"Sweet but Psycho" was about why women get gaslit in relationships and “Kings & Queens” was for her mom.
Ava Max tells Brut the story behind each of her hit songs.
Ava Max tells Brut the story behind each of her hit songs.
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MusicTranscript
00:00I am not Psycho, but I may be a little sweep of Psycho.
00:03Hey guys, it's Ava Max.
00:05I'm back tracking through some of my biggest hits with Verbez.
00:20Sweep of Psycho was the song that started it all for me.
00:25It really was something like out of a movie
00:29when it came out, I ate my number one everywhere.
00:31And I had no idea any of that would happen
00:33because I was a brand new artist.
00:34And I just felt very just excited to even have the song out on Spotify
00:39because I don't even think I had a song out on Spotify like that
00:41before of my own.
00:42Sweep of Psycho was
00:44the song about just why women get gaslit in relationships.
00:50And it really, I think, struck out because I think we all get called psycho,
00:54not just women, everyone gets called psycho for so many various reasons.
00:58And I think that really stuck with people.
01:01Like, hey, I'm not psycho, but I may be a little sweep of psycho.
01:12That one's all about my queens, right?
01:14So it's just about like being, having like,
01:18pride for what you do, who you are, love for yourself,
01:22not caring what anyone else thinks, and popping champagne and having fun.
01:26It meant a lot to me, too, because, you know, my mom, she's a queen
01:30and she came to the States as an immigrant and it meant a lot to me and her.
01:34She, you know, she had three jobs growing up each and like with me.
01:39And and I just watched her struggle, you know, as a woman in America.
01:43And it was very hard for me.
01:44So to me, that song really like resemble my mom.
01:48I resembles like all the queens I know and me trying to make it a music industry.
01:53And I think a lot of people can relate to that.
01:56My head and my heart are torturing me.
01:59My head and my heart.
02:00OK, that is one of my favorite songs to perform, especially.
02:03Oh, my God, I love that song so much.
02:06It's a time where I was really torn between
02:09kind of two ways my personal life could go, like
02:14maybe with this person or this person.
02:16And like I was torn because I was distracted and I felt like, OK,
02:21I was just like, didn't know who I was really like.
02:24I was finding myself and I didn't know what I wanted personally.
02:28So I was just very, very torn when I wrote this record.
02:31I just felt so strong in that video and I just felt so powerful in the dance.
02:36And I just felt so confident and happy.
02:38It just reminds me of a really good time.
02:40Like, I love that.
02:46The motto is all about having a good time and just that being the motto.
02:52And again, pop and champagne.
02:54I love to pop champagne. What can I say?
02:55I don't drink much champagne, but I like to pop it for everyone.
02:58And I like to pour it for everyone because I don't like carbonated drinks.
03:02I had never done a song like that.
03:04Like, I kind of sound like I'm rapping almost, which is really funny.
03:07But I was like, I don't even know how the public will like this.
03:10Like, but I love it.
03:11I love the record so much that I was like, we have to put this out.
03:14Using your words as weapons, they're never going to shoot me down.
03:19Weapons is all about not spreading any hate or like any like it's about bullying in school.
03:25Like I was bullied in school.
03:26It's about people spreading hate for no reason at all, just to hurt people.
03:31And I don't like that.
03:32And, you know, have you heard the phrase hurt people, hurt people?
03:35Like, that's literally what it's about.
03:36And I think it's just about stopping to do that, not to do that anymore,
03:41because weapons are not just going to hurt you physically.
03:44They can hurt you mentally and in the mind.
03:46And they can stay much longer than a verse.
03:48Messages for me and music that help people go through a tough time is number one.
03:53And you know, when you listen to something, you believe it.
03:56And so I think if we spread a lot of love, we can really unite a lot of people.
04:01And I know I can't do it all myself, but at least a little bit of goodness in my lyrics.
04:08I think for people to go home and listen to and feel better and be a better person
04:13and feel like, you know, better about themselves is everything to me.
04:18Like that's why I make music.