Maddie Zahm is a singer-songwriter known by her fans for creating impactful, tear-jerking and honest music. She writes about being part of the LGBTQ+ community, having an eating disorder, and growing up religious.
Since her last EP, “You Might Not Like Her,” released in 2022, she made it clear that she will create authentic, honest conversations and continue to talk about the different struggles within her life through her music.
Thus, it was only fitting that Zahm released an EP titled “Now That I’ve Been Honest” on Oct. 22.
“Zahm’s newly announced project is a 12-song release that unpacks everything from church trauma, queer sexual encounters to what it’s like to be a good kid all grown up,” said Zoya Raza-Sheika in an article for Gay Times.
Zahm starts the EP with “Where Do All The Good Kids Go.” It was one of the first songs she wrote when she moved to Los Angeles, where she was finally free to explore every facet of herself.
The chorus goes, “I was always way too young / To be that good at growing up / does anybody really know / Where do all of the good kids go? / I was always way too young / Now I can’t catch up.”
This song is for the kids who grew up too fast, were given too many responsibilities, and felt like they had to lead a perfect life because they were good kids. Zahm explains the experience of what that’s like and the unspoken feelings you can’t say due to the fear of your “good kid” status.
In the joyful pop song “Eightball Girl,” Zahm takes you on the emotional rollercoaster of the feeling of having a crush and having no idea if they like you back.
“What keeps happening between us / Wouldn’t happen between friends / Eightball girl, tell me how you feel about me,” Zahm sings.
Sometimes, you don’t know how someone feels about you, but you can pull out an eightball and get some answers like yes, no or maybe.
Zahm continues to shed light on important relationship issues in “Thanks for Coming Out,” where she brutally paints the picture of when one person is ready to be out and the other isn’t.
“I’ll go back to kissing strangers in the dark / and you can go back to lying to yourself about who you are,” Zahm sings.
This is a big topic within the LGBTQ+ community and something that I, myself, have experienced. It can be a tricky conversation because both sides are valid yet in opposite ways.
Zahm knows how to slyly add in religious terms and make it feel slightly sinful, and that’s exactly what she does in “Lady Killer.”
“The fact that it’s forbidden is what makes it kinda hot / You think that you’re not sexual ’cause with him, you’re not,” the chorus goes.
This song was quickly a hit when Zahm first sang the verse on TikTok on Oct. 4.
“Lady Killer” is an anthem with an empowering message of fighting against and keeping the secret of not being with a girl even though that’s what you desire.
In “Lights on Kind of Lover,” Zahm highlights a distinct population within the LGBTQ+ community and the setbacks they may have due to religion.
“I never wanted someone to want me / My history, it told me that was dirty / And then you held me down until it changed me / Now I’ll never want somebody else to want me,” Zahm opens up in the song.
From embracing your queerness to finally allowing yourself to be loved, you think that Zahm has covered it all. Yet there is something that Zahm’s audience can always expect: a song about body image or a conversation around trauma.
In “Pick Up The Phone,” Zahm talks about both and shares her battle of wanting to get better when it comes to her eating disorder.
“I know I should just pick up the phone / and tell my brother that I feel alone / therapy really ought to go this time/ But serotonin’s fucking with my head / She’s making it so hard to leave my bed/ It’s crazy that I know that would be the best/ And still/ I don’t wanna get better,” sings Zahm.
“Pick Up the Phone” became a song that Zahm’s audience heavily related to, stitching videos about their eating or mental health disorders and how it’s not as simple to get better as people think.
Jen Nicole, @jennifernic_, on TikTok, used the audio and talked about her eating disorder.
“As someone who struggles with an eating disorder- this song speaks so deeply to me. It’s like you should want to get better & a part of you desperately does… but there’s another part of you that doesn’t want to at all,” said Nicole.
She thanked Zahm for her vulnerability, talent, and ability to capture intense emotions into a song.
Powerfully, Zahm ends the EP with “Growing In,” a song about compassion for oneself with all the complexities that life may bring.
“Am I moving on/ Or am I moving in/ And accepting that I’ll always be changing/ That this life is a mess and it’s amazing?/ I wish I coulda told myself when I was a kid/ Nobody’s really growing up, we’re just growing in,” sings Zahm in “Growing In.”
Sierra, @broadway_emo on TikTok, emotionally responded to the album by saying, “I just finished listening… I don’t know how to put into words how much I love it already… [It’s] so deeply relatable to me, and some of those songs feel like they were written from my journal.”
Zahm’s EP, “Now That I’ve Been Honest, delivered many different emotions. From talking about traumas, lovers and religion, Zahm created a space for sincere and powerful songwriting that makes her audience feel seen, loved and validated.
