Backstage with Maggie Lindemann, who is definitely not the 'little pop girl' you might remember

• Maggie Lindemann recently spoke to Insider backstage before an intimate concert in New York City.
• The 24-year-old singer released her breakthrough hit in 2016 and finally unveiled her debut album this year.

Maggie Lindemann may not be the girl you remember, but she's exactly who she wants to be.

The 24-year-old singer grew up in Dallas, Texas, where she would scribble poems in her journal and record herself singing covers for a growing audience online, especially Tumblr. Before long, these hobbies led to a record deal with 300 Entertainment.

Her debut single, 2016's twee empowerment anthem "Pretty Girl," became a multi-platinum smash that thrust Lindemann onto mainstream radars — and into a "little pop girl" persona that she didn't recognize.

Lindemann reflected on this frustrating time during an interview with Insider at New York City's Mercury Lounge in September, just a few hours before she would take the stage for a feverish crowd.

She said her burning desire to make music, paired with a naive faith in industry professionals, compelled her to embrace an image and sound that felt inauthentic.

"It was just not me at all," Lindemann explained. "I did so much media training to try to hide myself so that I could be what they wanted. Shit drives you crazy after a while."

She managed to extricate herself from her label in 2019 and signed a distribution deal, which grants her more creative control, in 2020. By the time autumn came around, she had already emerged as a leading voice in music's pop-punk revival with singles like "Knife Under My Pillow" and "Scissorhands."

Finally, in September — seven years after she entered the music industry — Lindemann unveiled her debut album "Suckerpunch," partly inspired by Zack Snyder's 2011 cult-classic film with the same name, as well as lifelong influences like Tim Burton, Paramore, and Evanescence. In a word, she said the album is defined by "anger."

Any concern that ditching her "pink and bubbly" image would repel Lindemann's audience, however, appears to be grossly unfounded. As of writing, she boasts 4.8 million monthly listeners on Spotify and 6 million followers on Instagram.

Lindemann opened up to Insider about her seven-year quest to make "Suckerpunch," her take on Tumblr nostalgia, and her first song about sapphic yearning.

Before we dive into your new album, could you tell me a little bit about your origin as a musician?

I always was super interested in music. I did choir and church choir and plays and musicals and I was in theater, all that stuff. So I always loved to perform and sing. I just didn't really take it super seriously.

When I lived in Texas, I would go in my backyard and make these little singing videos and post them on Keek, before Instagram had videos. And that's how it started, I guess. I was posting on this app and then someone reposted one of my videos on YouTube, and my now-manager found it. So I came out to LA and now here we are.

Did you grow up in a super musical household?

No, not at all. We were a sports-oriented family for sure. Both my parents ran track and did track and field. I did that also. But my grandpa is really musical. He's super talented at piano.

I just like music. My brother likes music a lot too, so we didn't get it from our parents, but we got it from someone. My whole family is a pretty metal family.

That's interesting since you said you were also a theater kid. Did you do any shows that you remember really enjoying?

I did "High School Musical" and I really liked doing that.

Who did you play?

I played nothing cool. I was one of the nerds, but it was fun because I used to do cheer and gymnastics, so they let me do a back handspring or something onstage during one of my scenes. I was so sad when I didn't get Gabriella, but it was OK.

I know you also have roots on Tumblr and there seems to be a real nostalgia now for those gritty, Effy from "Skins" aesthetics. Do you see any similarities between that era and the online world of your fanbase today?

History always repeats itself and I think history is really repeating itself right now. On TikTok, I'll see someone talking about, "Oh, I wish I was a teenager in 2014." And I'm like, "Oh my God."

I was 16 in 2014, or turning 16 in 2014, and yeah, it was crazy. I see people want that Tumblr aesthetic again, with the tennis skirts and the Dr. Martens and the gritty pictures, all that stuff. It's all coming back and I think there are positives that are coming back. I do love that vibe. I loved when Tumblr was like that.

But then there's also that very dark, negative side of Tumblr that I also have seen a couple of those videos coming back on TikTok. So I don't know, it's cool, but it was a really different time. Maybe we shouldn't bring all of it back.

I feel like kids today are more aware of societal ills, but at the same time, I've been seeing a resurgence of "thinspo" and photos of bruises and that sort of romanticized content.

I've been seeing a lot of "thinspo," yeah. But I do think people are more aware of it now because back then, you would see "thinspo," but you wouldn't even think twice about it. You wouldn't think like, "Oh my God, that's terrible." You would just be like, "Oh, skinny. OK, next." At least for me, I wouldn't see that stuff and be like, "That's going to corrupt our youth." I was young, so in my brain, I was just like, "Oh, shit, she's skinny."

But people are definitely more aware of the negatives now and it's hopefully not going to become a trend because of that.

You came onto people's radars around that time. Can you explain why it took seven years to release your official debut album?

When I first started making music, I made a totally different type of music. People are always like, "You lied about writing an album." I was working on an EP for a long time and then I was just super unhappy in my situation. There were so many unnecessary obstacles that I was facing just to put out music. So I would have five songs and then I'd be like, "OK cool, I'm almost done with this EP." And then something would happen and then it was like I had no songs.

It was this constant battle. I was trying to put out a project but stuff kept getting in the way. I am really glad that that happened though, because I was making a completely different type of music and I think if I would've put out a project back then, I would be super disappointed now where I'm at. It would not represent me at all.

It took seven years because I went through so many different changes. Signing to a label, getting out of that label deal, finding a distribution partner, and then figuring out my sound and the direction I want to go in — and doing it all independently by myself. It just took a really long time, but I'm really glad it did, because I definitely wouldn't like the stuff I had put out before.

When did you decide that you wanted more freedom and creative control? Was there a specific moment or trigger?

In the beginning, I think I just wanted to make music, so I didn't really care what I had to do. I was like, "I trust these people because they work at a label and they helped so many artists become who they are," and I trusted their vision.

But I realized that I actually hated everything I was doing and I would much rather make something I love than have help from major label people. It doesn't really matter, I would just do it myself. It probably was something specifically that triggered me, but I don't know, I was so sick of being told what to do all the time and then being so miserable.

I think there's a big difference between being told what to do and not liking the end result, versus getting guidance and being happy with where it ends up.

Exactly. If I would've gotten that guidance and then been super happy with the outcome, it might have been different. But having that guidance and being told, "You should do this, you should do this," and then the outcome being something I absolutely hated, it didn't help.

Beyond your music, did you feel your image was being marketed in a way that you didn't agree with?

Definitely. I mean, if you look at my image before, I don't know, 2018 — it was so weird. It was just not me at all.

Even if you were a fan at that time and you watched what I was doing, I was still posting myself listening to rock and pop-punk and watching my favorite movies and Tim Burton and all this stuff. I was still posting all that, but then my image was very pink and bubbly and colors and "Pretty Girl."

So then in 2018, I was just like, "Fuck this, I hate it, I'm not doing this anymore." It started with me dressing the way I wanted to dress and then the music came a year after.

Do you think part of that disconnect was because you started so young, they just saw you as a teenage girl?

Definitely. They just saw a cute little girl and they were like, "Oh, this is perfect. She's going to be a little pop girl." But yeah, it's not my personality, and I did so much media training to try to hide myself so that I could be what they wanted. Shit drives you crazy after a while.

Has anything surprised you about the reaction to "Suckerpunch" so far?

So much has surprised me. Just the response in general — you never know what to expect when you drop a project or a song or anything. So to have so many people be supportive of it, and I've seen comments even being like, "Wow, I actually checked out Maggie's project and it's actually really good."

That word is so funny, "actually."

I know! But in a way, I'm kinda like, "Oh, OK!" Because you were expecting it to be terrible and you actually like it! So I think that's cool.

It's gotten a really, really positive response. I was really nervous, just because I was sitting on it for about a year, to see what people were going to think and it seems to be good.

How does it feel to change people's minds about your music, versus getting validation from fans who already support you?

It's cool. I like earning people's respect — not that I need anyone's respect — but it does feel earned because I worked hard for it.

Are there any tracks, in particular, that mean the most to you?

Probably "Hear Me Out" and "Self Sabotage."

What would you say is the dominant emotion of the project?

Anger and... anger.

When you wrote "Cages," did you know it would be the closing track?

Yeah. The beginning is supposed to be "Take Me Nowhere" and it's super lost. That song is about being in a situation that you don't want to be in, and you're just lost and you don't know how to get out of it. And then "Cages" is supposed to be, "Fuck you, I'm happy now. I'm out of that situation and I'm happy with who I am."

So yeah, I wanted it to end on a more hopeful note.

Were there any songs that were nearly cut from the final tracklist?

"Take Me Nowhere" almost didn't make it. "Cages" was on and off because I couldn't figure out parts of it and it was driving me crazy so I almost took it out completely.

"Hear Me Out" almost didn't make it. And I think "I'm So Lonely With You" was another one that was back and forth.

Were those last two because they felt too personal or because you couldn't figure out the production?

"Hear Me Out" felt too personal. "I'm So Lonely" was, like a lot of the songs, I redid the verses and some of them got redone twice or three times, and I literally just couldn't figure out how to make it sound right. So I was like, "Fuck it. I'm just going to scratch it."

What was the last song to be finished?

I don't even know. I know "She Knows It" was one of the first ones, and "Hear Me Out."

"She Knows It" was fully finished in the session. I never did rewrites or anything.

That's interesting because "She Knows It" has become such a fan favorite.

I know, it's crazy. That was the most natural one.

"She Knows It" is your first song that uses female pronouns. Can you speak to that decision and how you feel about queer representation in music?

I don't really like to use pronouns at all in songs. I know when I'm listening to a song and someone says "she" or "he" or whatever it is, and that's not relatable to me in the moment, I'm always changing it in my head.

But with "She Knows It," I was like, "I want to make a song that's just about a girl." There wasn't too much thought put into it, other than that's where my head was at the time. I was talking to my friend about being in that type of situation, where it's hard to tell with girls because girls are just so friendly. And I was like, "Yeah, I want to write a song about that."

Are there any other artists in the pop-punk revival scene that you're inspired by?

Paramore is one of my biggest influences. I look at a lot of artists, not even just pop-punk. Amy Lee of Evanescence is also one of my biggest inspirations. No Doubt, Gwen, love Gwen. Garbage, Avril. I really like women leads, so I'm super inspired by women in rock and in pop-punk, the resurgence.

Because you've straddled so many styles and genres, has it been hard putting together a live setlist?

Not really. Honestly, I love doing the live stuff because it's way more fun live. Everything sounds better and they can go crazy on the guitar and go crazy on the drums and everything.

Do you struggle with singing older stuff that you don't really connect to anymore?

I don't know if I struggle with it, but I do disassociate a little bit on stage. So if it's a song that I don't really care for, don't feel anything for it, sometimes I'll zone out a little bit.

There's so much going on in my brain that emotions almost don't even have room to be in there because I'm focused on hitting the notes and keeping my breathing right. Do I look cool? Do I sound good? I need to make sure I'm on cue, all that stuff.

There can be a real obsession with coining monikers for artists, like "pop star" or "indie darling." How do you feel about that?

I don't really care. I don't really like being called a pop singer very much. There's nothing wrong with pop music. I just feel like it's usually associated with my old music and I don't really like being associated with that. But I don't really mind anything else.

Except when people are like, "dark pop." I'm like, "Ah, stop it." It's not pop. Well, it is pop, but it's so much more than just pop. "Dark-pop rising star" or something. I'm like, "Oh no. I don't like that."

It must be weird to be referred to as a "rising star" sometimes when you've been in the industry for so long.

It is funny. I know I'm not like... I am still rising. I know that. But it is funny because I'm like, "How long am I rising?" I've definitely been here.

But it is also weird because I did start a new genre a couple years ago, so I guess I am new, now, to this. It's like I've been born again.

This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.