Former UK Eurovision star Mae Muller has announced she is taking a break from music as she hit out at the industry about the "pressure of chasing hits".
The singer-songwriter, 26, seemed to have a promising chance at last year's Eurovision Song Contest after 2022 entry Sam Ryder helped to restore the nation's faith when he finished second in the competition following years of the UK not performing highly.
In addition to a home advantage, as the UK stepped in to host in place of war-torn Ukraine, the likes of Sir Ringo Starr and Lana Del Rey were singing Muller's praises ahead of the final at Liverpool's M&S Bank Arena.
But Muller's entry titled I Wrote A Song failed to match Ryder and saw her finish in 25th place with a total of just 24 points.
Her debut album Sorry I'm Late, released three months later, didn't fare much better either, only reaching number 33 in the UK album charts.
With a new year ahead of her, the London-born musician has decided that a few changes are in order.
Taking to social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, she shared a lengthy message with her fans explaining she wanted to hang up her mic to "re-energise".
Muller wrote: "Time is going so fast it's insane but in the past few years I have done some incredible things and I am so proud of my achievements, and while I've been taking a break for the last couple weeks I have been reflecting on where I am and who I want to be as an artist.
"Despite my achievements, at times I've felt like I lost sight of what I was doing this for and why I started music in the first place. the pressure of chasing hits for so long (which many signed artists can relate to) wore me out, which caused me to make decisions which didn't sit well in my gut personally or creatively.
"Music went from being my passion to becoming a job churning out songs to try and impress [executives] or get a playlist spot for radio, which is not why I started doing this. I started it because I love it and I want to get back to that."
Muller continued: "It's been emotional, exciting and at times scary but to grow you have to be uncomfortable and when you're not happy where you are you need to make a change, which is what I've been doing behind the scenes. I had the album campaign of dreams, making little to no compromises with a major label, which is so rare in this day and age, and for that I am extremely grateful but I need to take a little step back.
"Last year was the most intense year of my life and I am creatively (and emotionally) fatigued, so [your] girl just need a moment to re energise!
"I just wanted to be honest with you, because at the end of the day it all comes down to you guys, my fans (I hate calling you that you're so much more) but you have been there for me every step of the way. some of you since the very beginning, and I've always wanted to be upfront, so if things seem to be a bit quiet that's why.
"I want to be my best self for you because it's what you deserve and honestly, it's what I deserve too. I love you all an incredible amount and I'm not going anywhere!!! just working more behind the scenes to get back in touch with myself and the artist I want to be."
Mullers tweet was met by support from her fans, with one replying: "Proud of you for this, take it easy."
Another added: "Appreciate you more than you will ever know, take your time you deserve it."
While a third assured: "So very proud of you, take [your] time my love! we’ll be right here waiting for you!! I love u very much."
