Maddox Batson Looks Back on Health Diagnosis That Changed Everything (Exclusive)

Maddox Batson seems to be just about everywhere these days. This summer alone, the TikTok sensation with the impressive country music chops has been seen performing at CMA Fest, hanging at Windy City Smokeout and serving as the grand marshal at a NASCAR race.

Not a bad life for a 14-year-old. 

“It’s been absolutely crazy,” Batson tells PEOPLE from the home he shares with his parents in Birmingham, Alabama. “But I couldn’t be more thankful for it.”

Immediately, a maturity can be detected in the voice of Batson, despite the vintage Justin Bieber type vibes and endless energy that seems to exude from his pores. He’s the kind of kid that greets his elders with ‘sir’ and ‘ma’am,’ he holds the door for those behind him and he has a way of making his growing legion of fans feel like friends.

And it’s all this that has him headed towards country music stardom.

“I went to go get ice cream yesterday and I think I probably took 15 pictures,” says an incredulous Batson, who just signed a deal with Warner Records and dropped his new single “X’s.” “A part of me was like, this is insanely cool. And the other part of me was like, this is insanely cool.” He laughs, adding. “I love it all the time. The coolest part of my day is when I get to meet my fans.”

Indeed, it is the fans that are busy forever altering the life of Batson, as they continue to devour any content he shares – from original songs to addictive covers to just plain old adventures in the life of a teenage boy growing up in 2024.  

But despite his viral success, Batson does have a musical backbone to him. “I’ve been raised on music,” says Batson. “Both of my parents love music, and they’ve always raised me on it. Me and my dad would go in my little music room and start writing just silly songs and stuff like that. I guess I just got that [songwriting] gene passed down to me.”

However, there was a time though that Batson seemed to be following a different route, playing a myriad of sports such as basketball, baseball, and football  as a youngster. But all that changed two summers ago when he was diagnosed with Osgood-Schlatter disease (OSD).

“I got diagnosed with this disease in my right knee,” he says of the condition that often affects tween boys and girls. “It prevented me from playing the sports that I’ve always known and loved. I didn’t have anything to do during the summer. So, I started playing music with my dad on TikTok Live, and we just started picking up traction over time.”

And traction is an understatement. Batson’s debut single “Tears in the River” went viral last year with more than millions of global streams and landed him in the top 15 of TikTok’s Viral Chart. Currently Batson’s social media stats include over 3.5 million followers. 

“When God closes the door, he opens another one,” says Batson, throwing some philosophy into the mix. “I just like to count my blessings.”

It’s these blessings that he is reminded of every time he touches the cross that routinely hangs around his neck. “Everything that I do, first comes Jesus and God,” says Batson, who began getting homeschooled last year. “That’s just a very big thing for me.”

And it’s these priorities that Batson says he’s determined to keep straight as his career continues on an upward trajectory, especially as artists such as Lana Del Rey and Quavo continue to sing his songs.

“I was freaking out,” Batson says about his reaction to hearing the news that the Lana Del Rey/Quavo song “Tough” that Maddox co-wrote would be released last month. “I was running around my house, screaming and stuff like that. It was one of the coolest experiences. My mom had no clue who Quavo was or who Lana Del Rey was, but once she figured it out, she was going just as crazy as I was.”

And has Batson found someone to share all this craziness with as of yet?

“I’m allowed to date, and I’ve definitely had girlfriends in the past, but right now, I don’t think it’s my time yet,” says Batson, who will play a headlining show in White House, Tennessee on 9/28, with select proceeds from this event going to Breakthrough T1D, a cause Maddox cares deeply about as his mother has Type 1 diabetes. “I’m still trying to lock in on my music. Once I have an established base and stuff like that, maybe later on down the road. But yeah — I get a lot of DMs for sure!”