Ava Max’s “Million Dollar Baby” is “Lucky” by Britney Spears but shot through a “Can’t Stop the Moonlight” prism. Light fractures into rainbows and leaves mere traces, lyrically and musically, of the song’s predecessors. “She turns tears to diamonds / Trying to find that silver lining,” relays Max. The tragedy in superstardom weighs heavy on even the listener. Later, she drives harder into the character’s ache for perilous living, singing, “In the dark of the night, she got danger on her mind / She’s a million dollar baby.”
Listen to “Million Dollar Baby” below.