Ava’s planning on taking her career to the max
American singer-songwriter Ava Max has had a remarkable few months following the release of her breakout single Sweet But Psycho. LUCY MAPSTONE talks to the rising star about her struggle to make it in the industry and her excitement to release a debut album this year
AVA Max is buzzing. She’s bright eyed, bushy tailed, and raring to go at the start of what critics are already predicting will be a stellar pop career.
Although you may not be familiar with her yet, you’ve probably heard her breakout single Sweet But Psycho, which was nearly 2018’s Christmas number one in the UK.
She lost out on the chart accolade to LadBaby’s novelty charity single about sausage rolls, but the American pop star did beat Ariana Grande to the runner-up spot.
Ava then topped the chart the following week, and has just done it again, nabbing the first number one single in the UK of 2019.
The song has also topped charts in more than 10 countries across the world, including Germany, New Zealand and Sweden.
Not a bad start for anyone, let alone a newcomer.
“For me, it’s disbelief,” Ava admits, reflecting on the past few months of her life. “It’s exciting for sure, but I want to achieve more, I want to release more songs, I want to release an album.”
In case you haven’t heard Sweet But Psycho or seen the video, think Just Dance-era Lady Gaga. Ava is all peroxide blonde hair and bold outfits; the track infectiously catchy, earworm-friendly dance-pop, with a heavy dose of sass.
Her style is unashamedly pop, a bold move at a time where it’s still sometimes considered a weaker genre, and she cites her inspirations as The Beatles, Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera and The Fugees.
She was first introduced to listeners as a featured artist on American electronic musician DJ Le Youth’s Clap Your Hands last year.
In early 2018, she dropped her debut single My Way followed by viral hit Not Your Barbie Girl, a playful reimagining and ode to Aqua’s 1990s hit Barbie Girl.
She then released another single, Slippin’, and featured on David Guetta’s album as a vocalist, before Sweet But Psycho put her firmly on the map.
To some it may seem the 24-yearold’s success has happened overnight with that one great song, but Ava insists that was simply not the case. “It’s been a chase my whole life,” Ava explains.
“When I was 14, I moved to California with my mom for music because I ended up doing some competitions when I was 10, 11, 12.
“My mom sold her house and we came to Los Angeles from Virginia. That year didn’t go so well because LA isn’t exactly what we thought it would be. There was a lot of disappointment.
“Then, when I was 15 years old, we moved back to the East coast and I lived there for two years, in South Carolina, before I moved back out when I was 17 with my brother.
“So it’s been this whole chase with singing and writing songs. Then I finally met the right people after years of struggling.”
The “right” person in Ava’s case was Cirkut, a Canadian record producer who has worked with the likes of modern music icons such as Rihanna, The Weeknd, Katy Perry and Jessie J, among others.
He took her under his wing, and they started working together before putting a song on audio platform SoundCloud. “I got really noticed by record labels, and that’s how I got signed,” notes Ava.
Born Amanda Ava Koci to Albanian parents, the singer-songwriter says she understands what it was to struggle in her own career, having watched her parents face battles following their move to America from war-torn Albania.
“In 1990, 1991, they left Albania and went to Paris for a year. They ended up in Paris and they lived in a church for a whole year. It was very hard for them. They met a lady in Paris that gave them passports and they ended up in Wisconsin – that’s where I was born.
“They went to America with nothing, no money, no language. I remember watching them as I grew up, struggling, working three jobs each. Watching them do that sometimes I think, wow, I feel so lucky to be doing what I am doing.”
Ava confesses that she often felt like she wanted to give up but that her “strong family” pushed her to succeed.
“They were like, ‘really, you’re going to come this far and give up?”’
Ava says she “can’t wait to give it all back” to her parents, but also that she wants to carve out a persona as a bit of a philanthropist in general. “Really, I just want to help, my family, my friends and people in general,” she proclaims.
“I can’t wait to start organisations, that’s all I really wanted to do.”
Despite being born in America, she says she is “100% Albanian”, and that she “definitely wants to give back to the Albanian community when I can”.
“It would be amazing to do a fundraising concert over there. It’s important to give back.”
But before she achieves all of that, Ava’s goal for the next 12 months is to release her debut album, as well as more singles, all the while dealing with her newfound fame.
“I definitely don’t like red carpets,” admits Ava. “I’m not a big fan of the ‘look what I’m wearing’, and all those flashing lights.”
However, she is loving the response from her fans. She says: “I have the sweetest fans, they come to me for advice. They tell me my songs are getting them through school when they’re being bullied, or maybe when they feel sad and my songs uplift them.”
Of her forthcoming new album, she gushes: “I’m really excited to show everybody the next side of me.
“Yes, they’ve seen the Sweet But Psycho side and they’ve seen me being like that, but I want to show them more of a real side.
“I also want to keep releasing more pop songs. We need more pop songs, and more empowering songs. I’m just excited for people to hear more music.”