AVA MAX [IN PRINT]
Since the success of Sweet But Psycho catapulted AVA MAX into the global stage, she exponentially evolved into the unapologetically pop global artist that she is right now. Yes, she is an artist. An artist shines brighter THAN a star. An artist lasts longer, its effects lingering to anything it touches. An artist is polarizing and stirs reactions and draws out emotions from the audience. “An artist comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable.”
PHOTOGRAPHER: IRVIN RIVERA
Amanda Ava Koci has been perfecting her craft since she was young, making her one of the contemporary powerhouses in the world of global pop music. Ava’s innate tenacity fuels her towards her vision and it shows in her body of work. She knows what she wants and she’s always on it. Her ability to meld a myriad of contrasts in her art and make it work is what makes her more interesting than ever.
She’s Sweet but Psycho, she’s hard and soft, she’s delicate yet strong, she’s nostalgic and fresh, she’s fiery but she could be icy, she’s yin and yang, she’s heaven and hell.
STYLING: WILFORD LENOV @ CELESTINE, MAKEUP: ANTHONY NGUYEN @ THE WALL GROUP, HAIR: SCOTT KING @ THE ONLY AGENCY, DIGITAL TECH: MILAN DILEO, VIDEO: TIMOTHY MENESES
Recently, Ava Max released her debut studio album “Heaven & Hell,” a collection of anthems echoing and celebrating universal human experiences that you can sing along as you go by your day. Ava Max dropped a perfect collection of songs that can help get you through the rest of the very strange 2020 and to look forward for better days to come.
Listening to her tracks is empowering. You can easily tell she’s all into inspiring her audience to embrace their authentic selves, and encourages them to be generous. Ava Max is a generous artist. Spending some time with her for this magazine photoshoot and interview gave me a glimpse into her sweet and humble self. I told Ava how her music in itself is giving. Creating music and placing parts and pieces of your soul in it is generosity.
Here’s a book dedicated to Ava Max, the music artist who excites us as we look forward to everything that she will create throughout her career. We hope you enjoy the photos as well as the interview with her talking about her music journey, getting bullied, success and empowerment.
What do you think is the most important thing that you learned during this time of the global pandemic?
I think the most important thing I've learned during the global pandemic is that patience is the key to everything in life and I didn't have much patience before. So I learned to be calm within myself and I've learned to be still in the moment. In general, I'm a very restless person. So it was very difficult for me.
In terms of creation, how was it to create during this time?
It's been incredible actually, to create during this time, because I've had a lot of alone time. I had a lot of time to myself, and I had a lot of time to think about what I want for the future and what I want to give to my fans.
What's the story behind your album Heaven and Hell?
The story behind Heaven and Hell is kind of what you'd expect. It's really just the rollercoaster of emotions we go through in everyday life, in our careers, in our relationships and in basically everything we do. There's highs, there's lows, there's happy times, there's sad times, but there's also a feeling of, you know, having a devil and an angel on your shoulders, and not knowing which way you should take - the path more taken, or the path less taken.
Which is the contrast that everybody experiences on the daily as well.
Exactly, and I really wanted it to be relatable, especially after hearing the album back, I knew Heaven and Hell was the title to my debut album.
