MAGGIE LINDEMANN Interview- being bullied, coming out, tattoos, math fav subject, running track
Maggie Lindemann said goodbye to her family in San Antonio and relocated to Los Angeles to create music in 2015. It has all the trappings of a fairy tale, but our heroine’s penchant for speaking her mind (and dropping the F-bomb) immediately ensured this journey would be far from typical… “I always have something to say,” she grins. “Even if it gets me in trouble, I’m not afraid to say what I feel needs to be said. I’m not scripted. I don’t censor who I am. I’ve been through some shit. I think it’s cool I can fully be myself.” Growing up in Dallas, Maggie joined the church choir at just 4-years-old, quietly working towards realizing her dream from that point on. In junior high school, she started recording videos of her singing and posting them on the social media app KEEK, developing a fervent following. A clip of Maggie made it on to a fan’s YouTube page—which former Sony Music Marketing Strategist Gerald Tennison found. Much to the family’s surprise, Gerald reached out, asking to manage Maggie. A week later, the budding songstress made a trip to L.A. to meet with Gerald. Returning home, she spoke to her family and made the decision to leave her loved ones, friends, animals, and old life behind in Boerne, TX. Rolling the dice, she hopped a plane West and chose to give everything up for that dream within weeks. “I’ve been singing nearly my whole life,” she goes on. “It was just something I had to do. I needed to give it a shot.” Upon arriving in L.A., Maggie spent a year-and-a-half locked in a studio, writing, recording, and honing her voice in between homeschooling. With a growing social media imprint across Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and YouTube, she maintained constant contact through consistent content. Rather than simply capitalize on the digital platforms, she opted to grind the old-fashioned way—cutting countless tracks. Influenced by everyone from Lana Del Rey and BANKS to Marina & The Diamonds, she fashioned a focused and fiery style through diligence and dedication to the craft. “The direction I’m going in is dark, sultry pop,” she exclaims. “That’s who I am.” With no traditional promotion, her 2015 independent debut single “Knocking On Your Heart” crashed into the Top 20 of iTunes Top Alternative Songs chart, while its follow-up “Couple of Kids” went Top 30. 2016’s “Things” trended worldwide on Twitter and landed on Spotify’s Top 50 Viral Worldwide. In the aftermath, her Instagram covers of Rihanna’s “Love on the Brain” and Kehlani’s “Letter” would each quickly crack over 200K views. By September 2016, she amassed over 3 million-plus YouTube Views and 1.5 million Instagram followers in addition to earning acclaim from Noisey, PopCrush, Teen Vogue, Idolator, and many more. Courted by numerous major labels, she signed to 300 Entertainment.
