Sunmi says she’s been “fighting mental illness for a long time”

Sunmi has opened up about her struggle with mental health, and how her recent single ‘Oh Sorry Ya’ reflects it.

  • READ MORE: Sunmi – ‘1/6’ review: a retro-inspired deep dive into the K-pop star’s mental health

The K-pop idol had touched on her personal battle with mental illness on the latest episode of the Spotify: Mic Check podcast, in light of the release of her new track. Sunmi was previously revealed to have been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder in 2020, as archived by Soompi.

“Actually I had been fighting with mental illness for a long time and the first song that revealed my pain was ‘Borderline’,” she shared. ‘Borderline’ had first debuted on the singer’s Warning world tour in 2019, and was initially planned as an unreleased track, however was subsequently released as part of her 2021 mini-album ‘1/6’.

“I was afraid to express the raw feelings I experienced,” she recalled. “But before I even realised, I [eventually] overcame all the pain at some point. So finally I got the courage to make ‘Borderline’.” She also shared that she wrote and released the song in order to “comfort and sympathise with those who are suffering”.

Despite her ongoing fight with borderline personality disorder, the release of ‘Oh Sorry Ya’ marked a new chapter in her journey. “I thought about saying sorry to the Sunmi in the lyrics of ‘Borderline’,” she explained of her intentions when writing and producing ‘Oh Sorry Ya’.

“The new Sunmi is no longer sick because of the old Sunmi, no matter how much the old Sunmi tries to hurt, the new Sunmi became stronger [by] not getting hurt at all,” she concluded.

‘Oh Sorry Ya’, which dropped on March 8, was co-produced by Sunmi, alongside Los Angeles-based songwriting duo LYRE. The song was released in collaboration with Spotify as part of the platform’s new EQUAL X Spotify Singles project, which aims to uplift female artists in celebration of International Women’s Day.

For help and advice on mental health:

  • Help Musicians UK – Around the clock mental health support and advice for musicians (CALL MUSIC MINDS MATTER ON: 0808 802 8008)
  • CALM – The Campaign Against Living Miserably
  • Music Support Org – Help and support for musicians struggling with alcoholism, addiction, or mental health issues (CALL: 0800 030 6789)
  • YOUNG MINDS – The voice for young people’s health and wellbeing
  • Time To Change – Let’s end mental health discrimination
  • The Samaritans – Confidential support 24 hours a day

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