In the music industry, it can be easy to be caught up in the stage persona that artists promote to their audiences. In the background of all of that, they can be completely different people with their own struggles. Many famous singers have confessed in interviews that they still feel depressed and sad some of the time despite their level of success.
These people are recording albums, living up to the expectations of fans and typically going on huge world tours throughout the entire year. Not only this but they have to be constantly bombarded with paparazzi and people who want to exploit their personal lives for money. These people are closely watched and criticized for the whole world to see and that takes a toll on their mental health.
Throughout the years some musicians have killed themselves due to the pressure and cannot get their lives back, which leads them to madness.
A suicide that was really sudden happened last year with the death of Chester Bennington from Linkin Park on July 20th, 2017. When singers bring up heavy topics in their songs like depression, loneliness, and frustration- it is hard for the listener to truly understand the depth of how the singer actually feels because the listener is focusing on their own experience.
Listen to one of their heavier songs here:
There were clear warning signs that Chester had a rough time in the past couple years with the suicide of his best friend, Chris Cornell. Chester killed himself on the day of his birthday which left fans in complete shock. I actually had tickets to see Linkin Park a week before he killed himself. But there were clear warning signs that should have been noticed.
Just check out this interview that was more of a cry for help:
Collectively as an industry, they must change the stigma on mental health. The industry should be more accepting that these celebrities are people too with thoughts and emotions. So often people think that they are Gods or people who are so successful that there is no possible way they could be sad. But we also don’t know what it is like to be them. By talking about these issues more it will hopefully bring light to them and stop other musicians from throwing away their life because they don’t know how to express their grief properly.
Rest in peace Chester Bennington, you will truly be missed.
