Jacksonville native Madison Hughes had her first brush with fame in 2022 when she wowed the nation (and superstar judges  Camila Cabello, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani) on “The Voice,” stirring big emotions with her version of Bob Dylan’s “Knocking on Heaven’s Door.” The singer only had one more appearance on the popular vocal competition, but the brief turn in the spotlight helped kickstart her artistic ambitions. Her debut album drops this spring, a big moment for an artist coming into her own. Hughes, now 27, spoke with Flamingo about her earliest inspirations, what it takes to make it in Nashville and how she’s defining her own voice after “The Voice.”

WHAT FIRST KINDLED YOUR LOVE FOR PERFORMING?

Madison Hughes: My dad and I were taking guitar lessons with local Michael Bennick, who grew up playing with Derek Trucks and was very involved in the music community in Jacksonville. He would teach us all the fun classic rock songs like Tom Petty’s “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” and one of the first songs I performed live was called, “Wild Thing” by The Troggs. My fifth-grade talent show moment—that was the song I chose. That was really hard to step out in the public eye and do that. I was shyer and more introverted. It took me a while to get on my music journey. So many people have gotten their start way sooner, and although I performed early, in fifth grade, I didn’t treat it like a real thing until recently. I was like, “Oh, I really actually want to try this. It’s not just a dream world.”

WHAT DID YOU TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR APPEARANCES ON “THE VOICE”?

MH: You realize your own uniqueness when you do these singing shows, because obviously there’s so much vocal talent around you … but you are focused. You are put to the challenge of focusing on “what makes me unique. What makes me stand out?” You get to meet fun people who also live in Nashville, and it’s like “Camp Rock” sort of, so there’s that fun element. I got to spend the summer in Hollywood. That was great. It’s good times. But that was only about two years ago.

NASHVILLE LORE IS FULL OF STORIES LIKE KRIS KRISTOFFERSON’S BEING DISCOVERED WHILE HE WAS A JANITOR AT A STUDIO. WHAT’S THE MUSIC CITY GRIND LIKE FOR YOU?

MH: The grind turned into posting on social media and trying to go viral. And it never happens when you try. It happened to me last year when I was completely just having fun and posting a song I liked and had a moment there (when I recorded a video covering Morgan Wallen’s “I Deserve a Drink”). But there are so many new people every week that get signed and have a viral moment, and then you have to stop comparing yourself to everyone else. It’s crazy how the music industry has changed. It’s so fast now. I was applying to coffee shop jobs the other week, because I need to get out and about with real people again. I don’t want to be isolated from the normal day-to-day life. Another part of the grind is doing these songwriter rounds every week. You never know who’s listening. You never know when that moment will come.

YOUR DEBUT ALBUM IS COMING OUT SOON. TELL US ABOUT IT.

MH: It’s such a long process of finding your writing style and finding the right songs and finishing the songs and working with your producers on what the sound should be. What are you going to be known for? People have different brands and so what is Madison Hughes, the original artist brand, known for? It’s hard for me to think in that strategic way. This album ended up being really cool and across genres. I worked with these two awesome producers (singer-songwriters Lera Lynn and Todd Lombardo). They reached out to me after “The Voice.” I grew up listening to (Lynn’s) music, and I’ve been a fan of her since I was 14. A lot of the songs were co-written with her, but I’ve never gone through such a challenging process musically. You’re trying to make a work of art. You see everyone on social media (posting) a new song every week. And that’s just not (how it is) when you’re creating an album. It’s like half Americana, half adult alternative. We were kind of inspired by Robert Plant (and) Alison Krauss’s album, “Raising Sand.” It’s mature and not geared toward the young country, inner teeny-bop audience. I don’t want to be “pageant-girl country,” and I don’t want to be super edgy rock ’n’ roll, either. I want to find my own point of view through art. 

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE SPOTS TO PLAY IN FLORIDA?

MH: The Local in Neptune Beach and then Prohibition Kitchen in St. Augustine. I have a heart for the Atlantic Beach, Neptune, St. Augustine area. They’re so fun, because they’re walkable places and just high energy. I’ll play with a full band at The Local, and then the Prohibition Kitchen is a duo thing. I haven’t played the Blue Jay (Listening Room in Jacksonville Beach) in a while, but I feel like everyone loves that one, too. 

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Madison Hughes’s Top 5:

1. “I Deserve a Drink” Single, 2023
2. “Meet Me in the Woods” Single, 2022
3. “Someday Song” Single, 2024
4. “You or the Whiskey” Single, 2023
5. “Mystery Highway” All That I Am, 2025

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For more Floridian musicians, click here.

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