‘I was extremely done’: Willow Smith, 21, reveals she almost QUIT music following the success of breakthrough single Whip My Hair aged 10
Willow Smith has revealed she almost quit music following the success of her debut single Whip My Hair when she was just 10.
The singer, 21, whose breakthrough track shot to number two in the UK Singles Chart, said she ‘was extremely done with music’ as a result
Speaking to NME in an accompanying interview to her cover shoot, the star, who is the daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, said: ‘I tried to do so many other things. I didn’t make music for a whole year, which is insane for me.
Tragic: Willow Smith has revealed she almost quit music following the success of her debut single Whip My Hair in 2020 when she was 10-years-old
‘I wanted to do other things to figure out if music was the real deal or not. But it just stuck, man. It would not go away.’
She added: ‘It’s like music was saying, “I’m in your mind and in your heart; your forever roommate. You could write a book if you want, but it’s not going to be your main thing. You’re not going to leave me behind and be an author.”‘
‘I definitely could do both, and that’s going to happen soon – but still: music has my heart. She’s got me by the ovaries.’
Throwback: The singer, 21, whose breakthrough track shot to number two in the UK Singles Chart, said she ‘was extremely done with music’ as a result (pictured in 2010)
Willow recently said in an interview in her Facebook Watch series Red Table Talk: ‘I honestly feel like I lost my sanity at one point.
‘It was after that whole Whip My Hair thing and I had just like stopped doing singing lessons and I was kind of in this grey area of, “Who am I? Do I have a purpose? Is there anything I can do besides this?”
‘After the tour and the promotion and all of that, they wanted me to finish my album. And I was like, I’m not gonna do that.
Power couple: She is the daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, and after becoming famous herself, Willow has now admitted she felt pressure to be as loved by the public as her parents (pictured in 2019)
Candid: NME ‘s latest cover star told the publication: ‘I tried to do so many other things. I didn’t make music for a whole year, which is insane for me’
‘And after all of that kinda settled down and it was like a kind of lull, I was just listening to a lot of dark music. It was just so crazy and I was plunged into this black hole, and I was cutting myself.’
Willow released her first studio album, Ardipithecus, in 2015 and has since gone on to drop three more LPs.
Elsewhere during her chat with NME, Willow said of her mum’s heavy-metal band Wicked Wisdom: ‘She showed me what being a woman is really all about.
‘There are literally no words to describe having to get up in front of people who literally hated her, every night. She did it with such grace and power. And at every single show, she won them over.
‘By the end of the show, the people who were calling her racial slurs and throwing things at her were like, “Actually, they kinda went off.” That made it really worth it.’
Those struggling with thoughts about self-harm or suicide can reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 in the US or Samaritans on 116 123 in the UK.
Talented: Elsewhere during her chat with NME, Willow said of her mum’s heavy-metal band Wicked Wisdom: ‘She showed me what being a woman is really all about (Jada, centre, pictured in 2006)
