Singer-Songwriter Rett Madison Fights Off Heartbreak On New Single “Emily” From Upcoming Debut Album

Since first finding her passion for songwriting at 16 years old, West Virginia-born singer-songwriter Rett Madison eventually found her way to Los Angeles at 18 for university but ultimately dropping out to pursue music more seriously. It was during these formative years that she not only realized her musical identity, but her sexuality as well. “I was raised Catholic, and grew up in a small city in West Virginia of about 15,000 people,” she shares. “Although I had attended public schools in West Virginia until I was 16, I had a very bigoted and homophobic teacher my freshmen year of high school. I didn’t understand my own identity yet, but I fought back on this teacher’s homophobic remarks he made during class until the point I was in tears and outraged. I didn’t have the vocabulary at that time to say he was being prejudiced, but I was very hurt by his words.”

Her growth as a person comes out in her music, as she brings forth an intimate and candid lyricism backed by her rustic vocal charm, along the lines of Julien Baker and Brandi Carlile. “I try to be open about my queerness and those experiences in my music now”, she beings, “so that kids who may be living through similar experiences that I once did, won’t feel as alone and will know there’s better days ahead of them”. Her new single “Emily” explores a past love from her own perspective, one that she tries to break loose from, blending together pop and Americana for a warm combination that is true to her.

Listen to the single below, and stay tuned for her upcoming debut album Pin Up Daddy.