" | I've personally been through so much again this year [and] it's been an even bigger emotional ride than last year. This year was one of the best and one of the worst years of my life. I went through something that I'm talking about on the third album. | " |
– Max to ENERGY Berlin [1] |
Don't Click Play (originally titled Made From Scratch) is the upcoming third studio album by Ava Max. It is scheduled to release on August 22, 2025.
Background
In a 2023 interview, Max revealed she would start working on her third studio album once On Tour (Finally) ended. She stated that it will have a similar sound to "Dancing's Done".
On September 6, 2023, Max posted photos of her in her London studio with Nick Gale (Digital Farm Animals) and Pablo Bowman. The next day, Bowman posted more photos of the session via Instagram stories, this time including Richard Boardman.
On September 9, 2023, Max closed off her first headlining tour, as well the Diamonds & Dancefloors era, via Instagram. At the end of the post, she wrote "Album 3 loading...".
On September 19, 2023, Max revealed the album would be much slower than it's predecessors. She also revealed that fans would find out "very soon" who the next album is about, stating that this person was in her "closest circle of friends". Fans speculate that this person is Madison Love, a woman who Max has recently unfollowed before posting about betrayal.
On October 31, 2023, Max removed her bio on Spotify and Twitter, possibly teasing a new era.
On November 4, 2023, Max posted an update to Twitter. "I promise new music is being made and some is already done 🤫 new chapter awaits".[3] The next day, she posted another update to her Instagram stories. "I know I've been a bit MIA, been in the studio every day... locked away. I'm so so excited about this new chapter. Lots of inspiration."
On November 13, 2023, Max posted a studio clip on Instagram captioned "album 3 mode in full effect 🌱❤️🩹", with the emojis leading fans to believe that the album would be about growing pains lyrically. She also removed the lyrics from "Choose Your Fighter" from her Instagram bio the same day.
On November 15, 2023, Max posted on her stories of her working with Ryan Tedder, who she previously worked with on "Weapons". The next day, she teased a muted song on the album with the caption "Can't hear just yet".
On November 17, 2023, Max posted a muted video of her playing a snippet of an upcoming song on the piano. The following day she changed her bio on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok to "Album 3 loading...💿". The same day, she posted to her Instagram story "Can’t wait until 2024… we cookin👩🍳😜" and confirmed to a fan on the platform that AM3 had a title.[4]
On December 29, 2023, Max revealed in an interview with Bilibili that the album was still pop, but somewhat different than the others. She stated that the album was something she doesn't see a lot of when it comes to the sound of music.
On March 16, 2024, Max posted photos of the "My Oh My" video set to her socials with the caption "and so it begins".
On March 19, 2024, Max posted a snippet of the album's then-planned lead single, "My Oh My".[5]
On April 4, 2024, "My Oh My" was released.
On May 2, 2024, Max revealed in an interview with The Viall Files that one of the songs was "about an orgasm" when asked if she had written a song that was "just crazy". She also hinted at the possibility of a music video for the song with "a lot of cherries".
I wanna tell you. But I have. But I can't because it's coming out. It's about an orgasm though [...] You know it's about an orgasm but we're not saying it. It's just about popping the cherry and all that, a lot of those lyrics are in there. The inspiration was just being on a high with someone.
On June 9, 2024, Max announced that "My Oh My" had been cut from the album, likely due to it under performing.
On June 12, 2024, Max went on Sorry We're Stoned and said that the she was halfway done with the album and that she plans to release the second single that same month. She also said that it would be a shorter album this time around, with ten to eleven tracks.[6] The day afterwards, Max revealed that the album was half-finished, with her wanting to have 10 or 11 songs on the album.
On June 19, 2024, Max posted a short vocal take from the "Spot a Fake" recording session, alongside a studio photo with Pink Slip.
On June 24, 2024, Max cleared her Instagram.
On July 2, 2024, Max posted a snippet of an unused demo for "Spot a Fake".
On July 29, 2024, Max changed her profile photo across her socials. She also changed her bio to "made from scratch". Max also posted two photos to her Instagram with the caption "so fake, so california".
On August 6, 2024, Max posted three photos on Instagram, the first slide being a sweater with "Made From Scratch" etched across the front. Two days later, Max posted seven photos with the caption "pictures came and broke your heart 🥀💔".
On August 22, 2024, Max revealed via X that the album was done. In another tweet, she posted lyrics "You're so fake, so California, let the fun begin". Both posts were deleted a few minutes later, and shortly after, Max returned to the recording studio.
On September 6, 2024, Max confirmed that the first single from the album was set to be released on September 20, 2024. She later confirmed that the title was 'Spot A Fake' four days later.[7]
On September 21, 2024, Max shared two posts that read "half the label fired, no more management, just released my fav song ever. well I guess I gotta make some lemonade again",[8] and "🍋".[9] The lyric video for "Spot a Fake" was posted to her X account following the posts.[10]
On November 15, 2024, Max revealed that the album consisted of pop-rock, R&B, country, with both energetic and introspective tracks. The album will also explore more personal themes. She also stated it was in a completely different direction creatively, as she is now on the “other side” of heartbreak. She confirmed that the previous pattern of her album titles does not apply to her third album. She also mentioned that she would both finish recording and register the album before Christmas 2024.
Max also stated in November 2024 that the album will be released "soon" but wasn't allowed to give specifics. In the same week, she confirmed in an interview with Today Australia that she is planning a solo world tour for 2025.
Sometime between the releases of "My Oh My" and "1 Wish", Max registered a new song called "Exorcist" to GEMA.
In an interview on December 1, 2024, Max confirmed that her third studio album would be released in 2025, and indicated that it will be released at the beginning of the year. She also confirmed that "My Oh My" had been scrapped from the album, and that "Spot a Fake" is the official first single.[11]
On December 20, 2024, Max and her producer Pink Slip posted images of them in the studio, with Max's post captioned "can't wait for you guys to hear this one" and Pink Slip's post captioned, "last session of the yearrrrrr".
On January 6, 2025, Max posted an Instagram story with the caption "Ready for new music?👀", and changed her bio back to "Made From Scratch", indicating that an announcement was coming soon. Later that day, Max posted a heartfelt message on Instagram thanking her fans for supporting her throughout the past year, which she said was a very difficult time for her. She went on to say that she had hoped to release the album in 2024, but when that didn't happen, 2024 had helped her find herself. Max concluded the post by telling her fans "I hear you, I see you, and I feel you ♡", and saying she's so excited to share the music she's been working on for so long.
On January 22, 2025, Max posted a snippet of the album's new lead single, "Lost Your Faith", and liked an Instagram comment saying "Snippet from AM3, full album coming in May".
On January 27, 2025, "Spot a Fake" was officially cut from the album.
On February 7, 2025, "Lost Your Faith" was released as the album's lead single.
On February 12, 2025, Max posted that she was "currently putting the final touches on the album", alongside a teaser photo shoot. Later that day, when a fan commented on one of her TikTok videos asking how close the album was, Max replied "Veryyyyy 😁😁😁."
On February 14, 2025, Max posted a video of herself and Pink Slip in the studio on TikTok reading "POV your producer just sent your next song to mix".
On February 17, 2025, Max posted a snippet of "World's Smallest Violin" with the caption "might just need to start teasing this album already", confirming it will be on AM3.
On February 20, 2025, Max started shooting the music video for "Lost Your Faith".
On February 26, 2025, Max released the lyric video for "Lost Your Faith" and announced that the official music video will be released "next week".
In a late February interview, Max revealed that the reason AM3 wasn't released in 2024 was because she didn't just want to put out an album in 2024 that was just thrown together and didn't feel cohesive, she wanted to put out something that felt like a complete project, that she had time to refine, and that reflected how she truly feels.
On March 6, 2025, Max posted a still from the "Lost Your Faith" music video and announced on social media that she is "making some last minute edits" but that she promises the video is "coming very soon and the wait will be worth it".
On March 14, 2025, Max's management team, MDDN, posted "ARE YOU READY? @AvaMax new album LOADING..."
On March 18, 2025, Ava announced via X that she is "so so sorry" for having been "mia" (missing in action) for the past week and clarified that the reason for her inactivity was because she had been hospitalized for unspecified health problems but had returned home and is "better now." She then released the music video for "Lost Your Faith" after the post.
On March 19, 2025, Ava posted the following message on Instagram: "Lost Your Faith is about letting who of who I thought I had to be and stepping into the reality of who I am. If you thought the rest of the project is like this...you're dead wrong."
On March 25, 2025, Max announced that she had decided on a track list order for AM3, posting photos in the studio with the captions "not kidding when I say I've been living in the studio. where I've been 🐰. FYI" and "too many great songs to count but I know the order ☺️" followed by a snippet of a new track.
On April 9, 2025, Max posted on Instagram a link to a mysterious website titled "Don't Click Play On Ava Max." The website, which features a picture of Max wearing the Max Cut again with clown makeup on half of her face, directs fans to "sign the petition", and once an email address is entered, a snippet of "Lovin Myself" plays. The song was officially registered on the same day and was speculated to be released in April 2025 according to previous release patterns, but was ultimately released as the album's second single on May 29, 2025.
On April 10, 2025, PopFiltr published an article confirming the new album title "Don't Click Play", with the official cover art included.[12][13] Max would later post a screenshot of the article on her Instagram story.[14] The article was later deleted, implying that the information was not supposed to be released until later.
On April 12, 2025, Ava cut her hair to resemble her former hairstyle the Max Cut once again during Alok's performance at Coachella.
On May 1, 2025, Max announced the album's title and release date and posted the cover art.
On May 29, 2025, "Lovin Myself", the second single, was released.
Sometime after May 29, 2025, a snippet of the single "Wet, Hot American Dream" was secretly placed on the "Don't Click Play On Ava Max" website after a user clicks pre-save, replacing "Lovin Myself".
On June 15, 2025, the site FNAC accidentally revealed the album's track list early by leaving the tracks in it's source code despite the page not being available to view.[15] Amazon France, Amazon United States, and several other major shopping websites would later post the official tracklist on their pages selling the "Don't Click Play" CDs and vinyls the next couple days.[16]
On June 16, 2025, Ava Max announced the North American leg of her second headlining tour, the 'Don't Click Play Tour.'
On June 17, 2025, Ava Max announced the European leg of her second headlining tour, the 'Don't Click Play Tour,' along with releasing the Vinyl and CD variants for fans to pre-order on her website. The physical variants will ship in late August.
On June 19, 2025, Max posted a second snippet of "Wet, Hot American Dream", announcing that it is coming soon.
On June 30, Max suprise-announced "Wet, Hot American Dream", as the third single from the album, saying it would release the next day.
On July 1, "Wet, Hot American Dream" was released as the third single for "Don't Click Play."
On July 3, Ava Max announced that the "Don't Click Play Tour" dates have been cancelled, and said that she will reschedule, stating that "..when I perform for you, it has to be a standard that I am happy with..." stating that "it's just not there yet." Fans speculate the decision to push back the tour was due to poor ticket sales.
On July 4, Ava performed "Lovin Myself," "Wet, Hot American Dream," and "Sweet But Psycho" for NBC News.
Tour
On June 16, 2025, Max announced her second headlining tour. It was set to start in September of 2025 for North America, and the European Leg was set to start in Late October, 2025.
On July 3, 2025, the tour was announced to be pushed back on Max's Instagram story. [17]
For more, visit our Don't Click Play Tour page.
Album Rework
The album was originally scheduled for release in November or December of 2024 with 12 tracks, but it was eventually reworked with Max choosing to scrap many of the tracks. She later clarified that the album felt rushed and non-cohesive to her, and she wanted more time to perfect it. Thematically, the album was said to be about a betrayal in her inner circle and sounded similar to "Dancing's Done". Below is a list of some tracks scrapped from the album.
- "Business Is Business" (demo)
- "Jackpot" (unmixed)
- "Lonely People" (unmastered)
- "My Oh My" (original lead)
- "Red Lipstick" (demo)
- "The Cards" (unmastered)
- "Spot a Fake" (second original lead)
The album reportedly faced at least two delays throughout 2024. Max indicated in late 2024 that she was able to release music whenever she wanted, but later stated she wanted to put out music when it felt right for her and have it reflect who she was in the present.
Singles
The album's lead single, "Lost Your Faith", was released on February 7, 2025.
The album's second single, "Lovin Myself", was released on May 29, 2025.
The album's third single, "Wet, Hot American Dream", was released on July 1, 2025. [18]
Other Details
Sometime after the release of "Lost Your Faith," Ava was interviewed about the recording process for "Don't Click Play." Ava stated:
"I don't know if it's funny, but a lot of people think I started the album last year with "My Oh My." But actually, it all started with "Lost Your Faith." That song represents a rebirth. In a way, I lost my faith, and then I was reborn, and I fell in love with myself again. People might wonder, "Why release a song so different from 'My Oh My' now?" But for me, it's about telling a story. I want to make it clear why I did it. It may seem confusing for some, but it was intentional; everything has a reason."
Theme
While the album was still in early development, Pink Slip stated under one of Max's Instagram posts that she was in her "villian eraaaa", while FAANGS commented with "Demon time 💘🦇". Max's own teasers frequently mentioned "Betrayal" and "Rebirth." Before the album rework, Max had said the project would be thematically darker and slower-paced. However, as of June 11, 2025, she appeared to reverse course, stating in an interview with The Elliot Show, “When you hear ‘Don’t Click Play’ when it comes out in August, I want you to feel empowered and strong. These are big, anthemic songs. I wanted to go back to that epic ‘Kings & Queens’ vibe.”.[19]
Recording Dates
- August 2023[3]
- August 29, 2023
- September 6, 2023
- September 7, 2023
- September 9, 2023
- September 12, 2023
- September 24, 2023
- September 25, 2023
- October 3, 2023[20] ("Jackpot")
- October 6, 2023 ("Jackpot")
- October 9, 2023
- October 16, 2023
- October 24, 2023
- October 25, 2023
- November 2, 2023
- November 7, 2023
- November 9, 2023
- November 12, 2023
- November 13, 2023
- November 15, 2023 ("Fight For Me")
- November 16, 2023
- November 17, 2023
- November 19, 2023
- November 30, 2023
- December 2, 2023
- December 9, 2023
- December 11, 2023
- December 14, 2023
- December 18, 2023
- December 19, 2023
- January 17, 2024 ("My Oh My")
- January 24, 2024
- January 26, 2024
- February 20, 2024[21]
- March 28, 2024
- April 8, 2024
- June 19, 2024 ("Spot a Fake")
- July 20, 2024
- September 3, 2024
- September 11, 2024 ("Spot a Fake")
- October 11, 2024
- October 21, 2024
- October 23, 2024 ("Lovin Myself")
- October 25, 2024
- December 20, 2024 ("Lost Your Faith")
- January 21, 2025 ("World's Smallest Violin")
- January 30, 2025
- February 10, 2025[22]
- February 14, 2025
- February 17, 2025 ("World's Smallest Violin")
- March 5, 2025
- March 18, 2025
- March 25, 2025 ("Unknown Snippet")
Track listing
Standard version | |||
---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Co-Writer(s) | Length |
1. | Don't Click Play | TBA | TBA |
2. | How Can I Dance | Ava Max • JBACH • Jim Lavigne • Pink Slip | TBA |
3. | Lovin Myself | Ava Max • Pink Slip • Lita • Scott Harris Friedman | 2:56 |
4. | Sucks To Be My Ex | TBA | TBA |
5. | Wet, Hot American Dream | Alida Garpestad Peck • Ava Max • JBACH • Pink Slip | 2:56 |
6. | Take My Call | TBA | TBA |
7. | Know Somebody | Amanda "Kiddo A.I." Ibanez • Ava Max • TBA | TBA |
8. | Lost Your Faith | Leroy Clampitt • Ava Max • Delacey • Lucy Healey | 3:14 |
9. | Fight For Me | Ava Max • Melanie Fontana • Michel Schulz • Ryan Tedder | TBA |
10. | Skin In The Game | Malik "The Freq" Moore • Ava Max • Jordan Powers • Haven • Lauren Mandel | TBA |
11. | World's Smallest Violin | Ava Max • TBA | TBA |
12. | Catch My Breath | TBA | TBA |
Total length: | TBA |
Scrapped Tracks
Officially Released
- "My Oh My" (first planned lead single, scrapped in July 2024 in favor of "Spot a Fake")
- "Spot a Fake" (second planned lead single, scrapped in late 2024 in favor of "Lost Your Faith")
Unreleased
- "Business Is Business"
- "Exorcist"
- "Jackpot"
- "Lonely People"
- "Pirouette"
- "Red Lipstick"
- "The Cards"
- "This Is What I Like"
Trivia
- Don't Click Play will be Max's first album without contributions from Cirkut and Madison Love.
- Bowman's 9/7/23 Instagram post had "Dancing's Done" set as the story's audio. Max has stated that the song is the "bridge" to the sound of her next project, though this was referring to the first version of the album, which most likely has a new creative direction given recent releases and official statements.
- LOSTBOY, another producer on the album, also worked on the song.
- Two of the album's producers, Emily Warren and Sarah Hudson, have worked with Dua Lipa, an old rumored collaborator of Max's.[23]
- "My Oh My" was initially chosen as the lead single in order to have "fun", before getting into the "really emotional things".[24]
- Max wrote the album without intention, as she would write all of her emotions down in a journal without realizing she could turn them into songs until her friend gave her the idea.[25]
- According to insiders, the album was intended to come out in November-December 2024 with 12 tracks, but the release date was changed to 2025 due to songs from the album getting leaked. Max later confirmed that the album would be released in 2025.
- Max confirmed in an interview with Brian Fink that "Lost Your Faith" was originally going to be the lead single of her third album.
- The album cover published by PopFiltr included the title Don't Press Play, which may have been an earlier title for the album's third concept.
- The album (likely the deluxe edition) will include collaborations and remixes.[26]
- Both "Fight For Me" and "Skin In The Game" are the only tracks that are (marked as) explicit.[27]
- "Sucks To Be My Ex" will feature Anthony Watts, making it the only collaboration on the project, and Max's first collaborator on her own album.
Merchandise
Gallery
Recording
Videos
References
- ↑ ENERGY Berlin Interview
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Twitter - AM3 Update
- ↑ Instagram - Title Confirmation
- ↑ TikTok - Teaser
- ↑ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KyrSVY2Rcuk
- ↑ Instagram - Ava Max Stories
- ↑ https://x.com/AvaMax/status/1837561924042866843
- ↑ https://x.com/AvaMax/status/1837562771791401334
- ↑ X - ❤︎︎ Spot a Fake lyric video out now ❤︎︎
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbOTgL4rGyw
- ↑ https://www.popfiltr.com/articles/ava-max-dont-click-play-album-lovin-myself-single-releaase
- ↑ https://x.com/InfoAvaMax/status/1910428766163394707
- ↑ https://gagadaily.com/forums/topic/417596-ava-maxs-3rd-studio-album-is-titled-%E2%80%9Cdont-click-play%E2%80%9C/
- ↑ https://www.fnac.com/a21728026/Ava-Max-Don-t-Click-Play-CD-album
- ↑ https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0FCYV2L5R?crid=3QUFXEKZVAKFF&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.PYgDJ4bOcMjrePXH2ASokQ.kAsyNA-6_mupVHp7yu3WlnaQrMtmEuUcftEnprI-IWQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=ava+max+don%27t+click+play&qid=1750173074&sprefix=ava+max+dont+clic%2Caps%2C168&sr=8-1
- ↑ https://x.com/AvaMaxSpotify/status/1940846154876702778
- ↑ https://x.com/avamaxbr/status/1934680395997393147
- ↑ https://x.com/avamaxbr/status/1932777606148952449
- ↑ https://x.com/SourceAvaMax/status/1709314937007575191
- ↑ https://x.com/AvaMaxContent/status/1892605156375609758/photo/1
- ↑ https://x.com/AvaMaxLately/status/1889444421692719475
- ↑ 2019 Dua/Bebe/Rita Collab
- ↑ Youtube - The Hits Radio
- ↑ Youtube - The Hits Radio
- ↑ People - Ava Max Felt Lost. How Returning to Her Signature Lopsided Hair Made Her Feel Like Herself Again (Exclusive)
- ↑ https://music.apple.com/us/library/albums/l.rTjsRE6?l=en-US
Don't Click Play Navigation | |
---|---|
Links | Album Information • Tour • Shop Music |
Songs | Don't Click Play • How Can I Dance • Lovin Myself • Sucks To Be My Ex • Wet, Hot American Dream • Take My Call • Know Somebody • Lost Your Faith • Fight For Me • Skin In The Game • World's Smallest Violin • Catch My Breath |
Outtakes | Business Is Business • Exorcist • Jackpot • Lonely People • My Oh My • Pirouette • Red Lipstick • The Cards • Spot a Fake • This Is What I Like |
Artists | Ava Max |