{"id":928154,"date":"2026-10-10T20:02:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T20:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/928154\/"},"modified":"2026-10-10T20:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T20:02:09","slug":"for-world-mental-health-day-a-check-up-on-the-music-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/928154\/","title":{"rendered":"For World Mental Health Day, A Check-up on the Music Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWhen Olivia Rodrigo dropped her third studio album You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, it quickly became one of the year\u2019s biggest breakouts, with legions of fans seeing themselves in its melancholy themes of sadness, loneliness and heartache. On the standout track \u201cwhat\u2019s wrong with me,\u201d she opens the song with a wrenching and telling line: \u201cI\u2019m just staring at the ceiling, can\u2019t describe this feeling.\u201d Luckily, she was fibbing on that last part: Rodrigo has a knack for describing the depths of despair, and making us all feel a little less alone as a result \u2013 with Grammy nominations possibly<\/a> waiting in the wings as a result.<\/p>\n

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\n\tRodrigo\u2019s album would make the perfect soundtrack for today\u2019s World Mental Health<\/a> Day. An annual tradition since 1992, it\u2019s a moment to acknowledge that, like Rodrigo bravely points out, we\u2019re not alone in our struggles. In Billboard\u2019s latest episode of their Like Minded series in partnership with BetterHelp, Monaleo and Kehlani discussed motherhood and the permission to take care of oneself. \u201c63% of U.S. women struggle to prioritize their health,\u201d as reported in the launch of The Permission Projec<\/a>t, a BetterHelp initiative focused on women\u2019s mental health.<\/p>\n

\n\tBetween giving yourself permission and this year\u2019s theme of World Mental Health Day, Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change, it all coincides with the music industry\u2019s intimate relationship with mental health and giving oneself the OK to seek help. In the past year, the music world saw a genre-spanning slate of artists both wearing their hearts on their sleeves in their art, as well as publicly prioritizing their own mental health like never before.<\/p>\n

\n\tProving that it doesn\u2019t matter whether you\u2019re a fledgling singer-songwriter playing coffee shops and looking for a break, or the record-breaking artist Ella Langley, struggles don\u2019t discriminate. Langley, who is breaking Billboard Hot 100 records as of late with her No. 1 smash \u201cChoosin\u2019 Texas,\u201d has regularly sung about mental health and feeling less than. Take, for instance, \u201cBe Her,\u201d Langley\u2019s vulnerable single from sophomore album Dandelion. On the song, Langley talks about wanting to emulate a fellow gal she\u2019s idolizing. \u201cI just want to be her so bad it hurts,\u201d she croons with a signature twang, alluding to fretting about being less-than and an empty feeling of longing.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut beyond the lyrics, Langley has prioritized her mental health even as her immense success was unfolding before her. In fact, just before the dawn of her record-breaking run, Langley canceled a chunk of her 2025 tour, writing on Instagram<\/a>: \u201cI want to be fully present for the moments ahead, and I know I can\u2019t do that without taking care of myself,\u201d adding, \u201cSometimes we have to listen when our bodies and hearts tell us to slow down.\u201d It was a vulnerable choice, and one that eventually paid off for the current superstar: She slowed down in preparation for something better.<\/p>\n

\n\tPrioritizing oneself is something Ariana Grande has been brave about as well, with Grande perhaps the poster child for the biggest mental health story of the year. While belting out raw anthems on her 2026 album Petal (including the emotive anti-romance ballad \u201cHate That I Made You Love Me\u201d) in the wake of her stunning success with Wicked, Grande announced a hiatus from public life and canceled all engagements after her current tour, including a turn in a much-ballyhooed upcoming production of Sunday in the Park With George. Grande cited<\/a> \u201congoing public scrutiny,\u201d as fans around the world then rallied to her defense about knowing when to step back from the inferno of fame. In June, Grande also launched B-Line through her Brighter Days Ahead Foundation, in support of the below-the-line workers that make the industry sing.<\/p>\n

\n\tLangley and Grande aren\u2019t the only ones who knew when to rest in face of a grueling schedule, which serves as popularity\u2019s double-edged sword. Look no further than the typical vulnerability singer Lola Young exhibits, with the talented UK singer-songwriter also taking a step back from her burgeoning spotlight, which included a best new artist Grammy nomination (and best pop solo performance win for \u201cMessy\u201d) to work on herself amid rising fame. \u201cIt\u2019s an ongoing process,\u201d she said<\/a> earlier this year. \u201cI\u2019m not the finished article, but I\u2019m doing a hell of a lot better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnother one of music\u2019s biggest acts, the beloved country star Jelly Roll, has also been frank about taking care of his mental health, amid personal struggles including his recent divorce as well as being a recovering addict. \u201cI just gotta go do a little bit of work on myself to make sure that I\u2019m all the way ready,\u201d he said<\/a> when it comes to handling the next steps of his skyrocketing career. \u201cI\u2019m completely sober, though. I\u2019m clear-headed, and I\u2019m deep in therapy, I\u2019m deep in my Bible, but I think that I gotta separate from the chaos of the business for me to really hear what God wants for me to do next.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFrom breakouts to veteran acts, the pop songstress Meghan Trainor was so overwhelmed on the eve of her 2026 tour she pulled the plug on it entirely. Speaking to Billboard earlier this year in a candid interview<\/a>, she spoke about being a brand-new mother and explained she needed help to see the bigger picture in her life amid the pressure of an impending tour. \u201cI was drowning. I couldn\u2019t do it all and I thought I was doing it all,\u201d Trainor noted.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs the music industry has proven, mental health checkups are an essential part of life, including for artists who are seemingly on top of the world. It\u2019s a worthy reminder on World Mental Health Day, and the rest of the year as well.<\/p>\n