Who wouldn’t have heard of Amanda Ava Koci, or as the whole world knows her, Ava Max by now? The US singer with Albanian origins has become one of the hottest pop sensations on the planet in the past few years, and she has quickly proved that she’s not going anywhere anytime soon!
Ever since her 2018 breakthrough single, Sweet But Psycho, she’s been releasing songs like Salt and Kings & Queens, which dominated the charts all over Europe and the world. Now she’s back once again with her latest hit, My Head and My Heart, for which she’s planning to drop a „crazy” video very soon. We sat down to chat with the star via Zoom at the beginning of February, just two weeks before her birthday, so naturally, before we started the interview, we wished her a happy birthday.
Thank you! It’s my birthday month, I love it!
Check out our interview in which she told us about her debut album, Heaven & Hell, how she copes with negative criticism, the craziest rumor that she’s ever heard about herself, and of course, we taught her a little bit of Hungarian, too – exclusive interview with Ava Max.
What are you the most grateful for in your life?
„Family, friends, and fans. Literally, all of the F’s.”
Which song was the hardest to create on Heaven & Hell?
I think Kings & Queens. It took the longest, well one of the longest, and I feel like we really wanted to perfect the empowering lyrics, so it took a minute.
When you were writing the songs, did you already have the concept Heaven & Hell, or did you come up with it later?
„I had Salt, So Am I, Naked and Psycho, and then all of the other songs came after the idea of Heaven & Hell.”
Which song of yours would you show to a person that doesn’t know you yet?
„Who’s Laughing Now! I don’t know, it’s one of my favorites to sing… I really like Who’s Laughing Now.„
All of your songs are really powerful, and you actually play a superhero in the Torn video. If you could choose one superpower, what would it be?
To heal people.
But see, that is kind of what you do with your music, right? I mean, music heals people.
„That is true, thank you.”
Music does heal, music heals me, too.
„I love releasing music that people can relate to and feel empowered by.”
Let’s just talk about your latest single, My Head and My Heart. Which one do you listen to more: your head or your heart?
„My heart.”
And are we going to get a video for it? Because we’ve seen you teasing it!
„Yes, you are! I’m so excited! I can’t reveal much but it’s a really fun video. It’s pretty crazy.”
And how would you describe it in only 3 words? Just 3 words, nothing more.
Sexy, dance, club.
Previously, you’ve mentioned a deluxe edition of Heaven & Hell. Is it still happening or are you kind of focusing more on the next chapter already?
„You know, I can’t say much, but I’m always making new music. Obviously, I’m still focused on Heaven & Hell, and My Head and My Heart, but I’m always working in the studio!”
And if you could describe your new material, your new sound, again, only in only 3 words, what would you say?
Crazy, crazy, crazy!
There’s a song on your album called Rumors. I’m wondering, what’s the craziest rumor that you’ve ever heard about yourself?
That I’m actually Lady Gaga’s daughter, that’s what people think!
Aren’t you?
„No, but I love her and that would be pretty cool.”
Unfortunately, when you reach a certain level of success, it’s almost inevitable you kind of get thrown some hate, negativity your way, basically coming from internet trolls. Especially when you’re a talented and successful woman in the music industry. So, I’m wondering how do you cope with that? How do you cope with that negativity?
„It hits me sometimes, sometimes it doesn’t. It depends on the day.”
I feel like I’m that type of person where I grew up with a lot of criticism anyway, so I’m like, whatever. It’s like, whatever people wanna say, they can say. I mean, I know who I am, and I know what I love.
What do you mean when you say you grew up with a lot of criticism?
„You know, I was bullied in school and I moved around a lot. I didn’t have a lot of friends, so I just didn’t have that clique where it was all good all the time. It wasn’t like that.”
You actually went to LA when you were really young, right? You were like, 14-ish?
„I came here when I was 14, and I left after a year and went to South Carolina for a couple of years. I came back and I was by myself at 17, and started back up.”
But it was very-very hard to break in the industry.
What have you learned from your fans?
„I feel like my fans and I are very similar. We love anthemic music, we love uplifting music, and we love to dance!”
You actually don’t really have a ballad, do you?
„No, not yet!”
Not yet? But it’s coming?
„Maybe one day, I don’t know! Not yet, not it the near future.”
What is the most memorable thing that a fan has ever said to you? Can you recall anything?
„So many!”
One of them is that I’ve changed their lives for the better, that they were on the brink of just feeling like everything was over and my that music help them uplift them. So that made them stronger, so that made me really happy.
Yeah, you’re kind of an inspiration for them, so I’m wondering who were your biggest inspiration when you were growing up and who are they now?
„Okay, well I grew up watching Oprah Winfrey and I love her! My mom… I think Gwen Stefani is so cool, I loved Gwen Stefani growing up. And I still do! You know, there’s so many artists that really made me feel like I could be myself. All of the pop artists, growing up!”
You don’t have a collaboration on your album, you’ve done some collabs, but I’m wondering, who is your dream collaborator? The big one?
Ahh… I would love to do a song with either Megan Thee Stallion or Cardi B, or Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars… They’re all at the top of my list!
Unfortunately, as we know, you did’t get the chance to tour with your debut album, which we are honestly devastated about, we were really looking forward to seeing you! So, are you planning a massive world tour when shows will be a thing again and maybe include Hungary too?
Oh my God, of course! I think we’re gonna go everywhere! Once the world opens up, I will not come home for a while, I’m just gonna be touring and touring!
And can you recall what was it like to perform your very first show as Ava Max?
„Oh, man! You know, I don’t remember… Where was I? I did a lot of big arena shows right away, which is crazy! I thought that was just insane. I did a lot of radio shows that was really intimate. I think all of them, at the beginning, they were all very monumental, because it was my first time.”
If you had a time machine, and you could go back in time to 10 years ago, and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?
„To be patient ‘cause everyone has their own time for things. You don’t have to compare. So, I think just being young, you want everything to happen so fast.”
What’s your dream vacation?
„Oh, island! I think anywhere on an island or the south of France.”
Is there a message that you would like to share with your Hungarian fans?
„I love my Hungarian fans, and I really appreciate all the support, especially during a crazy time we are in right now, in lockdown. Hopefully we can have a show soon in Hungary.”
That’s all we planned, but before we go, there’s one thing we would like to teach you. I don’t if you know how to say “I love you” in Hungarian.
Ava Max: Okay, let’s do it!
MUSICDAILY: Alright, so it’s „szeretlek”.
Ava Max: Wait, go slow I can’t!
MUSICDAILY: Sorry-sorry, so it’s „sze-ret-lek”.
Ava Max: Sze-re-lek.
MUSICDAILY: Almost, it’s „sze-ret-lek”.
Ava Max: Sze-ret-lek. Szeretlek.
MUSICDAILY: Yes! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us! We really loved that. So, you take care and have a nice day.
Ava Max: Thank you, you too! I hope to see you at a show!
MUSICDAILY: We will be there!
Ava Max: You guys are so sweet, thank you! Bye!
