I LOVE COUNTRY! Give me some Ty Myers, Braxton Keith, Hudson Westbrook, and I’ll be a happy girl. But now there’s a fresh voice in country music by the name of Maddox Batson. Sixteen-year-old Country-Pop Artist is straight out of Tennessee, but later moved to Alabama. Maddox Batson was diagnosed with Osgood-Schlatter disease, which limited his ability to play sports,s which turned him in the direction of music.

He began playing music with his father and posted clips on TikTok. He also made covers of popular songs by artists like Zach Bryan and Red Clay Strays. He then began producing his own music and posted a cover of “Dancing in the Sky” by Sam Barber, which gained more than 1 million views. He was just a normal kid going to public school, but once his name gained more popularity, he switched to homeschool and started performing at concerts in 2023.

He’s had a lot of successful songs in the past. In 2024, he released his debut single “Tears in the River,” which reached the top 20 on Spotify’s US viral 50 chart and reached about 12 million global streams. “I wanna know”, released in April 2024, reached number 19 on YouTube’s trending page. “X’s” was released in September 2024 and had over 16 million global streams. The meaning behind “X’s” comes from him falling for a girl he saw at a concert; both of them had X’s on their hands, indicating that they were minors. The next day, he was in his studio when someone noticed the X was still on his hand, and that’s how they came up with the song’s name. This shows you quite a bit about how people are feeling about his music.

Maddox Batson is one of the youngest artists to sign with Warner Records, the recorded music division of the film studio Warner Bros. Pictures.

Shortly after, he had a sold-out headlining tour across the U.S. He’s been getting a lot of recognition on TikTok; most, if not all, of his audience seems to be teenagers. After listening to his music, I would add some of his songs to my playlists, though some of his music seems to be about romance, heartbreak, and experiences. Heartbreak Country is the best form of country, in my opinion.

I like some of his music, but I do feel like his voice is giving kid-who-hasn’t-hit-puberty, and he still has a high scratchy voice. I do like that he brings up gospel and faith in some of his music such as “God Talkin” and “2 Feet,” not a lot of artists do that.

I do recommend giving his music a try, even if you don’t listen to the country much, because you never know if you might like it and end up jamming out to his music in the hallways. He is currently on another tour and is coming to The Complex on April 16. If you are interested in Maddox Batson, get a Batson poster in Carlisle’s room in J102.