A Mosaic of Sound and Emotions: Madison Beer Releases Her Third Studio Album "Locket"
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Madison Beer, the two-time GRAMMY-nominated and platinum-certified multi-talent, is back with her third studio album, Locket. Written and co-produced by Beer herself, the album features production contributions from her longtime collaborators One Love, LOSTBOY, and Leroy Clampitt. Even at first listen, it becomes clear that Locket is her most intentional and personal body of work to date.
When creating Locket, Beer had the album title in mind from the very beginning of the writing process. Much like its namesake, the album functions as a mosaic of memories and experiences, carefully stored and carried close. Beer steers the creative direction with confidence, seamlessly blending pop soundscapes while highlighting her growth as a songwriter, vocalist, and producer. The result is an album that showcases some of her most vocally dynamic performances to date.
Opening the Locket
The album combines soft melodies, layered vocals, and delicate instrumentation with upbeat, dance-worthy beats. As Beer’s earlier releases, such as her first single “bittersweet”, have already proven, Madison Beer excels at pairing intimate, deeply personal lyrics about heartbreak with bright pop sounds that make you want to dance, but also pause and truly listen. Alongside the more vulnerable tracks, Locket features sultry, flirty, fun, and sexy songs like “yes baby,” “make you mine,” and “complexity,” adding contrast and dimension to the record.
Locket encapsulates a collection of personal memories and emotional messages, stored in a small case. Across the album, Madison Beer explores emotional highs and lows: desire, turmoil, heartbreak, relapse, and the fear of not getting better. With Locket, she demonstrates complete command of her voice, highlighting her fascinating, lulling, layered vocals and impressive range. This aspect has sometimes fallen short on previous albums, despite her clear capability. This album confidently declares, “This is me,” from its lyrics and vocal performances to its production and overarching concept.
The album opens with “locket theme,” a soft, light introduction built on gentle melodies and soothing vocals that pull the listener under her spell within seconds. The vocal intro instantly recalls her older track “Homesick,” creating a sense of familiarity and emotional continuity.
The following lyrics perfectly introduce the album’s emotional core:
Did you miss me? I like to pretend you did
Was crying lately, I know you can picture it
All our memories safe in my locket, I carry it
I know I missed you, I’m not gonna lie ’bout that
I had to leave you be and see how I felt ’bout that
If you don’t hear from me, it don’t mean I loved you less
Had to get this off my chest
and
Pain on a necklace, set it down, I’m weightless
Everything that I could ever need is within me
“Locket Theme” feels like both an opener and a potential closer, framing the album before Beer begins to unpack the emotional complexities that follow. Every line somewhat represents one of her following tracks throughout the album, until she takes off the necklace that holds every memory shared and experienced together, feeling weightless. Knowing, ultimately, with the lyric “Everything that I could ever need is within me,” that she has everything within herself to help her through this breakup and the push-and-pull. Her patience, her love, her clarity, her realization that her happiness comes from within her.
The transition into “Yes Baby” is a stark contrast. Where the opener is soft and angelic, “Yes Baby” explodes into an upbeat, high-energy dance-pop track driven by flirtation, desire, and confidence. Its repetitive chorus—“Yes, baby, yes, yes, baby, yes, yes”—cements its hypnotic quality, while lyrics like “Speakin’ to me soft like silky sheets, Figures in the dark, two heartbeats” lean into its sensual tone.
“Angel Wings” introduces R&B influences reminiscent of the late ’90s and early 2000s. The song shifts halfway through into a darker pop sound that recalls earlier Madison Beer eras, particularly her first EP, As She Pleases, from 2018. Its outro—“Angel wings, angel wings (I don’t wanna be like this forever)”—echoes the emotional exhaustion and longing for change that resurfaces throughout the album.
“For the Night” leans into jazzy, sultry whispering vocals, taking the listener straight into a dimly lit jazz lounge. Soft guitar, gentle piano, and layered, whispered vocals create an atmosphere that evokes the sound of singer Billie Eilish. Central to the song is the realization that a situation is unhealthy, captured in the repeated confession: “I don’t wanna be like this forever.” A lyric that follows from “Angel Wings” to “For the Night,” turning it from the outro in the consistent chorus, following the words,
"Maybe you could put me back together. Baby, if you loved me, I’d feel better. At least, let’s try. I don’t wanna keep another secret. I don’t care if anybody sees it. You can take advantage of my weakness. At least, for the night, for the night.”
“Bad Enough” continues this emotional push-and-pull. With light, soft vocals contrasting its heavy subject matter, Beer tells a complex story about knowing a relationship isn’t good, yet being unable to let go. She explores the fear of being alone, the comfort of familiarity, and the need to feel needed. Lines like “I don’t know how to be alone” and “It’s not bad enough to let my baby go” underline the painful complexity of staying in a relationship that is clearly flawed, but not broken enough to escape. Not even when external sources highlight these things as well, “My friends all say my standards are too low. But it’s not bad enough to let my baby go.”
“Healthy Habit” is an ironic title, as nothing in this song would be considered ‘healthy’; it is an exploration of emotional relapse. True to her nature, she tells the story with a dreamier, mid-tempo pop tune compared to “Bad Enough”, fooling the listener who is enchanted by the melody and her voice and doesn’t listen to the lyrics. “Healthy Habit” reflects falling back into old patterns, seeking the familiar comfort and the attachment to that person.
“No, it’s not desperation (When I do it)
Harmless inspiration (Let a girl live)
It’s not a healthy habit (I could spare a few)
Like kissing random boys and pretending they’re you
Sometimes (Sometimes) I tell (I tell) myself (Myself) you were the best
Sometimes (Sometimes) I forget why (I forget) I am alive
And I wonder if it’s worth doing again.”
The outro, “You don’t remember anything, do you?”, sounds like an inner voice gently reminding her why things ended in the first place, not accusatory, but gentle.
“You’re Still Everything” is a soft, angelic track with ethereal vocals and a haunting, melancholic melody that aches with unrequited love. It carries a softness and emotionality that reminds one of Selena Gomez’s vulnerable ballads. Lines like “How am I nothing to you, while you’re still everything to me?” capture the imbalance and emotional devastation of loving someone who no longer feels the same.
Who knows where you are tonight
I’m sleeping here alone
If she’s in your arms tonight
I’ll never need to know
and
I only exist in the moments you’re talking to me
If we can’t be together, then I’ll just go back to sleep
“Bittersweet” is a breakup song wrapped in light, upbeat production and the feelings of stepping away from a damaging relationship. Before the pain and sadness can settle, the soft, melancholic tune breaks into an upbeat production, symbolizing the freedom and lightness surrounding her. Despite the upbeat production, the lyrics remain on a more sad and intimate note.
“Complexity” follows with an ethereal opening that slowly morphs into melancholic electronic-pop, driven by synths, techno beats, and an unforgettable chorus. Lyrically, it marks a turning point, acknowledging that the failure of a relationship wasn’t hers to fix: “How can I expect you to love me when you don’t even love yourself?” It fits perfectly after “Bittersweet,” as it is the clarity that settles in when you realize you couldn’t have done anything to make it work anymore, because how can you save the relationship if that person all along wasn’t even capable of loving themself to begin with? It is upbeat, making the realization hit, and letting her confidence return.
“Make You Mine” continues the energy with an upbeat, carefree dance-pop moment, powered by confidence and fueled by sultry, flirtatious lyrics, before the album closes with “nothing at all.” This final track returns to softness and vulnerability, centering on the fear that nothing lasts forever and the anxiety that if something feels too good, the happiness will inevitably disappear. Despite its vulnerability, the song lacks the push-and-pull of a relationship and instead feels entirely inward-facing—focused solely on her, her thoughts, and her emotions. Ending the album with “nothing at all” feels deliberate. Where the final track of her debut closed with the sentiment that "Everything Happens For A Reason", and her sophomore album ended with "King of Everything", Locket finds its conclusion in emotional stillness—somewhere between brokenness and recovery, between having everything and being left with nothing at all.
A Mosaic of Sound and Emotion
Locket is a body of work filled with striking vocals, soaring high notes, and deeply intimate lyrics, blending jazz influences with upbeat pop production. While it echoes elements of Billie Eilish’s vocal intimacy and restraint, Selena Gomez’s soft-spoken melancholia, and the pop sensibilities of artists like Sabrina Carpenter and Tate McRae, it remains uniquely her.
Locket highlights her talent for songwriting, vocal performance, and her ability to transform inspiration into something unmistakably her own. Madison Beer proves she can hold her own in the pop world while staying true to herself, adding her own ideas and distinctive touch. Locket combines everything we have known from her before with the inspirations and influences she embraces now, fueling them into a carefully crafted mosaic of emotions and feelings.
Locket is an album that makes you dance alone in your room or pull your friends onto the dance floor, carried by its sultry, flirtatious beats. It makes you reach for tissues during its softer, sadder ballads, and invites you to pause, ponder, and linger in the quiet moments in between. It is an album for every mood—one you can deeply relate to, and if you do, it gently eases the pain by reminding you that you are not alone.
LISTEN TO MADISON BEER'S LOCKET HERE:
REVIEW BY
Sabrina
I love sharing the things that bring me joy and make me feel at home. Whether it’s stumbling upon hidden gems, experiencing unforgettable concerts, or finding inspiration in art, books, and film, I’m always chasing moments that matter. Life keeps me moving, and through writing, I get to share my adventures and my love for the artists who inspire me. There’s so much beauty out there waiting to be seen and appreciated!
