mxmtoon

If you had to show an alien what an internet-era pop star is, there may be no better choice than mxmtoon. The singer/songwriter is simply everywhere—giving online ukulele lessons, posting comedy bits, streaming video games—but her appeal always ties back to her songcraft. Her swooning indie-pop ballads, often so delicate they might melt in your ears, capture hearts. Born Maia (she prefers not to reveal her surname) in 2000, she grew up in California and found a following online as early as the age of 11, when people would commission her on Instagram to draw cartoons. Music, meanwhile, felt like an obligation—she studied cello and violin for her parents—until she picked up the ukulele. With her new toy, she began secretly penning songs in 2013, and released her first one, the sweet “1-800-Dateme”, four years later. The response was rapturous, and mxmtoon followed it up with viral song after song all throughout school, all mostly performed on her ukulele. True to spirit, her 2019 debut album, the masquerade, came with a second CD of ukulele covers of the new music. As mxmtoon moves past that initial teenage virality, she’s built out her sound—her 2020 double album dawn & dusk sheds the spareness of her previous music for lush synth-pop instrumentation. Through it all, she proves that no matter the medium, honest, poignant songwriting will always cut deep.