Madeline Merlo is opening up.
Her latest song “Makeup” pulls from the budding artist’s upbringings and renders a look into the her innate characteristics and flaws passed down through her family tree. Her lyricism is composed of emotional depth and introspection, and sees the Canadian-born songstress addressing the hardships of relationships, the generational trauma that you inherit, and that one can change their behaviors and perspectives.
Her biggest hope? That people find comfort in it like she did.
“Makeup is a song that I feel like I needed to hear.” Merlo tells Celeb Secrets‘ Brianna Vacca in an exclusive interview. “It’s definitely the most personal song that I’ve ever put out. I feel like this song is about all of those kinds of questions and fears that you have about yourself, and the things that feel kind of predetermined in your life. So like, a line is like, ‘Could I make love last forever? My parents never could.’ So it explores those questions and fears and it came from a really real place. I really hope that this song kind of hits the people that need to hear that type of stuff too.”
makeup : out now ❤️🩹 i feel it in my spirit to encourage you that you have the power to break any and all trauma cycles in your family & relationships. my honest hope is that this song lands with the people who need to hear this message, because i sure didhttps://t.co/BuMET8HP06 pic.twitter.com/54OYfRtLUB
— Madeline Merlo (@madelinemerlo) January 19, 2024
The BBR Music Group + Stoney Creek Records’ artist divulged the makings of the song and noted that she was unsure how her co-writers would react to this heavy of a composition and was “certainly VERY nervous” bringing her conception to life.
“I had the idea and I wrote most of the verse and the chorus walking on the treadmill, actually the lyric of it. Then I had to write the next day and shared what I had with my producer, Zach Crowell, Josh Osborne and Jerry Flowers. It was great. We all kind’ve dove in on the idea and they were super open to writing a very personal, kind of vulnerable song, and I think it turned out really, really great. “Even the production is pretty empty. It’s about the lyric, it’s about the story. I think it’s diving deeper than I’ve ever done before. It’s another side. This is a moment that shows a different side of me and a little more serious side of me, or introspective side of me.”
She continues, “I really didn’t know what they were going to say. I didn’t know if they were like, ‘That’s to heavy of a topic,’ or you know, whatever it is. I kind of what like, ‘Look, this is personal and kind of sad and I mean, I don’t even know what to do with it, but this is the idea that I had’ and showed them what I had and they were very excited and really wanted to dive in. I wasn’t really sure how to make these ramblings that I had jotted down into a real song yet.”
@madelinemerlo probably the realest one yet 🥹🫶🏼 what line hits the hardest for you? #songwriter #newartist #newmusic #honest #countrymusic
As stated, the singer’s new story is overflowing with her very own line of thinking about herself, including thoughts about her roots, her body, her own love story. With this amount of honesty, comes a lot of fear for the world to hear the inner workings of her mind.
“Definitely the chorus. Definitely the body image stuff.” Merlo confesses when asked what part of the song she was most nervous for people to hear. “These are my real fears and real emotions. It was nerve wracking. You know, my mother was amazing. She never said anything negative about my body. But she was a woman, you know, and I think all women to some degree struggles with body image issues. So that one was nerve wracking for me ’cause I didn’t wanna feel like I was putting her on blast or something but it’s a real thing, you know? It was something that I knew about her. And I hated that she felt that way.”
She sings in the chorus, “Do I hate my body ’cause my mother hated hers? / Bet I can’t control my temper ’cause my daddy never learned / Could I make love last forever? My parents never could / Will I ever know the difference between good enough and good? / Can you change the way you’re made up? / If you scrub it hard enough / Can you ever wash off what’s in your makeup? / What’s in your makeup.”
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On what’s coming next, Merlo says, “We’ve got another really great song coming at the beginning of Q2 that I’m super stoked about. So feeling really confident in the music that I’m making right now. And we’ve got some cool shows lined up and hitting the road with a couple people and then some collaborations up my sleeve. So there’s a lot of things to be excited about in 2024.
To keep up with Madeline Merlo, follow @madelinemerlo on Instagram, @madelinemerlo on X and @madelinemerlo on TikTok. Check out some of her upcoming festival dates at madelinemerlo.com.
“Makeup” is available on all digital streaming platforms. Let us know what you think of the song by dropping a reaction below or by sliding into our DMs on Instagram at @celebsecrets.
For more Country news, visit CelebSecretsCountry.com.
