INFOCUS: MAXIMILLIAN IS AN OPEN BOOK

In the two years since the release of "Beautiful Scars," Maximilian reflects on the song’s impact and what it continues to mean today.

We meet Maximillian at a studio in Manila. The 23-year-old Danish singer is calm and collected, wearing a custom-painted jacket, and is happily greeting everyone in sight. It’s been two years since the release of his hit song Beautiful Scars and he never could have imagined being 6,000 miles away from Copenhagen to promote his music. “It’s difficult to describe how it feels,” he begins. “You make something out of thin air and you want to talk about it and you add some instruments to that and suddenly you’re sitting in a studio in the Philippines.”

White lace top by CRUZ MNL

Bronze baroque pearl necklace by CRUZ MNL

Diving back into the song’s origins, Max shares that the breakout hit was created during a session in Stockholm. “We’ve only been in the studio for like 4 hours,” he shares. “I knew what I wanted to talk about. I was determined on the direction of the song. So coming home from the session and putting it on the speakers and listening to it, it was a strange feeling but I also knew that I was really happy with the result.”

Plastic bottles barong by KELVIN MORALES

White baroque pearl necklace by CRUZ MNL

While the song is a relatively recent addition to his repertoire, the message behind it stems from intense experiences in his youth. “I wrote the song because I wanted to write something that was really personal and [one that] really told my listeners who I was and how it was for me growing up.” He had written the song around four years ago, but the idea had already been brewing since he went to boarding school. During that time, Max poured his heart out on pages and pages of paper. “I didn’t even talk about my emotions, I just wrote down how I was feeling, and that ended up giving birth to Beautiful Scars.”

Despite the growth of time between now and that period of his life, Max likes to keep the message and the memory in the present. “I listen to it all the time,” he happily shares. “It’s still the same song for me, it’s like a self-motivational song.”

His Filipino fans are no different. With over 300M audio and video streams, almost 2.8M monthly listeners on Spotify, and a position on the Spotify Philippines Charts for over 707 days, the song is–to put it lightly–a mega-hit. “I wanted to make a song that could help other people,” he shares. “When that succeeds and does it in this big way, it’s just amazing.”

Fans all over the world resonate deeply with the song’s message and they’ve told Max as much through direct messages online. “I’ve gotten some DMs that were tough to read because people would really explain their physical and psychological scars to me but it’s been a pleasure reading how people use the song to overcome their issues. I’m happy that so many of them have used the song for good.”

For Max, his openness and vulnerability are what make him. “I think I’m very open in general,” he shares. “I wasn’t when I was younger but after doing it once…I like how it feels. I’ve never thought about being vulnerable in like a bad way, I’ve always been vulnerable.”

Moments in Manila

After two years of virtual engagements, Max continues to find it surreal to be in Manila. “We actually made it,” he laughs. He was already cooking up a storm back home out of excitement. “I made some chicken adobo, but today I tried adobo lamb for the first time, it was really good! I think adobo with meat is my go-to Filipino dish.”

While he’s sad that he can’t make time to visit the country’s best destinations, he’s more than happy to be able to play to Filipino fans. “It took two years before we could go and now I’m here. [...] I’m excited to finally play in person.”

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Art Direction NICCA TAPANG Interview and Story ANDREA LAM Grooming AYRA ALECKZIS SALVADOR Videography ARA MAY TANAGON, FATIMA ESMERO, ERWIN DEE Video editor FATIMA ESMERO Location SECRET STUDIOS

Managing Director ENZO VALDEZ Senior Marketing Manager LUIGI MALLARI International Marketing Manager IRIS MATABANG International Marketing Executive JOHN BALBIN Intern DALE ACEVEDO

Special thanks to: UMG Philippines Universal Music Southeast Asia Regional Universal Music Denmark Stellar Artist Management

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Listen to Maximillian here.