Even when you seem to be living on cloud nine, no one knows what you’re going through.
Being in the spotlight comes with a lot of good and some bad. While you’re getting to live out your dream, sharing lyrics with the world of your experiences and seeing how fans have lived similar things, it’s cool to see your music and art resonate with others. But just because you share a snippet of your life through your lyrics sometimes leads fans to believe they know everything about you. Being in the limelight also comes with the con of having to be “on” all the time. As a famous person, you are put on a pedestal of sorts, and sometimes we, as fans, forget our favorite musicians are humans too and are allowed to have bad days and might not always be as chipper and merry as we expect them to be.
Ella Langley recently shared that last week, when she was the most nominated female artist walking into the ACM Awards, while many thought she would be living her best life, she was struggling on the inside. In an interview shared by Chicago’s The Scotty Kay Show, Langley admitted that the week of the ACM Awards was one of the hardest mental health weeks she has had in a long time.
“I won’t lie, this last week has been probably one of the toughest mental health weeks I’ve had in a long, in a long time. Which is crazy because so many good things are happening, so many things I’ve prayed for and dreamed about. It’s just a struggle, it’s a disease in my family, really. I think it’s important to talk about it and to share that, just because I might seem like that, I’m on top of a mountain right now doesn’t look like that all the time.
And also, it’s okay to be two things. I was just actually talking to Lainey and Miranda about this. I was like, ‘My impostor syndrome right now. Like, what do you mean? How can I be in the same category as you two? That doesn’t make sense to me.’”
This is not the first time that Langley has opened up about her mental health struggles. In 2021, early in her career, Langley penned a few songs about her struggles with anxiety and depression. Since day one, she has been vulnerable and honest with her fans, and while some days might look darker than others, Langley shining a light on her struggles humanizes her more among her fans.
Langley talking about her mental health also helps destigmatize the idea that when everything seems to be going your way, you have no reason to be sad or down. Some things you don’t have complete control over, and mental health is one of those things.
Langley opening up about her struggles this week also illuminates why some fans thought she was “off” during the awards ceremony. Many fans immediately speculated that she wasn’t getting along with Riley Green, baselessly claiming that “he did her dirty.” Once again, I think we need to stay out of their love lives, given that they’ve both said they are very good friends numerous times. But it also proves the age-old phrase: “Not everything is what it seems.”
Langley concluded her thoughts on her mental health that even though she’s struggling now, there are a few things she always thinks of to help ground herself and get out of that negative headspace.
“And I think it’s just about being grateful. I think at the end of the day, just spinning it back on being grateful for what God’s giving me and the places that I get to be in. Hopefully, my honesty and realness rub off on some little girl or little boy who wants to do this and gets to see that it’s tough, but tough things are worth going through if you want it bad enough.”
Ella Langley is as real as it gets.
Hopefully, she felt like those tough moments paid off as she walked away from the ACM Awards with five awards to her name. This interview is the perfect gentle reminder to show some grace toward artists and musicians. Being in the limelight can come with constant judgment and opinions from the outside, which can wear you down. Just like we are allowed to have tough weeks and bad days, the famous are allowed that too.
Keep on crushing it and speaking your truth, Ella Langley.
