THE UPLOAD - Madison Watkins: Walking Away from Hollywood, Losing Herself & Finding Her Way Back to Jesus

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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

Madison Watkins 0:00

This is an IHR podcast. Guaranteed human. Hey guys, it's Madison Watkins. I started to to make the money I wanted to make. I started to Do these shows that were sold out and my music was going viral on TikTok. I started to water down my faith. I started to water down even talking about Jesus. My eyes started to shift away from Jesus. With the Holy Spirit, we can overcome anything. And you're listening to the upload podcast.

Brooke Taylor 0:29

Listen, Madison Watkins is here on the upload today and I am so excited about this because we were just talking a second ago how I feel like we have very similar stories. Yeah. But I haven't fully heard yours yet, but I just know

Madison Watkins 0:42

I feel it. Yes. I feel it.

Brooke Taylor 0:44

So I've seen a lot of your story on Instagram and um just kind of just where you're going. And I'm so excited to kind of dive into that. Yeah. And a lot of people I feel like know you from American Idol or started to get to know you from there. But I want to go before that, Madison, and sort of talk about your childhood and how you grew up.

Madison Watkins 1:01

Yeah, I grew up in Arkansas.

Pastor Mark Evans 1:03

Arkansas.

Madison Watkins 1:06

Like Bobby Bones.

Madison Watkins 1:18

It went away? It went away. Really? Did you try to make it go away? I did. Okay. When I moved to California, I was everybody made fun of me. And I was like, I can't do this anymore. So and then it's gone. It's sad. If I get around like my aunt and uncle It comes back. Oh, for sure. My my parents. But yeah, so I grew up in Arkansas basically from the time I was little. I started singing in church and I just it it was like one of those things a lot of people are like, I don't know what I want to be when I grow up. I knew from the day I was born, like that this is what God had called me to. And actually at the time when I was like ten years old, I didn't know that God spoke to me. I didn't know it was like his voice at the time.

Madison Watkins 1:59

But I felt like he told me that I was gonna be a singer and I went and ran in the living room and was like, I'm gonna this is what I'm gonna do with my life and my parents were like,

Georgie Crawford 2:08

Wow

Madison Watkins 2:09

Great, like we live in a small town. What I thought I was when I was ten.

Unknown 2:13

Yeah, right.

Madison Watkins 2:14

And I feel like I heard just a word from now I look back, I'm like that was totally a word from the Lord now that I know his voice so clear. And it was so apparent of he wanted me to know that to prepare me. throughout all these years. So basically sang everywhere I could in Arkansas, beauty pageants. I was like any any stage, that's where I was. There's a microphone in there. Yeah. Walmart. Like I would go to the lady to check out and be like, Can I sing over the like the intercom? Like that.

Brooke Taylor 2:43

That's good.

Madison Watkins 2:44

Like that.

Brooke Taylor 2:44

She's like, I'm about to shoot my shot in Walmart today. Let's go.

How did Madison’s childhood and early church experiences shape her calling to music?

Madison Watkins 2:48

Yeah, so basically it was just, um, kind of a a quiet life up until I was twenty years old when I decided to really go for it and I lived a very normal southern girl life, went to college and did the sorority thing and And then God called me to LA and just after that my life just radically changed in every way. Um but I grew up in a a home where my parents were strong believers. My dad had a men's ministry and I just was constantly like poured into in my home, which is such a blessing. But yeah, that's kind of the the synopsis of how I grew up.

Brooke Taylor 3:25

Having a my husband and I were actually just talking about this. I have two little girls. One is four. Sweet. The other is one and how important it is to have a man in the house that prays and leads. And I think that you mentioning that about your dad. That's just so important for probably you who you are and how you grew up. But I just think that's just to point that out, I think that's so important.

Pastor Mark Evans 3:45

Well, I have a four year old and a two year old. So

Madison Watkins 3:48

y'all both have four years.

Pastor Mark Evans 3:50

We have very similar girls too. I have two older boys, but my girls are we're very similar age. And they just came in um just a second ago in their ballet. I was saying they just came from ballet and she comes in a little too too. So cute. But that's good to hear that. I think like as men you you wrestle, like you kind of know that conceptually, but even just to hear your story of like how important that is, you know, at the point that you're at memory

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Chapters

8 chapters

1 What is the main topic discussed in this episode? 0:00–2:48 2 How did Madison’s childhood and early church experiences shape her calling to music? 2:48–20:43 3 What was Madison’s experience moving to Los Angeles and how did the industry begin to change her? 20:43–31:36 4 Why did Madison wake up with shingles on the day of a sold‑out show and what did that moment reveal? 31:36–36:03 5 How did God’s message to “quit everything” lead Madison to surrender her career and take an eight‑month sabbatical? 36:03–49:57 6 What role did vulnerability and community play in Madison’s healing after leaving Hollywood? 49:57–1:01:06 7 How do Madison, Brooke, and Pastor Mark define true leadership and the power of sharing messier testimonies? 1:01:06–1:08:34 8 What specific prayers and encouragement does Madison need as she steps into her new season of music and ministry? 1:08:34–1:11:57

Speakers

3 identified

Pastor Mark Evans 20 min Brooke Taylor 16 min Georgie Crawford

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Topics in this episode

Instagram 1 TikTok 2 Jesus 1 God 3 iHeart Podcast 1 Disney 1 Holy Spirit 1 Hawaii 1 OnlyFans 2 Peter 1 Bobby Bones 1 Sony 1

Source

Recorded19 Sep 2026

Publisheromnycontent.com ↗

Transcriptspeaker-named · 100+ languages

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Show notes

This week on The Upload, Brooke Taylor and Pastor Mark Evans sit down with musician Madison Watkins for one of the most vulnerable conversations yet about ambition, compromise, trauma, shame, surrender, and what happens when God asks you to lay down the very dream you thought He gave you. Madison grew up singing in church in small-town Arkansas and says she knew from childhood that God had called her to music. At 20, that dream took her to Los Angeles, where doors began opening and the success she'd spent years chasing finally started arriving. But somewhere along the way, Madison says she began to lose herself. The pressure to fit into the industry slowly changed how she presented herself, what she was willing to compromise, and even how boldly she talked about Jesus. Eventually, Madison had everything she thought she wanted: viral music, money, sold-out shows and major opportunities. But on the morning of a sold-out show in L.A., she woke up covered in shingles and feeling completely empty. Looking in the mirror, she says she barely recognized the woman staring back at her. The next day, Madison felt God tell her clearly: “You forgot your first love. I need you to come back to Me and quit everything.” So she did. She laid down her career, stepped away from social media and spent eight months doing virtually nothing but resting, reconnecting with family and friends, and rebuilding her relationship with Jesus. Madison also opens up about just how dark her years in Los Angeles became. She shares experiences of betrayal in a relationship, being held at gunpoint, sexual assault, and constantly being told she wasn't good enough. Looking back, Madison describes her drift from God not as one dramatic decision, but as a series of “micro decisions”—small compromises made while she was exhausted, seeking affirmation and slowly taking her eyes off Jesus. The conversation turns deeply personal as Brooke shares parts of her own Hollywood story and the ways she searched for love and acceptance during a season when she had drifted from her faith. Together, Brooke, Madison and Mark unpack the shame that can keep Christians hiding, why vulnerability is actually a strength, and what it looks like to believe that no failure puts you beyond the reach of God's grace. Madison shares why she now refuses to hide the messier parts of her testimony. She believes Christians should be willing to talk honestly about addiction, sexuality, temptation, failure and the things we're often afraid to admit out loud. As she puts it, “Everyone is secretly waiting for someone to be vulnerable so they can be vulnerable.” After surrendering the career she'd worked so hard to build, Madison says God gave her a new vision for her music: to bring hope into places that feel hopeless and reach people who believe they're too far gone. Her message now is simple—you don't have to clean yourself up before coming back to Jesus. You're seen, you're loved, and your story isn't over. This is a raw conversation about what happens when success costs you yourself, why drifting from God often happens slowly, and the freedom that comes when you finally stop hiding and surrender everything back to Him. 🎧 If you've ever looked at your life and wondered, “How did I get here?” or believed you've gone too far for God to use your story, this episode is a reminder that you are never too far gone—and coming home can change everything. Follow The Upload:📸 Instagram — @theuploadlife🎥 TikTok — @theuploadlife🔗 Listen on iHeartRadio — The UploadSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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