Singers Corinne Bailey Rae and Ravyn Lenae joined Billboard‘s Delisa Shannon and Higher Assist’s Dr. Russell DuBois for the debut episode of Billboard‘s Like Minded sequence on Saturday afternoon (March 14) on the Billboard Home @ SXSW.
Bailey Rae and Lenae mentioned how they managed their psychological well being battles amid having success in numerous eras of music.
The British singer’s breakthrough got here within the mid-2000s with “Like a Star,” which led to Bailey Rae’s self-titled debut in 2006, and she or he’s celebrating 20 years of the LP for the remainder of 2026.
Bailey Rae’s life was turned the other way up as she went from acting at bars to arenas across the globe and assembly a few of her heroes like Herbie Hancock and Stevie Marvel, whereas Prince pulled as much as one in all her early U.S. reveals.
“It appears dreamlike in some methods,” Bailey Rae mentioned. “It was an enormous time of transformation. Coming from being in a band, the place all people who you knew within the viewers was the complete extent of the individuals who obtained to attach with the music to having a report the place it simply flew the world over and I had no thought who was connecting with it.”
Lenae’s breakthrough was a decade within the making, as “Love Me Not” reached the highest 5 of the Billboard Scorching 100 chart in 2025. Nonetheless, what most individuals didn’t see behind closed doorways was the Chicago native trying to grapple along with her success and craving for extra whereas coping with loneliness and isolation.
“What you don’t anticipate is the loneliness of it,” Lenae admitted. “I bear in mind being on tour and I bear in mind crying sooner or later in my resort room and being confused about why I’m crying as a result of every little thing’s going so effectively. I haven’t seen my household, I haven’t hung out doing regular issues I like to do, and from this level on I do know my schedule’s gonna be cram-packed.”
Lenae revealed that she had gone to remedy, however she’s strayed away from visits to her therapist in current months, though she has plans to return.
Bailey Rae echoed quite a lot of the identical sentiments as Lenae and championed her honesty. “The thought your life is altering and it’ll by no means change again. I want any individual mentioned to me that every one these items are for a season. They’ll be a season the place you’re the most well liked factor on the planet. However guess what? It gained’t final endlessly.”
Bailey Rae additionally handled tragedy within the midst of her upswing, as her husband Jason Rae handed away from an unintended overdose in 2008. She used the metaphor of her profession being like a surfer’s and the way you don’t have to catch each wave, whereas there are going to be loads of highs and lows.
Search for extra Like Minded episodes within the coming months from Billboard.
