Jorja Smith moves back to hometown in bid to escape 'dark side of fame'

02 October 2023 , 10:55

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Jorja Smith said that she wasn't prepared for the 'dark side of fame' (Image: PORTER)

Jorja Smith has opened up about the darker sides of fame amid her decision to move back to her hometown. The Brit Award winning singer and songwriter said that she previously didn't care about online trolls.

But as she's gotten older, negative comments have started to have an impact on her, Jorja has shared. The Grammy-nominated artist added that "no one teaches you" how to deal with being in the public eye.

And she has now moved back to her hometown of Walsall in the West Midlands in a bid to find "balance." It comes as the 26-year-old began to feel pressure about what people think of her and what they say online.

The singer added that she does not seek out comments about herself, but she sees remarks on TikTok which can be "hard to deal with."

"People comment on me a lot. I don’t search for things, but if I’m on TikTok, I’ll see comments," she told PORTER. "It’s hard to deal with because no one teaches you about it. You literally get thrown into it and you don’t know what to expect.

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Jorja Smith has moved back to her hometown for 'balance' (PORTER)

The singer has opened a choir for young girls in Walsall (PORTER)

"When I was 18, I didn’t really care, but now I’m finding I feel pressure about what people think of me." Jorja, who boasts four million Instagram followers, said that she has now moved back to Walsall in a bid to alleviate the pressures of fame.

She added how she has found "balance" since making the decision to move back to her hometown. And now the star has given back to her local community in the form of a choir for young girls in the area.

"I really wanted to do a youth club or something big," she continued as she remarked how "young kids need a space where they can feel safe, make friends and talk about what’s going on at home".

Jorja wrote her first song when she was just 11 years old. By the time she was 15, the star was sharing singing videos on YouTube and eventually moved to London to continue her music career. She juggled this alongside a job at Starbucks.

In 2016, she had a breakthrough after Drake discovered her and asked her to duet on Get It Together. She went on to collaborate with Stormzy before supporting Bruno Mars on tour and bagging herself a Brit Award.

The star released her second album Falling or Flying last month and said the album gave her "goosebumps" as it came "from the heart".

Jorja has also appeared on an Audi advert, which shows a young Jorja picking out a piano in a music shop in Walsall. The car manufacturer said that Jorja shared their "progressive mindset."

A statement on their website says: "Referring to herself as ‘a work in progress’, she utilises all the digital tools and services that made her career take off when she self-released Blue Lights on Soundcloud. This meant she could stay independent and ultimately grow as an artist, to make music that she truly believes in."

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Isabelle Bates