Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.
Many know Madison Beer as the talented tween Justin Bieber discovered and endorsed in 2012, a reputation that still shapes how listeners perceive her music today. Others know her as a TikTok and Instagram influencer whose internet presence defines her public image. In previous interviews, Beer said rising to fame so young left her feeling judged by the industry and online audiences, shaping an ambition to reclaim her narrative and be taken seriously on her own terms.
But with her third studio album, “locket,” has she succeeded?
Released on Jan. 16, “locket” is Beer’s first full-length project since “Silence Between Songs” in 2023. In the album, Beer chronicles the process of learning to let go after heartbreak.
Beer began teasing the album nearly two years ago with “Make You Mine” in February 2024. She continued with “Yes Baby” in September 2025, “Bittersweet” in October 2025 and “Bad Enough” on release day. These pre-release singles flirt with darker pop, pairing high-energy production with seductive confidence and heightened sensuality. In online fan spaces, the rollout generated excitement around a new sonic direction, with listeners preemptively holding the album to high standards.
Just days before the album’s release, Beer announced The Locket Tour, mapping out 32 shows across Europe and North America with special openers Isabel LaRosa, Thủy and Lulu Simon. The scale of the tour, its rotating lineup of musical guests and the announcement’s characterization of “locket” as a “marquee pop [record] to rule 2026” frames “locket” as a major era.
Listening to the album, though, it feels more apt to characterize it as a transitional one. The tight production and delicate mixing make many of the songs feel ill-suited for live performance and more apt for private, late-night listening through earbuds.
At its core, “locket” highlights an ongoing issue in Beer’s discography: a lack of a clearly defined musical identity. Sonically, the album closely resembles work by Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish, and particularly the emotionally restrained production of Grande’s “Eternal Sunshine.” Tracks like “Angel Wings” mirror Grande’s soft vocals and diaristic tone, muddying what makes Beer’s vocal identity distinct.
That said, “Angel Wings” is also the track where Beer takes her biggest risk, and it absolutely pays off. The outro alone gagged me. The song pivots unexpectedly from her familiar ethereal pop lane into a darker, EDM-leaning finale that feels both cinematic and immersive. The transition pulls the track out of predictability and into something sublime. While much of “locket” plays it safe, “Angel Wings” proves that when Beer steps outside her comfort zone, she delivers the kind of risk-taking pop the industry desperately needs.
However, this album is not Beer’s magnum opus.
The album repeats the rollout problem from Beer’s “Silence Between Songs” era: the singles suggest a more energetic record than the album can deliver. “Make You Mine” and “Yes Baby” frame Beer as confident and forward-moving, but the track list quickly abandons that direction. The absence of the pre-release single “15 Minutes” from the album weakens its pacing, removing what could have been its strongest source of momentum.
Outside of the singles, the album offers few true standouts. “Complexity” and “Angel Wings” rise above the track list because they take risks through structure, production shifts and lyrical clarity. The rest of the album settles into tame, ballad-leaning territory.
Still, “locket” does grow on you. With repeated listens, the songs start to feel less interchangeable and more intentional. The album functions like its title suggests, as an archive of emotions meant to be revisited instead of immediately understood.
Whether Beer continues to play it safe with these songs or allows them to evolve into something bolder may become clearer on tour. For now, Beer keeps the true intentions of this album close to her chest.