Luke Hemmings says he felt "constant pressure to be a certain type of person" starting out in 5 Seconds of Summer.
The 25-year-old singer - who released his debut solo album, 'When Facing The Things We Turn Away From', to acclaim this month - has opened up about how overwhelming it was being catapulted to fame as a teenager in the 'Youngblood' group, and how he's never been "more sure of himself" and free to express himself now he's in his 20s.
Speaking to the latest issue of FAULT magazine - of which he is the cover star - the Australian musician said: "I'm a lot more confident now. I think as a teen who was thrust into the public eye pretty quickly, I got overwhelmed easily and felt constant pressure to be a certain type of person. Now at 25, I feel a lot more sure of myself. I dress in clothing that makes me happy, I make the music I want, I wear glitter and make-up, I express myself better, I don't feel boxed in. It's pretty freeing."
Luke admitted he and his bandmates - Michael Clifford, Calum Hood and Ashton Irwin - had to put up a fight to be "respected as genuine artists", despite writing their own music.
He said: "I've had a lot of hurdles to overcome in my musical journey, but since coming onto the scene with 5SOS, we've really had to fight to be respected as genuine artists. The band, and myself, really pride ourselves on being passionate and writing our songs and showing the world we're in music for the love of it."
The 'Starting Line' singer, who found writing his solo LP " incredibly cathartic and healing", revealed he has taken a step back from social media to stop himself from seeing negative comments online, and also recently started seeing a therapist.
He told the publication: "I've always felt like writing and creating music is similar to therapy, because you're spending days, weeks, months reflecting on yourself and your life and trying to process everything and express those feelings out loud. It can be incredibly cathartic and healing. I've made an effort to spend as little time as possible looking at screens of any type, I don't think humans were meant to have access to every opinion about themselves at their fingertips constantly, both good and bad. I also took a step that scared me a bit, which was to start actual therapy with a professional."
Read the full interview here: fault-magazine.com/2021/08/luke-hemmings-fault-magazine-covershoot-and-interview.
