"It's not right"— Ava Max addresses leaked demos of her unreleased songs

Pop star Ava Max has made an impassioned plea to her fans to stop leaking her unreleased demos, citing the emotional toll and disruption caused by such actions. On January 2, 2025, the Sweet But Psycho singer took to Instagram Stories to express her frustrations after discovering several of her songs had surfaced online, including an unfinished demo titled Phenomenon.

In her Instagram post, Ava Max shared a screenshot of a visualizer for Phenomenon, a track featuring a Middle Eastern-inspired groove. Alongside a snippet of the song, she explained that while many of her demos never see official release, the leaks are deeply upsetting.

"A lot of records I write do not ever see the light of day, and I understand your frustration, but this is not right. I write a lot of records I wish I could put out," she added.

Max revealed that she had found five leaked tracks that day alone and issued a stern warning to those responsible, stating:

"I will find out who did this… like I usually do. So plz stop."

In a follow-up slide, Max expanded on her concerns, writing:

"I've never posted about this since the leak of my second album prematurely. Plz respect my art so I can keep working on making the songs I wanna put out that make sense for my project, and who I am perfect for you."

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Ava Max speaks out against leaks

Ava Max addresses leaked demos of her unreleased songs (Image via @avamax/Instagram)

Ava Max's plea comes after a history of leaks affecting her work. Her sophomore album, Diamonds & Dancefloors, originally slated for an October 2022 release, was delayed until January 2023 after much of the record was leaked online, according to a 2022 report by music station MOViN 92.5.

Addressing the incident at the time, Max expressed her frustration in a since-deleted TikTok, stating:

"I am extremely upset about it, obviously. My team and I are trying our hardest to bring it down." She described the emotional impact, saying, "It hurts because you put so much work towards the body of work, and then it’s out there."

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Max reflected on the challenges of dealing with leaks, explaining:

"That leak was crazy. I never know how those things happen, but every time they do, it upsets me because I want to be the first one to put them out. I just don’t know how people leak that. It’s definitely hurtful, for sure."

Despite these setbacks, Ava Max has remained focused on her music. In 2024, she released several singles, including Whatever, which sampled Shakira's Whenever, Wherever, the solo track My Oh My, and September's Spot a Fake. She also collaborated with David Guetta on a reimagined version of Alphaville's Forever Young.

Ava Max has teased her third album, describing its direction as a reflection of personal growth and healing. In May 2024, she told Billboard that the project's debut single, My Oh My, marks a new beginning.

"For the first time I’m really finding myself, honing in on healing… I really feel like this is everyone's healing era," she shared.

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In addition, Ava Max has urged her fans to respect her creative process and refrain from leaking unreleased music, emphasizing the disruptive impact such actions have on her work. "It's not right," she emphasized, highlighting the importance of allowing artists to control the release of their work.