The Comfort of Music

Goldie Owens

9 Oct, 2023

The Comfort of Music

By: Bria Davis

For countless people across the globe, music is an essential part of their lives. Some people use it to express their emotions, thoughts, creativity, and individuality. For hundreds of decades, thousands have used music to express their culture, linking it closely to their people. Music has also become a way for people to connect and bond over similarities. Nowadays, one of the most noticeable ways society uses music is to cope with unfortunate life circumstances.

It’s no secret that life frequently throws curve balls at people. From family problems and financial issues to mental health struggles and relationship issues, sometimes life is just a series of unfortunate circumstances. In this society, many people are just trying to survive and stay afloat in any way they can, so using music as a healthy coping mechanism to help navigate hardships is good and highly recommended.

Here are some talented artists who write about relatable topics and have helped thousands of people keep pushing through life.

Artist recommendations – James Arthur

 

(Photo by Edward Cooke)

James Arthur is a 35-year-old English singer and songwriter who blew up after winning The X Factor in 2012. After listening to him for years and taking in different song lyrics, people find that the things he writes about are very relatable. James frequently sings about mental health issues, toxic relationships, life regrets, romantic love, addictions, recovery, and societal judgments. Compared to other singers, James has a unique voice that sets him apart from others. Not only is he great at using his singing skills to convey strong emotions, but he is also good at singing in different ways to evoke strong feelings from listeners. From his music throughout the years, you can tell he went through many difficulties in life, but he also has grown from them. Many see that as inspiration.

Song recommendations:

  • Heartbeat
  • SOS
  • I am
  • You
  • Recovery
  • From Me To You I Hate Everybody

NF

(Photo by Jon Taylor Sweet)

NF, also known as Nathan Feuerstein, is a 32-year-old American rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer who has been making music since his debut in 2010. Although he has been successfully making music for many years, his music isn’t for everyone and isn’t that popular outside his fanbase. Though one can argue he likes it that way. NF is known for his incomparable rap skills and incredible ability to convey his emotions thoroughly through his lyrics, vocal delivery, and the visuals in his music videos. Trauma, Anger, Mental health struggles, and societal judgment are frequent topics he raps about. Similar to other artists, his struggles and growth throughout the years can be seen through his music. Yet, one thing that makes NF unique is how human and genuine he presents himself and his struggles to people.

Song recommendations:

  • Just Like You
  • Motto
  • Hope
  • Intro III
  • Outcast
  • Therapy Session

(Photo by Hong Janghyun)

Song recommendations

  • Blue and Grey
  • I’m Fine
  • Answer: Love Myself
  • Boy With Love
  • ON
  • 00:00

Bangtan Sonyeondan, aka BTS, is a globally known Korean boy band that debuted and has been making music since 2013. Although BTS mostly makes Korean music, excluding a few English and Japanese songs, they are widely listened to by countless fans from different countries who don’t even have Korean as a native language. BTS is known to sing and write about relatable topics, such as self-love, toxic situations, hope, mental health struggles, romantic love, perseverance, and social issues. One of the main reasons BTS’ fanbase, ARMY, loves and is fiercely loyal to them is because of how genuine and heartfelt they are in their message and how they interact with fans. BTS often show they care about ARMY just as much as ARMY cares about them.Song recommendations:

Hopefully, some find these artists helpful and feel they can use their music to overcome any obstacles or curveballs that life throws. Life is not the nicest all the time, and sometimes it gets more than a little tiring to keep repeatedly going through challenges when all you want to be doing is living your best life, but these artists show that it gets better and that you aren’t alone, so don’t lose hope.