Daily Inspiration: Meet Natalie Madigan

Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalie Madigan.

Hi Natalie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I was born in Murfreesboro, TN, so I grew up very close to Music City and have been making music in some capacity for as long as I can remember. In first grade, my parents started me in piano lessons, which I continued for the next 12 years.

During grade school, I began participating in musical theater, voice lessons, and choir. I started writing my own songs in early middle school and learned how to record my own demos on GarageBand around that time.

In my senior year of high school, I was accepted to Grammy Camp Nashville, which was a huge factor in my decision to study audio production at MTSU. During my time at MTSU, I refined my singing, songwriting, and production skills, as well as wrote and recorded an entire album which was released in January 2020. This album, What It’s Like To Be Known, resulted in me singing with Endurance Music Publishing.

When the pandemic hit, I took some time to take care of some health issues I had been struggling with over the years. I had a tonsillectomy and a total thyroidectomy (I had 14 large nodules on my thyroid that were pressing on my larynx and restricting my vocal cords/range, as well as causing a lot of hormonal and mental health issues).

These surgeries took a lot of time and energy to recover from – I used this space to really work on myself from the inside out. I ended up writing my upcoming album during that time as well! I will be releasing 2 EPs, one in the fall and one in the spring leading up to the album release next summer.

In addition to my artist project, I also write music for film and tv. I’ve had placements in The Young and The Restless, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Twenty-Somethings, and The Kardashians. I will be launching a Sync Artist Project under the name PYPR this year to showcase the music I’ve written for film and TV.

Writing for sync has given me the opportunity to work in different genres and realms of music that I don’t get to work in for my artist project.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in the 8th grade. It runs in my family (literally everyone in my family has it, I was doomed from the start haha!) As the years went on, nodules began to grow on my thyroid. I had several biopsies on these nodules over the years and was encouraged to have my thyroid removed.

Although the nodules were really mixing up my body’s hormones, I was very nervous to have my thyroid removed because of the close proximity to my vocal cords. Your thyroid rests on your vocal cords and is actually intertwined with 2 major vocal nerves that control how long you can speak/sing and the strength behind your voice.

I avoided surgery for several years, and my mental and physical health suffered from it. It was a constant back and forth between anxiety and depression and never felt balanced. Eventually, the nodules on my thyroid grew so large that they began to press on my larynx and I actually lost part of my singing range. So in 2021, I decided to have my thyroid removed.

The surgery went perfectly with no damage to any vocal cords or nerves, but the hormonal recovery took close to a year. Now, a little over a year since my surgery, I feel healthier and more emotionally balanced than I have in years!

The emotional side effects from all of my hormonal issues definitely shaped my music, though. Many of my songs are centered around navigating those dark emotions, and I’ve always strived to make others that are struggling with similar things feel less alone in their journey.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I make pop music for highly sensitive and emotional people. My music showcases themes of love, heartbreak, and growth in the human experiences of life through the lens of an ever-changing perspective.

I am obsessed with all things the 60s, 70s, and 80s, and my personal style reflects that! My upcoming music will encompass many of those vintage musical themes as well.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love the music community in Nashville. I think that’s what really sets Nashville apart from other music cities. I have such a solid friend group and support system here. It makes the city feel small in the best way!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nataliemadigan.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nataliemadigan_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nataliemadiganmusic
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/nataliemadigan_
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCStMmZtwoLvv47ozuf34LrQ
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@nataliemadigan_?lang=en

Image Credits
Christina Coleman, Megan Clark, and Ash Summerford