Haven Madison, daughter of Building 429 frontman Jason Roy, made it through the Hollywood Week portion of “American Idol” with a moving performance of a song she wrote to her brother, who struggled with suicidal ideation earlier in his life.
“He was battling depression,” said Madison, “and was kind of having some suicidal thoughts…I convinced myself I didn’t have anybody to talk to, so I talked to my piano.”
Haven Madison Honors Her Brother
Haven Madison is a 17-year-old from Clarksville, Tennessee. She amazed the “American Idol” judges when she auditioned for the show, performing her original song, “15,” while accompanied by her dad on guitar.
Jason Roy is the lead singer of the Grammy-nominated CCM band Building 429. Because Roy took his family on tour with him while Madison was growing up, she gained extensive experience on the road. By age eight, she was writing her own music.
RELATED: Daughter of Grammy-Nominated CCM Artist Stuns ‘American Idol’ Judges With Original Song
Haven Madison released her first single, “Already Gone,” in 2020 and has released six more singles since then. Her EP, “All the Things I Didn’t Say” (released in 2022) includes “15” and the original song she performed for Hollywood Week, “Still Need You.”
Rather than choosing a genre this season, Hollywood Week contestants were required to choose one of three areas where they wanted to improve: confidence, songwriting or stage presence.
Madison chose songwriting. Prior to her performance, she was mentored by former “American Idol” contestant Phillip Phillips, whose debut 2012 album, “The World from the Side of the Moon,” was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Phillips noted that he was writing songs while competing on “American Idol” and said it seems the show is “trying to find more artists, instead of just incredible singers.” He asked Madison what inspires her.
“I think it’s kind of just how I process my emotions,” she replied. “My audition song, ‘15,’ I wrote it on the back of my hand I think in one of my classes sophomore year.”
“Still Need You” is about Madison’s brother, Avery. Madison shared that there was a period of time when she was not sure if Avery would be alive when she returned home from school every day. “It was pretty scary,” she said, “trying to go to school each day and, like, not knowing if he was going to be home. And like, my parents taking shifts at night, staying up to make sure he was ok.”
Madison said “Still Need You” was her “last hope of convincing him to stick around. And now he’s ok, he’s healing.”
Phillips was clearly impressed with Madison’s songwriting, saying, “That’s a great song. Did you write that all by yourself?” When Madison said yes, he said, “Wow. Holy crap.”
In a FaceTime call, Avery asked Madison if she remembered when she first showed him “Still Need You.” She did. “I did not actually say anything,” he said. “I just cried.”
“I’m really proud of you,” he continued, “and I think you’ve got this.”
Haven Madison accompanied herself on the piano during her performance of “Still Need You.” The chorus of the song says:
There’s so much more outside this town
There’s more to see than what you found
Hold on another day, I can prove it to you
And if you left without goodbye
You would’ve missed the tears I cried
Then you would never know how I needed you
Oh, I needed you
I needed you
I needed you
I still need you
View this post on Instagram
