Bio

Childhood .. The Beginning

Baby Maddie

Maddie was born and raised in the suburbs outside Philadelphia, in a small town called Newtown Square. Yup, she's from Delco. She grew up in a tiny historical cottage in the woods with her parents and older sister. When Maddie was a baby, she'd sing along to Disney Princess songs. She couldn't even speak yet, but she'd sing in baby jibberish and somehow hit all the notes. It was clear to everyone around her that she was blessed with the gift of song.

Her father, a musician himself, always had music playing throughout the household. Having a stay-at-home dad in her baby years, she was introduced to genres that would later influence her songwriting. The Beatles, KISS, Queen, and Michael Jackson were among the music her dad listened to. Talking Heads, The Monkees, and even composers such as Tomita, Danny Elfman, and John Williams influenced her love for music.

Her mother, an artist, worked long hard hours during Maddie's childhood to build a facepainting business to support the family.

Her father obtained a degree in technology during her years in grade school, landing him to work the position of a video technician at the Hospital University of Pennsylvania.

Teenage Years

In 6th grade, she and her family moved into a one story rancher with a finished basement, and big back yard. With mirrors covering both sides of the walls, the basement was a fun environment where Maddie would practice singing, dancing, and performing. Her father had music equipment set up, too, and she would sing with him and his friends for fun. At one point, even joining a family band made up with her sister, father, uncle, and a family friend. She adored theatrical musicals such as The Nightmare Before Christmas, Chicago, Grease, and The Sound of Music.

Maddie didn't enjoy school, though her favorite subject was always History. It was like "story-time" for her, and she loved it! She participated in the Variety Show every year since kindergarten. Singing, of course.

Maddie was her school's go-to-girl when it came to the National Anthem. She'd sing at pep rallies, football games, basketball and soccer games, and other sports events.

When she was 15, Maddie took classes at John Robert Powers Philadelphia Modeling, Acting and Finishing School. After graduating her basic and advanced classes, she attended a huge convention in New York City called MAAI (Modeling Across America International) where she participated in talent competitions with hundreds of other teenage girls from all over the country. She was the Overall Winner of the Monologue competition, by reciting a comedic monologue she had picked out and memorized from a monologue book the morning of the competition. Maddie completely let her inner "Jim Carey" out for the judges, with her animated facial expressions and willingness to be silly and make others laugh.

She also won 2nd Place for Singing, 2nd Place for Runway Walking, 2nd Place for Makeup Application, and 3 medals for Dancing, Cold Reading, and "Legs".

After MAAI, Maddie appeared in Nickelodean's film "The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie" as an extra in the prom scene when she was 16 years old.

With both parents working full-time, Maddie missed out on auditions in New York. So she spent her weekends playing with friends on the trampoline, watching movies, and singing at open mic nights at the local coffee shop. She hung out with her older sister every day, and considers her sister her best friend to this day.

The Journey

How it all started

After graduating highschool in 2009, she attended college at Musician's Institute in Hollywood, California for Vocal Performance. Then, she took a 4 year break to "try to get a real job." She tried her hand in many different fields. She worked as a preschool caregiver, a swimsuit store associate, a restaurant hostess, a hotel receptionist, a wedding coordinator, and a face painter.

None of those jobs made her happy, though she was living a life she was told "made more sense."

It was the summer of 2014 when her friend who worked at a winery told Maddie she should just show up with her guitar, microphone, and amplifier and just play for fun. THAT made her break out of her shell, and was the beginning of her music career.

Ever since August 2014, she has performed at a number of venues including The Legendary Dobbs, Hard Rock Cafe in Philadelphia, The Tower Theater, Congress Hall, Lansdowne Theater, and many more.

American Idol

One evening, she was checking her emails and was asked by a casting agent to do a private audition for producers of a popular show. She thought it was spam and didn't respond, until the agent reached out to her again! And that's when she agreed to audition.

Maddie appeared on the 15th season of American Idol, singing Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, and Born This Way by Lady Gaga. She received a golden ticket from celebrity judges Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr., and Keith Urban.

She later wrote a song about her experience, entitled Golden Ticket.

Songwriting

Her approach to songwriting & influences

Accompanying herself with an acoustic guitar, she has sang covers of numerous genres over the years, and continues to wow audiences with her originals.

"I write songs with my acoustic guitar for accompaniment, however, many of my originals are pop. I love singing a variety of different genres, so when I write, I take inspiration from genres such as rock and roll, hip hop, country, pop, metal, theatrical musicals, and movie soundtrack music."

Maddie considers herself a storyteller and she does it through song.

By drawing inspiration from situations she sees others going through, she is able to create stories written in first person, and then make it into a song.

And, of course, some pieces are also written from personal experience.

Her childhood musical influences haven't changed, but they have branched out to many genres!

Nowadays, Maddie's musical influences include:

Walker Hayes, KISS, Rihanna, The Beachboys Sabrina Carpenter, John Mayer, Shania Twain, Eminem, Lainey Wilson, Taylor Swift, Little Big Town, Shakira, Mac Miller, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Billie Eilish.

Just to name a few! ;)

Right Now

Maddie has worked with renowned producer Joe "The Butcher" Nicolo, who produced her first three songs: Wrong Guy, Heart Bruises, and Beautiful Temporary.

Beautiful Temporary won "Best Song In A Music Video" in the Scotland International Festival of Cinema.

Directed by Tristan Sachar.

She has since been working with Nashville's award winning producer Dr. Ford, who produced her latest EP entitled Private Life,

as well as her singles No Wonder, ATM Machine, Golden Ticket, Gotta Get Me Some, and Relationship Road.

Netherlands producer "Hi5" often collaborates with Maddie on remixes to her songs, such as Heart Bruises Hi5 remix, and Rock And A Hard Place Hi5 remix.

Maddie appears as the leads best friend in the new movie Killing Mary Sue, which recently won Best Picture, Best Actor (Dermot Mulroney), and Best Actress (Sierra McCormick) at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Two of her songs Heart Bruises and Gotta Get Me Some are in the film as well.

Nashville Music Scene Magazine just named Maddie as an Artist/Songwriter to watch in 2025.

Biography