Irish Singer-songwriter Lyra has opened up about the obstacles she faced early on in her career in music.
The Cork native revealed in an up close and personal interview that she ‘was miserable’, ‘looked skeletal’ and was ‘so unhappy.’
The 29-year-old signed a label deal with Polydor Records and Universal Music in 2017, and has risen to prominence in the music industry.
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Born Laura McNamara, the Bandon native, who has been likened to her idols Sia and Florence Welch for her powerhouse voice.
Speaking to Irish Country Magazine, Lyra revealed she was subjected to stereotyping from some people within the music industry.
Lyra recalled the struggles she endured and starving herself to fit into the mould.
She told the magazine: “When I was starting off in my career, I found it very hard because I felt like I had to be in this mould, this box.
“The people I would meet at the record labels were very much like, ‘Who are you? What lane are you in? We think you should be this.’ Or a lot of: ‘You should have dark hair and pale skin, you’re Irish’. That kind of stereotyping,"
“I was taking their advice because they were high-up people and I thought they knew what they were saying. I was miserable. I lost a lot of weight.”
The Cork star revealed she lost a lot of weight and felt self-conscious.
"Looking back at photos and my videos, I looked skeletal and I was so unhappy. My mom owned a restaurant for 26 years and I love eating, so it was unnatural for me,” the singer said.”
She even questioned if she should have been there, and people would comment on her diction when singing with her Irish accent.
Lyra added: “I sing with my Irish accent, and they would say, ‘We can’t really understand some of your diction’, so I felt really self-conscious about my body, about my vocals and when all that comes to you, you’re like, ‘am I supposed to be here, am I supposed to be a singer?’. Because everything that I’m doing seems to be wrong – but it wasn’t wrong."
"It was something they didn’t want and I didn’t have the confidence at that time to be myself."
Lyra made the choice to not conform to fit into the mould projected onto her.
She told Irish Country Magazine: “So, I suppose I just had to make that decision. Do I keep going down this road and be absolutely miserable? I’m a bit of a rebel, being from Cork, so I decided, no.
“We’re not built to be in boxes, we’re all humans, we’re all different shapes, different sizes, different sexualities, different nationalities. I don’t feel like we all need to be in this tick-box situation.”
The Bandon native has performed at massive festivals such as Electric Picnic in Ireland and Latitude in the UK, and has also performed on TV shows such as Dancing with the Stars and Ireland’s Got Talent.
Her song Falling, which was released in 2019, was featured in the midseason finale of Season 16 of Grey’s Anatomy and on ITV’s hit dating show Love Island – gaining her more recognition worldwide.
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