🎵 2022-09-02 22:58:22 – Paris/France.
Classic crossover prodigy Jackie Evancho first came to international attention at the age of 10, when she competed on America has talent Season 5. She became an instant sensation, with her holiday EP Oh holy night establishing her as the best-selling debut artist of 2010, the youngest top 10 debut artist in Billboard history, and the youngest solo artist to ever go platinum in the United States. both personally and professionally, developing an eating disorder at the age of 15.
While the opera/pop singer tells Yahoo Entertainment that her physical recovery is still underway, Evancho, now 22, seems to be finding her voice - and part of that process is performing the songs of one of her main childhood influences, Joni Mitchell, on her adorable new covers album time carousel, released September 9.
Evancho clarifies that her personal hardships did not influence Mitchell's "story-songs" that she turned to when assembling the tracklist. “Honestly, back when I was deciding to make the album and choosing the songs… the traumatic stuff, I bottled that up a lot, and it wasn't even in the front of my head,” she said. . However, making the album has helped her healing process over the past two years.
"I think the thing that really broke me was 2020," Evancho recalls, as she talks about her anorexia. “I kind of had a break – like a snap of my fingers, sort of. And I was a nervous wreck. I was shaking all the time. I couldn't hold anything in my stomach, just from nausea and panic. And that started quite a journey of going to outpatient or inpatient and being treated for all these things that were piling up that I didn't know about. And after I got out, I was like, 'Look, I can't go on living like this. I'm not the same person I was when I was 10 anymore. And I can't keep pretending, because it makes me sick. So, I sort of said, for lack of a better wording, 'Screw it. I will be myself. I'll go. And if people don't like me, they don't like me. I can't please everyone, but I can be myself because there's no way I'm going to be ashamed at the end of the day. If I could say to myself, 'Well, at least you were honest.' »
The story continues
Jackie Evancho — who, like Joni Mitchell, also paints — poses with a self-portrait inspired by Mitchell's artistry. (Photo courtesy of the artist)
While November 2020 marked a breaking point for Evancho, she says her anorexia "has been slowly bubbling since I was 15." At that time, she was developing from the adorable Christmas angel who captured the hearts of millions of AGT viewers into a mature singer-songwriter. “I know I was at a point where I was becoming a woman and I wanted to be that specific version of myself, and I would say that a lot of my eating issues come from the pressure I put on myself – not the pressures of society, not someone else puts it on me,” she explains. "It came from myself, because I am a perfectionist and hold myself to an impossible standard. And so, one day, I looked in the mirror and said, “This is not what I want to look like. And I started by eating healthier and working out in a healthy way, but then I saw nothing, no results. And so this kind of spiral and snowball into where I am now. It got worse and worse every year, because by then I couldn't see myself. I couldn't see the real reflection or what I actually looked like.
"And then it took that 'wink' for people to really see how bad it was. Because even with weight loss, you can hide these things. You can avoid it. There are all kinds of things you can do to make people think you're okay if you don't want them to know you're in pain. And I always did that, because I don't like it when people worry about me; I want them to be happy. You know, I'm a people-pleasing person. And 2020 was definitely the time when I was like, 'I literally can't function. I get dizzy when I get up for no reason. And I feel sick. I have to put myself first now.
Watch Jackie Evancho's full and extensive interview on Yahoo Entertainment below, in which she also talks about getting into show business at such a young age, her love for Joni Mitchell, her other aspirations, her regrets. singing at Donald Trump's inauguration, fighting for LGBTQ+ rights, and what other 70s folk artists could inspire his next cover project:
Another wake-up call came soon after, in January 2021. After breaking his back in two places in a car accident, Evancho was diagnosed with osteoporosis, caused by his anorexia; doctors said his fractures were the type usually seen in patients in their 80s. “It was crazy,” says Evancho. “I'm always terrified of driving when the weather is a bit bad. I still have pain because my back doesn't bend like it used to. But the only benefit I got from this is that now I know what I'm dealing with and I know I have to be more careful. I have to take vitamin supplements and fight even harder to be the eating disorder that causes it.
Evancho isn't sure about her diagnosis of long-term osteoporosis "(I haven't had a test yet, which I know I need. …I've always had a dislike for doctors”), but when it comes to her eating disorder, she's optimistic. She admits that it's always “very difficult to fight in my head when you have this disorder, thoughts that fight with, you know, my passion for life. And that's the thing that sucks about this eating disorder. It totally makes you beat yourself up. You end up being exhausted, constantly tired. You feel left out because of your own choices. You can't sit and enjoy the birthday cake with the family. You can't make it to that event because you're so exhausted from what you put yourself through that day. And it takes you away from your life so much. But she is ready for a change.
"I'm still struggling and stuck in a place where real change needs to happen," Evancho says. "So I'm still very plagued by this, but little by little, with each therapy session and each conversation, I'm waking up a little more. … I'm still going through the exact same things I was in 2020, it's just that I've gotten more used to how those things feel – the type of nerve or panic. I know how to deal with these things now, but I'm still healing all these things. I must learn to access what I have repressed. I have to learn how to deal with that in a healthy way, because I mean, that's how eating disorders develop and all those unhealthy coping skills. I have to retrain myself to function in a healthy way.
Evancho has "gotten a lot of support" from fans since speaking out about her battle, and she says it's "refreshing" because previous comments on social media weren't as kind. “I used to get: 'You're dying before our eyes.' 'What's up with young people who don't eat?' “Have you ever heard of Karen Carpenter? recalls Evancho. "And it's as if I know what I'm dealing with, and I can't see myself as everyone else might see themselves, or as they see me. For them to be hard, it was difficult for me to read. It freaked me out. It made me feel bad about myself. So seeing people respond positively to me finally being honest...it just reinforced my belief that if we're honest with ourselves and present ourselves honestly, even if that's just what you feel that day, there is no guilt. There's no shame in that because you've been honest. It's my policy.
Jackie Evancho on the cover of "Carousel of Time". (Photo courtesy of The Orchard)
Thankfully, Evancho's health issues haven't affected her beautiful voice, although she says it's "always a risk, and it's an ongoing worry." But she “feels really ready” to play time carousel — an album she's justifiably proud of and hopes Mitchell will one day get to hear — live. And she says getting ready for a tour will help her recover. “I think it's good for me, because even though I'm not healthy – I'm not 100% healthy yet – it puts me in a position where I have no choice. Because the voice that's pro-me, and doesn't try to beat me, defends itself much stronger.
Another big fight for Evancho is the crusade for LGBTQ+ rights — a cause particularly close to his heart because his younger sister, Juliet, is trans. "[Juliet is] doing good, fighting hard for everyone's rights, and I couldn't be more proud of her," Evancho proudly states. “I am 100% support or supporter of all of this. My belief is that people should be who they want to be, love who they want to love, and what does that mean to others. If they are happy, why does it hurt you? If it doesn't hurt you, leave it alone, let people be them.
Juliet and Jackie Evancho attend the 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in 2018. (Photo: Jimi Celeste/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
That brings us to 2017, when Evancho, still a naïve teenager at the time, sang the national anthem at Donald Trump's presidential inauguration. She was criticized for this performance, particularly after light of Trump's record of action against transgender people, and she has since expressed regret for agreeing to do so. “From the beginning of my career until today, I have learned to say 'no'. Um, I still suck, I swear,” she jokes.
“When all the groundbreaking stuff happened, it was a full discussion,” Evancho explains. "And all I heard was 'I can sing the national anthem for a president and for my country, and this is going to be something that I got on my to-do list that I can finally strike out. And no one really knew what kind of President Trump would become, what he would really follow. But I even made sure my sister was okay with that too, because I never wanted her to feel like I wasn't supporting her, if I did something that would put her in an awkward position. And she fully supported me, as much as I would be for anything. And that's kind of why I kept going, you know? And it sucks to then see the outcome and what people were saying, what they thought of me as a result of someone else's actions. I think those are separate things, and me singing for my country shouldn't have any thoughts about supporting the LGBTQ community or my family.
Jackie Evancho sings the national anthem on January 20, 2017 at the United States Capitol during Trump's swearing-in ceremony. (Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
So Evancho is moving on… and already planning his next collection of original music she promises will be more "vulnerable" than anything she's ever recorded before. “I would love to put out an album of all my original material and compose it, produce it all on my own,” she says, when asked what other career goals are on her aforementioned to-do list. “These [traumatic] things only come out when I'm writing songs. Basically, I sit down and write songs as much as possible. …and I do a lot of journaling.
“I like to say that it's almost like reopening a wound, but instead of healing it, I paint with blood. »
Learn more about Yahoo Entertainment:
Follow Lyndsey on…
SOURCE: Reviews News
Do not hesitate to share our article on social networks to give us a solid boost. ✔️