Taylor Castro is not a new voice on the scene. But you’ve never seen her like this before. Breaking out from the box she felt she had to put herself in for the release of her debut, PURE, Castro has now revealed the true depths and nuances of the person she always has been, but didn’t feel like she could share. Until now.

“PURE is who I wanted to be without the OCD,” says Castro. “It is still who I am but I wasn’t being totally honest.” Now, with the release of the title track from her upcoming second album, Girl, Afraid, Castro shows off her more vulnerable side and opens up about the mental health struggles she has dealt with since she was a girl.

‘Girl, Afraid’ is not only a notable feat in storytelling from Castro, working more independently for the first time in her career, but is also a brilliant vocal performance. The chorus leads Castro’s vocals to climb sky high again and again, contrasting with the lower register in the verses. These vocal acrobatics come whilst Taylor is describing the way in which she grew up, constantly battling fear and paranoia in the wake of her diagnosis at a very young age. It’s rare that a song comes along which truly sounds as though it’s taken from the pages of a (very poetic) diary, but Castro nails it again and again.

The transition from “a princess… in the playground,” to the heartfelt chorus of “I’m just a girl - afraid,” is never one which sounds like it is coming from a place of self pity. Instead, Castro sounds mature, calculated, calm. It’s impressive, to say the least.

But Castro has taken her message one step further than merely sharing her story on the track. In the run-up to this song’s release, she has been encouraging her fans to share their own mental health stories via her Instagram platform, using the hashtags #BeAPrincessAgain and #RoyalSoul, tying into the lyrics of the song. In doing so, Taylor is growing a community of fans where it is not only accepted, but commonplace, to talk about mental health in a way which leads to support, not shame.

In these coming months of uncertainty and isolation, this is exactly the sort of community we will be needing to turn to, and allow ourselves to be helped by. Taylor Castro is starting the conversation. Are you ready to join in? Watch the video for ‘Girl, Afraid’ below and remember to get join in the conversation on Instagram using the hashtags #beaprincessagain and #royalsoul