Self Esteem considered “giving up” due to social media criticism
Rebecca Lucy Taylor, better known as Self Esteem, has revealed she considered “giving up” her music career following the commercial breakthrough of Prioritise Pleasure in 2021.
Taylor had accumulated 15 years of experience before the release of her Mercury-nominated second solo album, Prioritise Pleasure, which put her work on the radar of many new fans. However, the spike in attention to her work also brought negative comments on social media, which was understandably difficult for Taylor to handle.
In a new interview with the BBC, Taylor shared: “People say you should ignore it, but if you went to a wedding and had a nice day and one person called you an [expletive], who would you go home thinking about? It’s just human nature.”
She continued: “There were moments where I considered giving up, which shocked me because I’ve been this defiant, angry thing for so long.”
Taylor then explained why the current state of the world is a reason why she considered silencing herself, adding, “But over the last few years, especially with the world being like it is, I’ve definitely had feelings of protecting myself and shutting up.”
Thankfully, Taylor has created a new album, A Complicated Woman, which will be released on April 25th. The album deals with the inner conflict that has come as a consequence of fame, adding, “That’s the saddest part of the album, really. But I found a way through. And if I can, then I hope the rest of the world can too, you know?”
Self Esteem has previewed the album this week as part of a new theatre show at the Duke of York’s in London, which concludes on April 20th. She will then tour the album later this year, including a huge return to South Yorkshire to headline the Utilita Arena in Sheffield.
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