Ava Max says Christmas album and Netflix film are on the way
The pop star told Rolling Stone she is working on holiday music, making her Netflix film debut and still thinking about a scary Miami elevator drop.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Ava Max has holiday plans, World Cup energy and one very good reason to eye every elevator with suspicion.
The 32-year-old pop singer told Rolling Stone at the opening night of FIFA House in New York that she is working on a Christmas album and has filmed her debut Netflix movie, which is also Christmas-themed.
Max appeared at FIFA House on July 16 during World Cup Finals Week, where the event brought together FIFA figures, creators, industry guests and the World Cup trophy. The night was held in collaboration with Rolling Stone, the Grammys and Def Jam Recordings, according to Rolling Stone.
She performed a stripped-down version of “Energy,” her track with Bia that appears on the Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Album. Max told Rolling Stone the song grew out of her long run in the music industry and her determination not to be rattled by online reaction.
Max said she has been trying to build a music career since she was 14, when she went to Los Angeles with her mother, father and brother. She said “Energy” came from a place of no longer caring what other people think of her.
The singer also said she personally wanted Bia on the record. According to Max, others suggested different collaborators, but she wanted a woman on the song and had long been a fan of Bia. She told Rolling Stone that Bia delivered her second verse in one take.
Christmas era loading
Max has kept busy since releasing her third album, “Don’t Click Play,” last year. Rolling Stone noted that she has since released “Kill It Queen,” “Out of Your Mind,” “Fate” with Alan Walker, and “Energy.”
She told Rolling Stone she does not like sitting on new music and said her fans do not go a year without hearing from her. Her next project, she said, includes a Christmas album with “a ton of features.”
She also said “Kill It Queen” opened a new phase with a Queen and ABBA-inspired sound. Max told Rolling Stone she had not sung opera before, though her mother sang opera while growing up, and said her mother appears on the track.
Asked about favorite songs by the two classic groups, Max named ABBA’s “Chiquitita” and Queen’s “Love of My Life.” She singled out Freddie Mercury’s stripped-down Wembley performance in July 1986 as one that has stayed with her.
The Netflix movie, Max said, came without an audition. She told Rolling Stone that Netflix contacted her because she looked as if she could play a pop star. She said she filmed the project and called the experience with the Netflix team “incredible.”
Messi, Mariah and a Miami scare
Since the interview took place at FIFA House, Max also got the football question. Asked whether she backs Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, she picked Messi, calling him a “magician,” while joking to Rolling Stone that the answer could bring backlash.
She avoided choosing between Argentina and Spain, telling Rolling Stone that the question put her in a no-win spot and that she would leave the outcome “up to the gods.”
Max also described a frightening elevator incident she said happened at the Edition hotel in Miami. According to her account to Rolling Stone, she had just left the beach with coffee in hand when the elevator dropped five floors, sending her hat flying and coffee onto her.
She said the experience has made elevators difficult for her, and told Rolling Stone she recently took the stairs for about 10 floors instead.
As for early musical loves, Max pointed to Mariah Carey and Shania Twain. She said two uncles pushed their favorites on her, with one favoring Carey and the other arguing for Twain. Max told Rolling Stone that Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” helped shape her childhood.
This story draws on original reporting from Rolling Stone.