‘Alter Ego’ Judge Grimes Opens Up About Mental Health, Performing
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The new Fox series, Alter Ego is right around the corner. In a special two-night premiere, contestants will sing their hearts out behind computer-generated avatars. Musical artist, Grimes, will appear on the panel this season to offer contestants advice and guidance. Recently, she opened up about her own experiences with mental health and performing.
In a concept that can be described as The Voice meets The Masked Singer, the contestants will not be shown in their true form. From Grimes’s perspective, this is a freedom awarded to the singers. In this case, the singers are able to avoid judgement about their appearances. Unlike what Grimes experienced early on in her own career.
“It’s tormenting. It sucks. I wanted to really care about making beats, and when my career first started, everyone was on my appearance because I didn’t wear makeup, and then I just slowly started feeling this pressure to be physically beautiful,” she said.
Grimes Says Stage Fright Caused Mental Health Effects
On Alter Ego, Grimes can relate to the contestants who are not super comfortable performing as themselves. The artist also admitted her battle with stage fright. As a writer and a producer, she loves designing performances. However, she has experienced harmful mental health effects from performing as a front person. Despite the creative freedom that comes from being a musician, she said she ultimately finds performing to be “quite emotionally intense.”
The “Oblivion” singer also expressed that there are many introverted individuals in the industry who are forced to put up a front on stage. Grimes expressed that more often than not, it is a “rarity” to find a world-class performer in the same body as the person who produces beats and writes lyrics. She feels that Alter Ego is the kind of show that represents a future in music for “different types of brains.”
Grimes reiterated that artists don’t always need to be super confident, always look good on camera, and be happy all the time to perform without anxiety. She also thinks the series could be a great space for gender fluidity. The singer added that she has been dabbling in the concept herself, as a way of feeling what it would be like to be someone else once in a while.
“Actually, just yesterday I did a photoshoot where I dressed up as a man and I don’t even do that much,” she said. “And I’m not Trans but I was like, man, I should do this more. It just feels good and in the show, I feel like people were doing that, just sort of being like, I’m going to try this.”
In addition to Grimes, the Alter Ego panel will include: Nick Lachey, Will.i.am, and Alanis Morissette. The two night event premieres September 22 and 23 on Fox.
