“If Kylie [Jenner] were to walk out of the door and wear absolutely no makeup, sweatpants, and a tank top, people would be like, ‘Look how ugly [she] is. Oh my God, she’s so disgusting and she’s such a mess walking out like that,” Madison Beer says of the struggles of keeping up appearances in Hollywood. “People are just used to seeing her so put together, so I feel like she can’t win, no matter what she does, whether she’s wearing a pile of makeup on her face and a gown, or she’s wearing leggings and a t-shirt, people will always have something to say.”

It’s this same world of celebrity-ism and the price tag that accompanies fame, a just-shy-of-17-year-old Beer is quickly adjusting to herself. In 2012, as Beer was entering her teenage years, she was uploading cover song videos on YouTube when Justin Bieber conspicuously tweeted a link that would change her life. Almost overnight, Beer, found herself with a growing list of loyal fans (Currently around 9 million, across all her different accounts) and a record deal on J.B.’s label. She’s since been dubbed as the pop phenomenon’s protégé, just as Justin himself was Usher’s protégé not too long before that.

On set for her MIMI cover shoot in Venice Beach, CA, Beer tells us that Justin is heavily involved with her career and debut album she’s been working on ever since. And yes, it’s been a while.

“I think it’s been really awesome, but of course, Justin’s so busy that it’s hard to really get his full attention all the time. So it’s like a waiting process — but he’s so talented and creative and he has such a good ear for music and that’s why I always send him stuff before it comes out, just to make sure he likes it,” Beer says.