Brit Award-winner Jorja Smith has opened up about struggling to cope with trolls online - adding that “no one teaches you” how to deal with the dark side of fame.
Speaking with NET-A-PORTER’s digital title PORTER, the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter said that as she grew older and more experienced within the music industry, the more she felt “pressure about what people think of me.”
Smith, who has 4 million followers on Instagram alone, said she decided to move back to her native Walsall in Staffordshire to try and give herself more “balance” and perspective on the downsides of fame.
Smith, who has collaborated with Drake and Burna Boy, said: “People comment on me a lot.
“I don’t search for things, but if I’m on TikTok, I’ll see comments. It’s hard to deal with because no one teaches you about it. You literally get thrown into it and you don’t know what to expect…
“When I was 18, I didn’t really care, but now I’m finding I feel pressure about what people think of me.”
On moving back to Walshall, she added: “If I hadn’t moved back, I think I’d be finding the pressures of people’s opinions to be too much. Now I’m back home, I have a bit of a balance.”
She has since opened a choir for young girls in the area, in a bid to give young people “a space where they can feel safe”.
“I really wanted to do a youth club or something big, she said. “But I haven’t been back home for long, so I felt like I needed to do it small to find out what it is that Walsall needs.
“Young kids need a space where they can feel safe, make friends and talk about what’s going on at home.”
Smith released her second album - Falling or Flying - at the end of September. She said her experiences in recent years influenced the work.
“It gives me goosebumps speaking about it. I think, with this album, I’ve experienced more. So, it’s coming from my heart rather than my imagination.”
To see the full interview, read PORTER here.
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