Ava Max Powered Through Heaven And Hell With Pasta And Late-Night Dancing

Ava Max Powered Through Heaven And Hell With Pasta And Late-Night Dancing




What is Ava Max going as for Halloween this year? "Something hellish. I feel hellish, as you could tell," she mentioned to MTV News on a recent Zoom call. "I'm wearing all black. I have been wearing all black the last two weeks a lot."


obviously, feeling hellish is only half of Max's story. On the "Sweet Nevertheless Psycho" singer's energetic debut album, Heaven & Hell, she's both angel and devil, as asymmetrical as her trademark hairstyle. Max split the LP into its two titular parts soon after dreaming up the concept en route to the 2019 VMAs, where she performed throughout the red-carpet pre-show. She finished the ethereal initial track, "H.E.A.V.E.N.," while in quarantine earlier this year with producer and collaborator Cirkut. And to listen to Heaven & Hell is to discover not divine highs and evil lows, nevertheless a steady stream of uptempo electro-pop that could power a hourlong cycling class, a much-needed solo dance session, and just getting shit done.


That's by design, also. "I try and make it super empowering, each song, and motivating, nevertheless I also want there to be a story, nevertheless then I also want you have the ability to dance to it," she mentioned. Yet then on top of that, I want it to be weird and theatrical. So I feel like, personally I like to have my cake and eat it, too."


She dropped Heaven & Hell in September; by October 2, her biggest song (and for now, her signature song), "Sweet Although Psycho" had reached the staggering milestone of 1 billion streams on Spotify. It's all segment of the long tail of Max's success that started if she was a teenager chasing pop success. Right now, thanks to smash hit and also a conceptually bold debut album, she's getting comfortable showing off the various parts of herself. And she can't wait for Halloween candy: "Snickers, Smarties, and maybe a Ring Pop. I love a Ring Pop. Let's be real."


MTV News discussed to Max about Heaven & Hell, where she'll keep her streaming-milestone plaque, and how chestnuts have the key to her heart.


MTV News: "Sweet However Psycho" just hit a billion streams on Spotify, which is insane. I feel like our brains can't even fathom what a billion of anything is.


Ava Max: It's insane to me, also. I'm like, really? You guys streamed that song 1 billion times? It's funny, because my dad was hearing a lot of songs before I released "Sweet Yet Psycho." He was like, "Ah, that song, we'll visualize. It's super pop." At the time, there was not any pop. So my dad was like, "I don't know." He admired my slower songs that I never release, actually, that he's like, "Oh, those will most likely do better." Right now I hit a billion. I was like, "Dad, look. There really are a billion."


MTV News: I know the RIAA will send you a Gold or a Platinum record. Does Spotify send you any fun care package whenever that happens?


Max: I think they're sending me a plaque, which I just got told. So that's really cool.


MTV News: Where do you suggest you'll put it? A place of prominence?


Max: Probably over my shoes in my closet. OK, so I don't like to show off like that. I wouldn't put it where people would visualize. It's only for me privately, because I feel so awkward showing off my plaques. You know what I mean? My mom has them in her hallway in her home. Then every time I go, I'm like, that's so awkward. I don't know. I'm more of a private person. I talk about myself for the entire day in interviews. I don't aspire to talk about myself as soon as my companions come over. "Oh, look at that plaque!" Oh, no. I don't aspire to be able to see my face anywhere in my house.


MTV News: Your album Heaven & Hell is split between those two concepts. Where did that idea come from?


Max: Heaven & Hell, for me, it just made sense, because everything I have been through in my life has been heaven and hell. Everything in between has been up and downs: relationships, careers. I think nothing is ever brilliant, or 100 percent astonishing, or 100 percent bad. I think it's all a combination. It just made sense to me for what we go through as human beings. It's nothing religious, because I'm a very spiritual person. It's more so just about the emotions we go through in life. For instance, my album came out two weeks prior, and then two days immediately after my album came out, my grandpa passed. So it was very hard to celebrate my album because of that. It's crazy, because I was talking about it so much, plus it happened to me. I felt like I was living in heaven, nevertheless also hell, because I was so sad about my grandpa's passing. It was the craziest feeling of emotions. It's exactly what I talk about. It's life. So that's why Heaven & Hell, for me, is the ideal album title for my big album.


MTV News: I know this has been a hard year, and, certainly, it sounds like it just got a lot harder. I'm sorry to hear that. Is there stuff that you have been really coming back to, musically, to help?


Max: Well, any time my album came out, I really fancied listening to upbeat, empowering music, yet then, I don't know, once I'm in a sad mood some days, it takes me a minute, because music makes me think all of the memories, plus it makes me cry even more. I mean, I think it depends. Right now, music is helping me, although initially, the initial few days, I have to be in quiet. Although right now, I certainly need to listen to upbeat music. Anything like Beyoncé, Destiny's Child — something to get me feeling motivated, because I know that's what my grandpa would have wanted.


MTV News: Do have anything you can mention, or any pointers you can give, to people who still wish to just dance to your album, although they can't dance in clubs or with people right now?


Max: Turn off your lights and dance in the dark. I like the nighttime. I'm a night owl. So I dance in the nighttime. Nevertheless it's a workout album, also. I love to workout to upbeat music. That's why I made such motivating, empowering songs, because I personally feel like I go even harder working out, or maybe doing little things, I don't know, cooking a meal. I like to put on music. I think as long as I'm putting out empowering music, I think it supports the with all those things. Dancing, working out, creating your objectives for the future.


MTV News: You said cooking. Is that something you did a lot with some noticed time in quarantine? Because you, unfortunately, weren't able to tour and do things like that?


Max: The starting of quarantine, I did not [order from] Postmates because I was so terrified. I fried almost every meal. I'm not even kidding you. I told my mom, I'm like, I give you kudos, because my wrists were hurting. I was cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My niece would come over, I should make her food, and then I'd be like, wow, moms do so much. That was just cooking. That wasn't even cleaning up babies, which I don't have. I'm like, imagine being a mom. Kudos to moms. I just clap for all moms out there. As the cooking was hard all day.


MTV News: Did you have a signature dish you made?


Max: Tacos. I love tacos. I was building a lot of tacos. I was creating a lot of pasta. I was creating a lot of really comforting food. Let's just mention my jeans did not fit at the starting of quarantine.


MTV News: Were you bingeing any TV shows? Did you visualize any movies that you were like, "I need this in my life?"


Max: I regret watching Tiger King. I regret that, because each person was watching Tiger King. Do you remember at the starting? I was just like, no, I'm not going to watch it. Finally, I watched it. It was bad. I mean, I did not like it. Yes, it was a good show. Right? However it was just like, I don't aspire to be able to see them mistreating tigers. I just didn't like the complete anger thing. I remember getting a headache immediately after watching that. Other than that, I loved Dead to Me with Christina Applegate. Another one I watched was Little Fires Everywhere with Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon. Oh my god! I love small-town dramas. Can you tell?


MTV News: What are you excited for in the rest of 2020?


Max: I am excited for the holidays. Is that weird? I'm excited to spend time with my family member, roast some marshmallows by the fire, eat some chestnuts. A lot of people don't know this, yet chestnuts are one of my main go to foods.


MTV News: Chestnuts roasting on an open fire?


Max: Not even kidding you. It's a Albanian thing, also. Albanians love to create chestnuts throughout the wintertime. We can turn into a chestnut if we eat also several. It's full of carbohydrates. Although anyway, I'm also excited because I'm finishing the deluxe [edition of Heaven & Hell], and I'm really, really excited for each person to hear these records as well. It's just a lot of music. I promise you guys there will be no shortage of music.









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