Louise Burns on Signing for Madonna, Early Stardom, & Major Label Exploitation of Teenagers

What really happened behind the scenes of North America's biggest pop wave? Jonathan Simkin sits down with Louise Burns to unpack her journey being thrown in the deep end of the music industry as a teenager — from being signed by Madonna to navigating the intense experience of record labels pressuring teenagers to lose weight. Louise reveals never-before-heard stories from the early 2000s pop machine with Lillix, a forgotten album that never came out, and what it was really like to grow up inside the Canadian music industry while the rest of the world was watching. This episode blends nostalgia, insight, and raw honesty about the realities of success, creative control, and the business of making it big in music. 🎧 I Hate Simkin is where 604 Records founder Jonathan Simkin shares unfiltered conversations with the artists who shaped Canadian music — from massive pop moments to the scenes that never made the headlines. The full video episode is available on Youtube too. If you're enjoying the podcast, please leave a rating/review, it helps us big time!