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Instagram It Girl Madison Paige on her debut EP and playing The Dinah

Model Madison Paige‘s debut EP, 444, is an anatomy of a breakup, taking us through anger, flirtation, rebounds, nostalgia, numbing, and closure in one delightfully danceable trip. She’s taken her experience, laid it over catchy indie-pop tracks, and created that rare listening experience that is both meaningful and massively fun.

And I’m not just saying that because she’s pretty. In the spirit of honesty and surly demeanor of someone who started off writing for a music magazine, I was not inclined to blindly endorse an insta-famous model. I geared up 444 unsure of what to expect.

When the first track finished, I shouted: “SHIT, SHE’S GOOD.” By the end of the album, I was muttering “really, really good.” After the interview, I moaned, “UGHHHHHHH she’s smart, likable, and self-aware. What the ever loving fuck is happening?”

Madison Paige is like a gold star hybrid between Grimes and Taylor Swift. You can’t hold it against her. Read the interview, listen to her EP, and if you’re terribly lucky, watch Madison Paige do her first performance at Dinah 2016.

 

In the Night | the Weeknd

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AfterEllen.com: Your first live performance ever is going to be at Dinah. Nervous?

Madison Paige: Yeah, of course. I think the first words coming out of my mouth when I get on stage are going to be “Hey, I’m Madison. And I’m awkward and I’m nervous.” And then I’ll just start playing.

 

AE: There’s rumors flying around that you’ll be on the next season of Orange is The New Black. Is there any truth to those rumors?

MP: Keep spreading those rumors! Because that would be awesome. I’m not positive, but I’m hearing things here and there. They haven’t even started casting, but that would be awesome.

 

AE: Have any of them reached out to you?

MP: No, no. I talked to my acting agent and they were interested in sending me over for the casting stuff.

AE: You just dropped your first EP, 444. Could you explain the title?

MP: Yeah, 444 is a really powerful and meaningful number for me. I started seeing it everywhere when times were rough. It got repetitive to the point it was weird. And it was super reassuring. I looked it up online and there’s actually a thing called sacred numbers… I’m not sure if I do or don’t believe, but it basically said that 444 means there’s a very strong, powerful energy around you and if you push it into what you love to do or what you’re passionate then you’ll be happy. It’s a meaningful number.

 

Fauxxx

A photo posted by ÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇM?öDS (@madisonpaige) on Jan 20, 2016 at 4:09pm PST

 

 

AE: How would you describe your music?

MP: It’s ever changing. I guess I’d say it’s indie pop or alternative pop.

 

AE: I was getting ready for this interview and listening to your music and it made me want to dance. I can see it being played by DJs when I’m out.

MP: That is awesome. I can see “Club Kids” being played.

 

AE: Me too! So let’s go through your album track by track and talk about meaning. 444 starts off with “Shovel,” which seems like a pissed off song. You sing “How could you do what you did to me?” What did she do?

MP: Oh what didn’t she do? Actually, if I can take a minute, the whole album is really one giant story of the growth I’ve had in the past two years. I had a relationship that didn’t really go so well. I got screwed over in every single possible way to the point where I had friends calling me who I hadn’t talked to in a while saying “I heard what happened and I’m sorry.” In 444,I skip from the love part and go straight to what happened after. Like “Club Kids”-that’s the part of me getting over everything where I start to numb myself by going out.

 

AE: On “Club Kids,” you sing “We like the blue pills, we like the white powder, the trees are green but we like to get a little louder.” Are you a big fan of the sex, drugs, and rock and roll?

MP: No. Everybody has their phases I guess but for me, that song was 100% written on a satirical level. I moved from LA to New York and when I came to visit here, the vibes are a little different. In New York, I’m not around so much of the social scene. When I’d go back to visit LA, they’re still doing the same thing every night. Going out with the promoters and you know what you’re doing every night and the whole thing is so preconceived.

 

photo @chelseawatcher hair @yourmuther

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AE: Let’s get back to “Gold,” which I really enjoyed too. It seemed very flirty, almost seductive. What did you mean when you sang “I can make your silver shine gold”?

MP: “Gold” comes right after “Shovel,” so it goes from being pissed off about a break up to going out, being flirtatious, and being back on the scene again. It’s a pretty intensely sexual song that says “After a night with me, your silver will shine gold.” So basically, we’ll have a night to remember.

 

AE: So “Gold” is about a one night stand?

MP: Yeah. Yep. Yep.

AE: “Gold” is followed by “Silhouette,” which struck me as a nostalgic love song. Is that accurate?

MP: I’m scared I’m going to choke up when I sing “Silhouette” at Dinah Shore. After I went through my one night stand thing, I went back to remembering the good times, to reminding that person that I did everything to make it work and it’s too bad that they didn’t.

 

AE: Moving from song to song, we definitely get a distinct story. The only one I was unclear about meaning was actually “Telepathy.”

MP: “Telepathy” is full of wordplay and puns. It started out as a poem, but it was written about a girl that I saw on the subway. And there’s a five-second exchange of eye contact and we never talked to each other or saw each other again, but it inspired an entire poem.

 

AE: Was it a fantasy? Were you imagining who she was?

MP: No, she was wearing the summer dress, she did have the green eyes, she was dancing around. “If you ever leave, darling take me,” it’s basically talking about how if you get off on the train, I hope you take me with you or bury me deep, bury me deep.

 

LA here I come

A photo posted by ÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇM?öDS (@madisonpaige) on Dec 28, 2015 at 5:50am PST

 

AE: 444 really is the anatomy of a breakup. The anger, the casual sex, the nostalgia, numbing it with drugs, and then finally moving on to like someone new?

MP: Exactly. And I do. There’s definitely a girl I have my eye on, but I’m still also extraordinarily single.

 

AE: So you’re seeing someone?

MP: Very lightly, yeah. I’m seeing a really amazing girl. She’s a DJ, and a super down to earth, really sweet, very spiritual girl. It’s going well so far but she’s about to go on tour and I’m busy doing my own thing, so we’re open to being open.

 

AE: How do you identify?

MP: I see a difference between gender fluidity and gender neutrality… For me, I feel very gender neutral because I don’t see myself as anyone. It’s not like I feel like more like one gender one day, and more like the other the next day, but, that I feel like consistently neither. So I always that say I’m a little bit of both and a lot of neither.

 

AE: Do you have a preferred pronoun?

MP: No, there are people who take it to the extent that they’re like “You have to call me by the proper pronouns,” and I absolutely respect people need that because that’s what works for them, but for me, I let people identify me as however they want to see me. At the end of the day, it’s really how I see myself that matters. I have friends that call me she, I have friends that call me he, and I have friends that call me they.

 

AE: What about sexual orientation? How do you identify?

MP: I refer to myself as a lesbian. A gold star lesbian, actually.

 

When you’re a Steelers fan at heart, but you’re routing for the Broncos(hometown), yet you can only wear closer colors to the Panthers to the party because that’s all you own. #superbowl

A photo posted by ÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇÔáÇM?öDS (@madisonpaige) on Feb 7, 2016 at 2:40pm PST

 

 

AE: You have this major, major Instagram following. I actually wrote the piece for AfterEllen about Instagram girls and you were number one.

MP: Yes! Thank you for that. I love that: “The big Kahuna.”

 

AE: That’s you.

MP: I liked it because you said “OG Insta Celeb, lesbian, celesbian” That felt nice because a number of times I get compared to Ruby Rose or “I’m Ruby over Madison.” Which is funny to me because we’re not actually competing with each other, at all.

 

AE: Every time you post a picture, within seconds, you receive hundreds of likes and flattering comments. What does that feel like? Does it make you feel closer to people or farther from them?

MP: It’s funny you ask because the more I was getting heightened on social media, the less I was seeing. To this point, I still read every comment. Not for selfish purposes-to try to figure out if somebody is my actual friend in life is commenting. The more I would get, the less I’d see of my actual friends saying anything. I feel like that’s the part that has the most meaning. It’s not about the mass; it’s about the quantity.

 

AE: Mhmm.

MP: There are some people saying some weird shit.

 

AE: What’s the weird shit you got recently from social media?

MP: Some girl went all the way onto my mother’s Instagram. Yes, my mom has an Instagram, posts amazing selfies-it runs in the blood. She tagged me and my sister and my mom, and was like “foursome?”

 

AE: Woah.

MP: I was like, are you kidding? I think that if me and my sister didn’t have a following, I don’t think anyone would think that was appropriate. It’s just weird that one tiny number inside of a box inside of an app would make people think “I’m just going to deface your mom’s Instagram.”

 

AE: It’s like an entire Instagram family.

MP: We’ve got an Instagram. I’m trying to get my stepdad on it but he’s just not up to par.

 

AE: Are you all sharing selfies with each other?

MP: No, the selfie thing to me is just like so funny. It is giving people what they want, and on top of that, I’ve booked a lot of modeling gigs based on selfies. It’s a little shameless self-promotion, but it’s also trying to give the fans what they want. It’s so weird calling them that.

 

We/she/he/they can do it! @thetylershields #freethenips

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AE: How do you get camera-ready?

MP: I’m not one that usually gets up and gets ready in the morning. I usually just spray mist on my face, shower, and brush my teeth. I look very off if I put makeup on my face, one because I’m talentless, and two because it’s just not really my vibe.

 

AE: How did you acquire so many followers?

MP: I would love to know. I was never one of those people that was like “tag a friend” or “repost this and you’ll get a signing.” I didn’t do a lot of brand ambassadoring, although if you were a close friend, I would. It just started growing on its own. I traveled a lot around Asia last year, and the people of Asia are just so, so being fans or having somebody or obsess over. I feel like it started while I was in Thailand.

 

AE: How long were you there?

MP: I was in Thailand for three months modeling on contract. Then moved over to Tokyo and was on contract for two. Then I was in Spain and London for a little while and finally rested in New York.

 

AE: When was the last time you cried?

MP: Four days ago. There was an Ellen Degeneres video about a teacher who adopted a few kids from the school. The kids got together and made her a video, so she started crying, and then Ellen started crying, and then I started crying. I was in a room full of my male model friends, and they were like “What is wrong with you?” So I showed it to them, and then they all started crying. The only times that I cry is when I accidentally click on those videos that get shared on Facebook that are like, “Watch this video and you’ll cry.”

 

Listen to Madison’s EP on Soundcloud and follow her on Instagram. She is playing AfterEllen’s pool party on Sunday at The Dinah.

 

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