Madison Beer, an incredibly gifted singer-songwriter, just released her new studio album, “Silence Between Songs” – but why didn’t it see mainstream success like Olivia Rodrigo’s “Guts”?

Madison Beer, 24, is the epitome of the picture-perfect star, the girl with the natural “it factor.” There are even countless videos of Beer on TikTok, typically ones of her in natural settings showing her sweet personality: her inviting mannerisms, the warm smile she gives when she sees her fans, the way she acknowledges them and makes them feel seen. Besides the way she carries herself, Beer’s vocals are phenomenal. She can reach notes effortlessly, and it was actually her talent that led her to internet stardom.

Justin Bieber has a superpower: With just one tweet, he could make any girl popular. In 2012, Bieber shared Beer’s cover of “At Last” by Etta James. “wow. 13 years old! she can sing. great job.#futurestar,” he shared. Shortly after Bieber brought Beer’s name to public consciousness, she began trending on Twitter and was signed with Island Def Jam Records (managed by Scooter Braun). One year after being discovered, Beer released her debut single, “Melodies.”

Most celebrities have “that one scandal” that comes to mind, like Chris Brown’s assault or Ashlee Simpson’s lip-syncing fiasco. For Ariana Grande, it’s the donut shop or SpongeBob incident. Meanwhile, Doja Cat is collecting controversies like they’re Pokemon. But I don’t think of anything bad when I hear Beer’s name.

You get the point, right? Madison Beer is gorgeous, incredibly talented, young, and has a good reputation. So why isn’t she famous like Olivia Rodrigo or Selena Gomez?

Madison Beer Is an Influencer to Most People
For months, I’ve been looking for a reason as to why Beer hasn’t reached the same level of success as other well-known singers today. This piece had to be placed on the backburner multiple times because even I couldn’t fathom why Beer isn’t a massive celebrity. That is, until this week, several TikToks appeared on my “For You Page” of people discussing this exact topic asking the same question: Why isn’t Madison Beer’s album a hit like Olivia Rodrigo’s (whose new album Guts debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart)? Naturally, I went to the comment section, and I believe that’s where the answers were.

When I think about Madison Beer, I don’t think of musician but an influencer,” @Chowbaby writes. “Maybe that’s why.”

Another comment reads, “I think it’s because she just doesn’t have recognizable music identity or maybe a recognizable voice? like olivia rodrigo has different it factor.”

Reading these comments reminded me of when I first discovered Beer. It was during the King Kylie Era, and she was one of the popular girls on social media. Her Instagram photos were careful and without flaw. She hung out with the Jenners, and the only content I saw of her didn’t have much to do with her singing. Therefore, I saw her as an influencer. In recent years, this idea of her deepened due to her friendship with David Dobrik, a large YouTube personality who led the ensemble “The Vlog Squad.” It wasn’t until 2021 – during Beer’s Life Support Tour – that I saw a clip of her singing on stage and thought: “Madison Beer can sing?!”

Beer’s association with other social media characters makes her look like one, and it’s not her fault – the media we’re consuming greatly shapes how we view something or someone. If most people only see photos of Beer’s ‘fits, her immaculate selfies, and videos of her mingling with YouTubers, most would automatically assume she’s an influencer. If, however, more of the content online about her was mostly of her songs and her performances, then there’s a high chance people would see her more as the talented artist she is.