The Mental Health Movement: Artists Breaking Stereotypes & Opening Up

Within the past couple of years, artists are finding themselves using various modes of interviews, projects, initiatives, and live festivals to draw attention to the significance of mental health in the music industry. We're seeing more interpersonal interviews, granting musicians the space to openly discuss personal challenges they've faced and connect deeper with their growing audience.

In previous decades, the topic of mental health and celebrity status had become a mutually exclusive concept, giving fans the false idea that those who have attained massive success within the entertainment industry are free of the shackles that mental and emotional health bounds one to. There have been plenty of musicians who have and continue to be advocates to artists' mental wellbeing, however, in present times artists are urged to open up to their audience and mend the distance between musician and listener.

YouTube | Apple Music

One of the most prominent factors to mending this gap are the multiple forms of social media that we have at our fingertips. Both parties are able to get a stronger sense of connection to one another through these apps, including Instagram, TikTok, and SnapChat, where fans and musicians are able to connect with one another in real time. Previously, the separation between listener and vocalist was a far stretch, however, the introduction of these social media platforms allows artists to share their lives and further disintegrate this separation while fans are given a glimpse into the worlds of their music moguls.

Through the normalcy in social media, users, including musicians and music lovers have begun revealing their personal life and even more so, personal details or emotional struggles online for their fanbase. This new concept has continued to become normalized across the board and is even encouraged by their onlookers. Although the adoration music lovers have with mega stars and the allure to their aloof and private nature, there's also a distinguishable want to further connect with their favorite singers and create a more interpersonal connection, specifically those within the Gen Z and Gen Alpha decades.

Musicians have increasingly turned to online platforms to advocate for various causes, whether political, to voice their opinions on current issues, address ongoing controversies, or simply for pure joy. By leveraging live features on apps like Instagram and TikTok, artists such as Noah Kahan, Madison Beer, and Doja Cat have engaged with their audiences by discussing their latest tours, answering fan questions, teasing upcoming projects, or responding to the buzz around current news. These platforms provide a casual yet powerful way for musicians to connect with their fanbase and share authentic insights with the world.

In addition to social media apps on your phone, some of the most successful modes in which artists are given the space to open up include Apple's interviews with Zane Lowe, The Jay Shetty Podcast, Variety, and Vanity Fair where they've shifted the focus towards vulnerability, honesty, and interpersonal connection. Through a stream of multi-faceted questions, deeper topics, and granting the space for safety and honesty, we're able to mend the fun and exciting nature of learning more about their favorite musician and personally accessing more of their personality.

YouTube | Jay Shetty Podcast

Jay Shetty has utilized his platform to call attention to real world issues as well as mental health. Multiple artists have met with the podcaster to discuss their personal lives, journey, and other gems they can offer to the listener. Cynthia Erivo, Big Sean, and Jelly Roll are some of the many artists we've seen join the show and reveal intimate parts of their lives and the consistent uphill battles they endure. They also lend pieces of advice for viewers to walk away with and implement in their own lives.

Fans find these heavier topics and honest responses as refreshing, providing a sense of community, and finding comfort in these musical talents. In previous and more pop culture-centered interviews, the focus was revolved around highlighting the current dramatics of the industry, controversial topics, the surface of their craft, and a heavier lean on the frivolity of the music world. Although this poses as significant in some regards, giving us, the viewers bits of entertainment, there's a global consensus of preferring these intimate and personable style of interviews.

Although there are a stream of negative comments thrown their way as a result of vulnerability and sharing their lives, a majority find comfort and even empowerment after hearing these celebrities' stories.

The pitfalls that artists can fall into when opening themselves up to the world come with these efforts, especially when it comes to personal matters and private topics. Ariana Grande for one has openly discussed her mental health issues on platforms such as the Zac Sang Show where she discusses emotional moments throughout her career. Despite the positive reactions she's received from her public interview, many are quick to criticize her life further, using her personal story as ammunition and pick apart some of the most sensitive moments of her life.

As more musicians and industry moguls remain consistent in opening the conversational doors of mental & emotional health, the pendulum of interviews is swaying towards quality over quantity. Their movement towards actively stripping away the layer of their celebrity status is slowly allowing the media to make way for emotional topics while bridging the gap between themselves and their loyal fanbase.