London songstress Joy Crookes gets vulnerable in her new single “Anyone But Me.”
I’ve suffered from mental health issues since I was young. Where I grew up, this wasn’t a topic you would bring up when your mum was fixing you a plate of dal or when your mates were showing you how to flirt with boys and girls, so when I had my first episode of depression I didn’t really know where to turn to. It’s taken me a long time, and I am still learning how to completely articulate what goes on in my mind. Being able to have these important conversations with my friends and then my family has been challenging and I guess that’s why I always turned to music. Music has a way to soften the blow with topics like mental health – it can make situations that seem completely out of reach, tangible – especially when you feel like you’re living with another version of yourself. Learning to be more open, I had a conversation with my best friend who pointed out that when we are dealing with depression and anxiety – we almost become tired of constantly being with ourselves – you want to be with anyone BUT yourself. This is the position I took when I wrote ‘Anyone But Me’. The lyrics speak for themselves. I hope we can all continue breaking down boundaries that stretch between generations and cultures and continue this conversation about how we really feel.