Hailing from South London, alternative dark-pop artist Cheska Moore releases her first true ballad, “Don’t Take It Personal.” The track is honest and vulnerable as it articulates Cheska’s lifelong experience with OCD and anxiety.
“Don’t Take It Personal” incorporates mystifying and exposed vocals over piano, crowd ambience, and a hauntingly operatic vocal choir to reflect the intrusive thoughts that Cheska experiences when she is out in public during her everyday life.
The track invites the audience to understand that the symptoms that come with having anxiety and OCD, such as cancelled plans and sudden social withdrawal, are not personal rejections, but are indicative of a mind that is overwhelmed and frozen with fear.
The vulnerability showcased in a behind-the-scenes clip from the creation of “Don’t Take It Personal” resonated with Cheska’s audience, marking an important shift in both the song’s creation and the connection between Cheska and her followers.
The viral moment garnered over 2 million views in just a week and led Cheska to invite her listeners to become part of the song. Cheska received over 100 submissions of voice notes that chanted the mantra “It’s got to happen to someone” and several of them are present in the final recording of “Don’t Take It Personal,” making the end of the song a devastating culmination of obsessive anxiety-ridden thoughts.
Ultimately, “Don’t Take It Personal” is the bravely vulnerable documentation of what it’s like to spiral into anxiety and numbness, and the rare moments of connection during those times that make it easier to survive the mental storm. This song is one of Cheska’s most emotionally ambitious releases to date, and audiences everywhere are bound to connect with it on a profoundly human level.
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