5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Irish X-Factor star on how she found happiness after teen stardom
She is now also fully embracing her passion for country music.
Having dealt with X Factor fame at 16, followed by a series of mental health and addiction struggles, Janet is finally enjoying the sunshine.
Now also fully embracing her passion for country music, the super talented young Tyrone woman has just released another gem called Houston, one of several new tracks that will feature on a 'reimagined' album coming down the trail.
Janet said it wasn't until she was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and ADHD and was prescribed medication that the light finally came into her life.
Janet Devlin
'Self-harm, anorexia, drug and alcohol abuse, troubled relationships…it's like my whole life was in this diagnosis,' Janet tells Shuffle.
'That diagnosis was the most relief I felt my whole life… to know that I'm not a bad person, I have a thing, it's an explanation. And from that piece of paper I was able to go and get the help that I needed for the specific condition.
'Now life is quite kind to me. After years of investment in myself figuring myself out, I now find most things manageable.
'It doesn't mean you don't have to put in the hard work and you're not crying occasionally. But the amount of stress and tears has shrunk a lot. So that's been lovely.'
Janet tells how she no longer allows negative and hurtful personal comments on social media to wound her.
She says: 'I get a lot of comments on the internet, especially about what I wear. Anytime I'm scantily clad I always get the most belligerent comments.
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'But 10 years ago I had that realisation that 'hey, you're never going to be this young ever again.'
My thing was, I didn't want to wake up at 70 or something and look at a photo of myself and remember, 'why didn't I wear the crop-top when I was in the best shape of my life, when I never looked better and I was afraid to wear it?'
'I didn't want to be that person who has regrets. Obviously I'm 30 and hopefully it's not going to be too downhill, but in a few years it will be downhill so if I've got the body-shape now to wear skintight leotard covered in diamantes I'm gonna do it.
'I didn't wear those things when I was 16 because I was aware that I had a younger following (from X Factor). I always made a conscious decision to wear clothes that were age appropriate.
'Now I'm a grown up woman with a grown up adult audience I'm like, 'let me wear these clothes and leave me alone.'
'I firmly believe that if you want to do something do it. If you're not hurting anybody else don't think twice about it, just do it if it makes you happy and gives you a kick.' Read more
Janet has been spending a lot of time in Nashville this year songwriting and recording. She loves the laid-back culture and the warmth of the locals.
'You still see two old men leaning over a fence and chattin', or some teenager helping an old lady with her groceries to her car. That is so very much in the culture and something I appreciate when I go over there.
'And every musician I met out there has been phenomenal and just a great person. They have such an understanding from all the hours they spent in studios with artists.
'They know how to get the best out of somebody and cheer them on if they're a bit nervous. When you're in Nashville you're probably not even the best singer in the studio, but that doesn't matter. You take everything as a blessing and just do your best and live on a dream.
'The people I worked with in the studios were also so helpful with passing on contacts. It's so like home, everybody knows everybody in Nashville.'
Janet Devlin's new single, Houston, is now available on all music platforms.
