Madison Bonnewell: singing her heart out

Megna Joshi, Website Editor

Madison Bonnewell is a junior who in her free time enjoys reading, singing and watching musical theatre. Madison comes from a huge family of six siblings and is also mixed -half black and half white- and adopted. In addition to having a huge family, all of them are religious and involved in their faith, Christianity.


While all of these things make her unique, what really sets her apart is her singing ability. Madison is the only one in her family that sings and is one of the main singers in the worship team at Southridge Church. She did not want to sing at first, but found her passion for it recently. She says, “I was kind of dragged into singing at my church but then I realized how much I liked singing as I started doing it. Over time I got really comfortable and now I love it.”
Madison says the first time she sang she was extremely nervous and did not know what people around her would think. It took a long time for her to build up the courage to sing in front of an audience, but now she is so comfortable that she could sing on the spot. She says, “singing is a way that I let myself go and I am happy I was pushed into it because now I can’t live without it.” Madison also encourages others to try singing or playing an instrument by saying, “music helps stress more than you think, is something that everyone should try at least once in their life.”
Although she does not want to study music when she’s older, it is something that she loves to do and it helps her relieve stress. Madison says, “singing is an outlet for me to release stress and I do not know what I would do without it. Her passion for music has also lead her to join choir at Northern. One of her best friends, Lauren Chavis (11), says “I think her passion for singing is really strong. It’s what she loves to do, and I think she has a beautiful voice. Maddie’s singing has influenced me to listen to more music because she will be singing a song in the car or at school and I always want to listen to whatever she is listening to because it is so good!”
Lastly, Madison’s interest in music has inspired her to participate in events outside of her church. For example, this past year she sang in the Black History Month assembly. Song leader Issac Reed (11) says, “Maddie is a very talented and hardworking friend who is always kind and looking to help on whatever she can!” Clearly, Madison is an amazing singer with a bright future, so keep the look out of Madison Bonnewell, she just could be the next big thing.