Janet Devlin: "Young people's mental health isn't being taken seriously anywhere"

On the cover of Janet’s Devlin’s new album, Emotional Rodeo, the singer can be seen waving her cowboy hat in the air, striking a triumphant pose atop a rearing horse. The stunt horse's name, if you’re wondering, is Eminem.

“He's a bit like the real Eminem,” Devlin quips. “He doesn’t like to be petted, he's got that bleach blonde hair and is a bit of a douchebag - which you can forgive because of the talent.”

The Tyrone native is a self-professed horsegirl, an aspect of her life she says she kept hidden for quite a while after being bullied for it at school. Now, as an adult, she's at the paddock multiple times a week. This image of a square dancin' Joan of Arc is indicative of the artist’s newfound, conquering sense of self, which comes to the fore throughout her new record - a project filled with humour, candour and rousing ballads.

“I think it reflects where I am in my life now,” Devlin says of the LP. “I turned 30 not so long ago and I've done a lot of living in the past 10 years. A lot of mistakes were made and I'm finally at a place now where I understand myself. I know what works, I know what doesn't. I'm sober, I'm in recovery, I'm medicated and I'm very comfortable with who I am.

“On [my last album] Confessional, I wrote about a lot of dark topics, and now that it’s all out there and put to bed, I had the freedom to write this album - because I wasn’t going into songwriting sessions carrying all these big feelings.”

These liberating sentiments are present in the production too, with expansive, country-fuelled arrangements making up the bulk of Emotional Rodeo. A devotee of Dolly Parton, Blackjack Billy and Americana legend Chris Stapleton, Devlin impressively churned out twenty one songs across a two day recording stint in Nashville alongside acclaimed producer Roo Walker, with mixing courtesy of Grammy-winner Vance Powell.

“I've been planning this album my whole time in the industry,” Devlin says. “I always knew I wanted to play around with the genre. I'm from County Tyrone, which people call the farmer’s county. Farmers still meet their wives at dances, and country music is the backbone of the community. It's always playing wherever you go and I always had a love for it and an affinity for the storytelling.”

Janet Devlin. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

Many will recognise Devlin from her initial rise to prominence as a 16-year-old contestant on X-Factor in 2011. It was, she reveals, an eye-opening entry into the public sphere.

“I was only a child, but I was very much treated like an adult, especially online. I was getting abuse from adults every day - famous ones too - grown men that are successful multi-millionaires. It says more about them than it does about me, giving abuse to a 16-year-old girl on the internet. But I don’t begrudge the show, I was grateful for the opportunity to be put on a world stage.

“The amount of money it would take if I was starting out to have that level of brand awareness, it costs millions for people to just know your name. I wouldn't be able to afford to do that now, nor could many record labels.”

Devlin has since used her platform to become somewhat of a mental health advocate. As well as openly talking about her BPD diagnosis, the singer hasn't shied away from discussing her struggles with alcoholism and eating disorders, some of which stretch back to her pre-X-Factor days.

“At one point in my life I was living on £25 a week, and I still managed to use that £25 to get drunk," she shares. "As someone who's been there, I had to go get as much free help as I could, and it wasn't exactly great. You have Alcoholics Anonymous and things like that, but if I wanted to go to rehab in the UK I wouldn't have been able to as I wasn't a sorry enough case. I wasn't on death's door as I was originally when I went to AA. I got very lucky that my management team essentially saved my life on numerous occasions.

"To be honest, young people's mental health isn't being taken seriously anywhere, it doesn't even matter what industry you're in. If you want to go to a doctor or a psychiatrist, good luck to you, especially in Northern Ireland, unless you can afford to go private.

"I didn't end up getting proper psychiatric help until four years ago, once I had a bit of money to get an appointment. I had to use the money I earned from music over the past ten years, which wasn’t a lot… It was supposed to be the down payment for my wee house, and I still ended up having to borrow about three grand."

Janet Devlin. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

Devlin touches on her motivation for divulging these intimate and challenging aspects of her journey.

“Part of borderline personality disorder is chronic oversharing, so I think my condition comes in handy,” she laughs. ”I remember how isolating it was in my teens and early twenties when I needed help and I didn't know where to go. All I had was bloody Russel Brand to look up to - which went the way it went - but at least he was talking about it.

"I didn't see any young women - or young people in general - talking about recovery. I don't care if somebody doesn't like me, but if I'm talking about it and if that enables somebody that they do like to talk about [their own struggles], then sure, it's a win."

While she understandably won't be looking up to Russell Brand as a role model these days, Devlin recently enjoyed some time in the presence of his sword-swinging, Kiwi namesake, opening for actor Russell Crowe's rock outfit Indoor Garden Party on a recent run of shows in Ireland and the UK.

"The original gladiator!" Devlin beams.  "He's lovely, and he loves music. He started off in music and there's nothing more contagious than somebody doing what they love. Between songs he's telling these stories and you're peeing your pants because he's just the best storyteller. He's just a multi-talented dude and behind the curtain he's one of the most generous and funny people walking this earth."

• Janet Devlin's Emotional Rodeo is out now.