morgan Wallen and Justin Bieber. The comparisons to Bieber are not hard to draw: Both gained fame in their teens, both first saw success covering songs online (for Bieber, it was his YouTube channel), both gained the moniker of a "teen heartthrob" and both are from towns not exactly known as showbiz hotspots (Batson was raised in Birmingham, Alabama before his parents moved to Nashville; Bieber was raised outside Toronto in Canada). "Being so young, I feel like it's hard to navigate what you're doing (in the music business)," he responds when asked about Bieber. "Me and him started at very similar ages, so just keeping a good stable family unit or good stable team around you, I feel like is very helpful. Being 15, I think I know everything, but I really don't." Batson's self-awareness is beyond his years, but he still isn't taking himself too seriously. "I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed," he jokes. "But I'm trying, maybe second (sharpest)."
West Australian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- West Australian
The West Australian Pulse: Taylor O'Sullivan reflects on the duality of life and death
Taylor O'Sullivan's artwork hanging from the walls of The Art Gallery of Western Australia reminds people of the fragility of life. The piece, First Dance, encourages art lovers to reflect on the eternal nature of death. 'The meaning behind the artwork is about the duality of both life and death, and that living isn't necessarily the last part of living,' he said. 'So it explores the idea of life after death, and that the way we live right now isn't the final destination. 'Life is a bit fragile it's very, very easy to come and go, as I've had multiple friends pass away, but yeah, life is fragile, and you've got to live it to the extent, and then we'll all be living beyond life together.' The unique piece was inspired by Mr O'Sullivan's personal experience and religious influences. Set in the Garden of Eden, First Dance depicts skeletons dancing. 'The skeletons dancing is that kind of duality of not there being in the physical form, but in the secondary form of living, where it all started, but also after,' he said. The Seton Catholic College graduate used a wood-burning technique to highlight the fragility of life within a space of innocence. Mr O'Sullivan said the work is up for interpretation, but he hopes it encourages reflection. 'Be grateful for everything you have. Live life to the fullest and enjoy every moment,' he said. The free exhibition is open from May 3 until August 31 at the Art Gallery of Western Australia.
Forbes
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Rising Artist Maddox Batson Strikes A Chord With Country Music's Younger Fans
15-year-old singer/songwriter Maddox Batson Credit: Lexi Lovelace Maddox Batson may be relatively new to the country music scene, but he's already made a strong connection, especially with the genre's younger fans. His music videos have gone viral and he's selling out shows across country before he even heading out on his headline tour. Videos from his songs 'I Don't Like You Anymore,' 'X's,' and 'Southbound' have pulled in anywhere from three to 11 million views each on YouTube with the numbers still climbing. And his latest video 'Green Dress" is on track to do the same. Those songs and several more, are featured on his just released EP First Dance. Cover of Maddox Batson's deput EP "First Dance" Courtesy of Prosper Entertainment/Warner Records It's not only his lyrics and relatable subject matter that's captured the hearts of young fans, it's his engaging, high-energy personality that shines through every live performance, music video, and interaction with everyone one he meets. At 15-years old, Maddox has recently celebrated a number of career 'firsts,' including his debut appearance Wednesday night - on the coveted stage of the Grand Ole Opry. 'It was the coolest thing ever,' he told host Charlie Mattos after his performance. 'Growing up in the country music space, growing up knowing the prestige of the Grand Ole Opry and actually coming out here to play, it means the world to me.' Batson, a Nashville native who moved to Alabama as a child, got an introduction to music at an early age. 'My dad grew up playing music with his family in kind of a bluegrass band and he passed it onto me,' he says. 'I grew up playing in church and all that kind of stuff.' Growing up, he also had a strong interest in sports, especially the game of basketball. It took a lot of his time and focus, until he was diagnosed with a knee disease that made it very clear, his future was elsewhere. Two years ago, when he was 13, he and his dad started playing music together and posting videos of Maddox covering songs from his favorite artists like Zach Bryan and Sam Barber. He began getting a lot of views, especially once he started blending a bit of his personality with the music. 'I was just doing covers in my living room and kitchen and filming that,' he says. 'I got some traction, but got a lot more when I would mix in my personality and do lifestyle videos or like a 'get-ready-with-me video every now and then. I feel like if you can mix between the artistry and personality a bit, you can see success 100 percent.' It runs a little deeper, though, than just playing songs and and posting them on social media. Maddox and his dad did an acoustic mini-tour in Texas where Maddox got the experience of playing for a live audience. And he took a deep dive into learning the craft of songwriting. He's a co-writer on each of the seven songs on his new EP. 'My dad has been a songwriter his entire life, so I kind of got that gene passed down to me. I've been writing songs for a long time, and I feel like that's one of the most important aspects of what I do.' He admits that while he might not have a lot of life experience yet in terms of crafting songs, he draws inspiration from what most boys his age tend to think about which is girls. His new song 'Green Dress' is a perfect example. 'It's based off a true story. I met this girl at a show and never asked her name,' Maddox explains. 'I don't know why, I guess my mind blanked when I met her. I didn't ask her name or where she's from, I didn't get any information. So, me and my team were literally on a scavenger hunt to find her for, I don't know, a couple of weeks.' In the middle of the search, he decided to write a song about it. And eventually, he did find her. 'Her mom reached out via email, and we connected a little bit, nothing crazy,' he says. 'I just let her know the song was about her and I appreciate the creative spark.' Other previously unreleased songs on First Dance include 'Problem,' 'God Talking,' and 'It Was You.' 'It Was You' is one of my favorite songs,' Maddox. 'I do a lot of fast, upbeat songs like you would expect from me, but this kind of slows it down a little bit, like an actual love song. It's my favorite to sing live.' He's gearing up to do a lot of live shows in the months to come. Later this year, he'll join country superstar Lainey Wilson for seven shows on her current tour, but this weekend, he kicks off a sold-out, headline tour of his own. 'It's my first headline tour, so I'm really excited. You only get one first tour. I'm also excited about playing a lot of festivals this year.' He'll play Stagecoach and he'll also headline this year's Maryland State Fair. It's a big honor with an impressive list of previous, very successful, artists who've served as headliners. 'People like Justin Bieber, Usher, Justin Timberlake…A lot of people have headlined it, and this year I get to, which is pretty cool.' It looks to be an amazing year ahead for the young singer/songwriter and he says ready for it. And as he promotes the new EP, he's already looking ahead to what comes next. 'Writing more songs, putting out more music, and maybe releasing an album. There's a lot of different stuff. It's going to be very cool.'
