Madison McFerrin

Maybe life on Earth, with all its miniature, momentary deaths and rebirths, has something to do with the astrological signs we were born under. Singer-songwriter Madison McFerrin thinks so. Her sophomore album, SCORPIO, takes its name from her sun sign with its three phases (scorpion, eagle, and phoenix) which coincidentally parallel her personal transformation in the years since her 2023 debut, I Hope You can Forgive Me.

The confident, fearless, and unapologetic woman you hear on SCORPIO was born from the ashes of heartbreak and a toxic relationship. After eight and half years of fighting for their love, Madison’s relationship with her then fiancé/manager had soured beyond repair, which meant she had to end a life partnership, dissolve a business relationship, and cancel a wedding. “We was ‘posed to get married today/ instead I’m here, all alone/ in a home/ with no one to call my own/ got me wonderin’ did I make a mistake in choosing who to/ say ‘I do’ to,” Madison sings on the revelatory “I Don’t”. In the song, she conveys a feeling that’s somewhere between sadness and the thrill of liberation. It’s a chromatic, multi-textured moment whose conflicting emotions give the songwriting a depth of reality — it resonates because if you ever loved and lost you’ve felt this way. There are moments like this throughout SCORPIO.