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Ava Max’s 2018 single “Sweet But Psycho," an infectious earworm that reigned supreme on radio stations around the globe last summer, catapulted the singer’s name into the pop music spotlight.
After putting the finishing touches on her debut album “Heaven and Hell,” which releases today, she could’ve jet-setted just about anywhere to relax and celebrate the momentous occasion in her budding career.
But the only place she wanted to visit was home: Virginia Beach.
Born Amanda Koci in Milwaukee but raised in Hampton Roads and performing under the moniker Ava Max, the singer affectionately referred to the Oceanfront city as home and said she comes back at least once a year to visit her many family members who still live in the area. The coronavirus pandemic made it impossible this summer, though, and Ava is patiently waiting until it’s safe to visit again.
Fortunately for the singer, the album release is keeping her heart and mind preoccupied. The long-time-coming record is bursting with pop anthems already taking up serious space on radio stations and streaming platforms and peppered with messages of self-love and empowerment.
Her music already is loved 'round the world.
“Sweet But Psycho” went platinum three times in the U.S. and has been streamed more than 2 billion times globally.
“Kings and Queens,” the lead single from her first full-length album, quickly went viral on TikTok, sits on Apple’s Top 50 chart in 20 countries and is streamed 25 million times globally every day. The music video, published in late March, is rapidly nearing a hundred million views.
Now a stranger to few places, her career started in Norfolk. As with many aspiring musicians from the region, her first real gig was at The NorVa.
“I don’t even remember who I opened for,” she said in a phone interview from her Los Angeles home, laughing as she recounted the details of her big night as a 10-year-old. “There was about 200 or so people there, but I sang ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ and I really gave it my all.”
Ava, 26, began competing in Radio Disney competitions at Chesapeake’s Greenbrier Mall a few years prior to her NorVa debut. Her parents were incredibly supportive and would sometimes drive young Ava down to Florida for other competitions.
When she was 14, she heard a wild idea from her mother to help Ava progress in the music industry: selling their Hickory home and heading to California.
“It was crazy. I was still in middle school,” she said, remembering some hesitation from her father. Ultimately, they sold the family home and headed west.
Despite their best efforts, Ava said the move was a bust because record labels weren’t too keen on signing a teenaged girl. Their time in California was short-lived and her family ended up in South Carolina, where she was homeschooled.
Alone and “just miserable,” Ava spent all of her free time on music. At 17, she and her brother moved back to California, her parents followed shortly after, and Max kept at it.
It paid off. Max inked a deal with Atlantic Records in 2016.
Fast forward to now, and the evidence of her struggles are present in the powerful pop records of “Heaven and Hell.” Ava draws on the pretty and the painful moments of her upbringing and her industry experiences in song.
“Born to the Night” paints a picture of Ava’s school years when she was bullied by peers and turned to singing for comfort.
“So Am I” is a directive to listeners everywhere that it’s all right to be different, and “Salt” is a punch back to anyone who ever told her she would get swallowed up by the music industry.
“Being a woman in the industry, sometimes people tried to silence me. So many told me I’d never make it, and that crushed me,” she said.
Ava hopes fans relate to the words of “Kings and Queens,” that they realize their self-worth and live their lives unapologetically, a lesson hard-learned by Ava while chasing success.
“There were weeks I was living off of $20. I couldn’t work full-time because I wanted to record in the studio,” she said. “It was fighting this feeling of, oh my God, I’m never gonna achieve what I want to achieve. I feel like if we continue doing what we want for our future, we will get there.”
The album is laced with rainbow-soaked rhythms and melodies likely to reverberate around your head for days. She attributes her developing sound to her partnership with Cirkut, a Canadian producer responsible for mega-hits “Roar” and “Dark Horse” from Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus' “Wrecking Ball,” and The Weeknd’s “Starboy” album.
“He’s a genius. I’ve seen him make a beat in one minute, start to finish,” she said. “Working with him for the last six years, he always allowed me to help. I really feel like, without him, I wouldn’t have found my sound.”
Her hometown has crept into her music in other ways, too. Virginia Beach songwriter Jacob Kasher, credited as J Kash, lent his talents to “Tattoo,” track four on the album.
Weekend Scoop
“Torn,” released as a single last year, was recorded in Virginia Beach. The disco-tinged record depicts the struggle of an imperfect relationship, wanting to leave and stay all at the same time.
The music video for “Sweet But Psycho” was directed by Bengali American filmmaker Shomi Patwary, who graduated from Old Dominion University, co-founded Virginia Beach-based Illusive Media, and has been the visionary behind music videos for Beyoncé, Diplo, A$AP Ferg, Ty Dolla Sign and Pusha T. It has more than 609 million views on YouTube.
The track that made Ava famous brings her debut album to a close. The choice to leave fans with the song was a no-brainer.
It fits the theme of heaven and hell perfectly, reflecting the dualities of life we go through each day just trying to make it through. The album wouldn’t be what it is without the song, she said.
“It’s the song that started it all, so I thought it was only right to finish it.”
“Heaven and Hell” is available today on all major platforms and at avamax.com for purchase and streaming.
Amy Poulter, 757-446-2705, amy.poulter@pilotonline.com