At the tender age of twelve, Madison Beer was sold a dream that swiftly morphed into a waking nightmare. In her recent cover story for Cosmopolitan, the now 26-year-old revisits the whirlwind experience of being signed to Island Records at such a youthful age, where industry tycoons whispered sweet nothings into her ear, painting a picture of fame: "We adore you; you're destined to be the female Justin Bieber. Just give it a year." However, when Beer failed to instantly mirror the astronomical success of one of pop history's brightest stars, the tables turned dramatically. By sixteen, she was deserted by her label, lawyer, and then-manager, Scooter Braun.
"Within the blink of an eye, my entire world crumbled," Beer recounted. The Bieber comparison, at its core, was a shaky foundation. "It was merely because Scooter had signed me, and of course, Scooter had also signed Justin," she elucidated. "Justin had posted a cover, and I had posted one too, so it seemed synchronized. Yet, Justin was merely a teenager when I was signed – he hadn't even tasted the waters of adulthood. He's been through his own storms too."
Despite the tumultuous past, Beer remains close with Bieber and his wife, Hailey. "I hold them both in the highest esteem. We recently reunited, marveling at how long we've known each other," she shared. "I've known Hailey since I was ten, and Justin since I was twelve. We're still intertwined in each other's lives, and now they've embarked on a new journey together with a baby."
One similarity they shared was the sacrifice of crucial developmental years to an industry that cared little for their well-being. "My label bid me farewell with a casual 'Good luck,'" Beer lamented. "You guys stole years of my irreplaceable childhood. Now, all you can offer is 'good luck' and 'have fun'?" She continued, "I missed out on college due to homeschooling. I have a high school diploma, but nothing beyond, all because of my career. My family relocated to Los Angeles with no established connections. I lack genuine friends. Are you serious?"
The experience also stripped her of innocence, particularly as a young girl cast in the shadow of a male teen heartthrob. "I hadn't reached the pinnacle of success yet. When I was fourteen, conversations swirled around me," she revealed. "I recall grown men saying, 'She's too sexy,' and 'We can't capitalize on her sex appeal because she's too young; we'll have to wait.' These were real conversations, grown men discussing my sexual appeal at the age of fourteen."
The same team that abandoned her were once "these individuals I believed genuinely cherished me," she added, but they ultimately became strangers she never spoke to again. "I felt like a mere commodity to them. When I failed to generate sufficient revenue, they lost interest in me," she said. "Perhaps they shouldn't have signed a twelve-year-old without considering the repercussions."
Beer has fought her way back with relentless determination. Her second studio album, Silence Between Songs, released in 2023 on Epic Records, earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Dance Pop Recording for her single "Make You Mine." A grueling 63-date headline tour followed in 2024. "It's even more surreal now, meeting twelve-year-old girls at my meet-and-greets and thinking, 'You're just a baby. How could I have been a signed artist at your age?'" Beer exclaimed. "It's terrifying. No, it's sickening. The disregard for my childhood was deeply disturbing. I thought, 'Wow, you guys truly don't care at all.'"
