Maddie Zahm Opens Up About Growth on New Album: EXCLUSIVE

Maddie Zahm has spent the last few years building a reputation as one of pop music’s most brutally honest songwriters.

But if fans think her upcoming album is about finally having everything figured out, Zahm says they’ve missed the point.

The singer-songwriter is preparing to release her sophomore album, Everything All The Time, on Sept. 25, and the project embraces something many people spend years trying to avoid: the realization that growth never really ends.

Alongside the album announcement, Zahm released the title track, “Everything All The Time,” which sets the tone for a record focused less on finding answers and more on learning to live with the questions.

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PopCrush caught up with Zahm to talk about the new album, the biggest misconceptions people have about her, and why she’s learned to embrace life’s “squiggles.”

If the Maddie who wrote “Fat Funny Friend” sat down with the Maddie who made Everything All The Time, what would they argue about?

Maddie Zahm: Dead a– I had to think about this question for a while. Honestly, I think they would argue about her need to tell everyone all of her secrets and deepest feelings.

Sometimes things are inside thoughts, and the relief you feel about opening up in that moment does NOT outweigh the anxiety of wondering if you opened up to the right person.

Growth isn’t a finish line on this album. What’s a lesson you thought you’d mastered that keeps showing up like an unwanted sequel?

Maddie Zahm: Oh god, probably my need to parent myself. I spend most of my time ruminating on mistakes I made at twenty-three and deep-diving into what they mean for me and my character. Sometimes it is okay to say “this just didn’t work out” and move on instead of making myself a twelve-step plan on how to be a better person next time or DMing someone I think I may have offended twelve years ago.

What’s something people assume they know about you from your music that’s completely wrong?

Maddie Zahm: Probably that I am this deeply serious trauma dumper, haha. I actually spend most of my time outside of my music, goofing off or TopGolfing.

I sometimes struggle to be intimate with my closest people because I feel connection through humor and lightness. Especially recently.

If Everything All The Time were a physical place someone could walk into, what would they find there?

Maddie Zahm: Their favorite childhood TV show, trinkets, and a whole lot of comfort food.

Social media rewards certainty, but your songwriting often lives in the gray areas. Do you ever feel like the internet and good art want opposite things from you?

Maddie Zahm: 100%. However, I think the community of folks I have built with my music is all black-and-white thinkers with very grey realities. I used to love straight lines, but now I prefer squiggles. They’re prettier anyway.

What’s next for Maddie Zahm?

Everything All The Time arrives Sept. 25 via MNRK Nashville. To celebrate the release, Zahm will head overseas for dates in the U.K. and Amsterdam before launching a U.S. headlining tour this fall.

Fans can also stream her new single, “Everything All The Time,” now.