'Lights Down Low' singer-songwriter MAX talks getting married at 23: 'I knew she was it'

Updated

When you know, you know.

That's the conclusion "Lights Down Low" singer-songwriter MAX came to a few years ago when the then-22-year-old and his girlfriend of less than a year were faced with a dilemma: Time was ticking on U.K.-born Emily's allotted time in the United States.

"I knew she was 'it,' and she was going to have to leave the country if we didn't get married," MAX told AOL Entertainment, wearing a pink Fujifilm Instax SQ6 around his neck -- which, by the way, perfectly matched his pink-rimmed glasses. "It was just like, yeah, that makes sense -- because I love you and I want to marry you anyway."

Their rapid romance coincided with MAX's equally-speedy rise to international fame -- "Lights Down Low" hit No. 1 on Billboard Adult Top 40 earlier this year, and its music video has racked up 33 million views -- but his wife, who stars with him in the video, is unruffled by most of that, he said.

"If anything, what we've learned is, like with 'Lights Down Low' and where it's traveled and grown to, it's been a matter of balance," he said. "She doesn't really care about any of [the fame]. If anything, she's just like, 'I want to make sure we have our time together.' And that's been the biggest thing, making sure a day a week I have no phone and we just chill with our dog and watch 'Harry Potter' movies."

"That's the only thing I don't want to ever lose," he added. "I would love to headline [Madison Square] Garden -- I have those dreams -- but it's not worth not being with my family."

Advertisement