Drawing the eye of big names in the business from an incredibly young age, Castro worked with storied producer Jon Secada (Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Inglesias), Rudy Perez (Beyonce, Christian Aguilera) and Kyng David (Baha Men) to produce the album which introduced her to the public eye for the first time. That album, PURE, was Castro’s wildly successful debut, cementing her place in the industry as a remarkably talented girl who seemed to live the perfect Florida life.

Now, with ‘Girl, Afraid’, Castro reveals the true story, and with it, some incredibly personal fights she has had to endure throughout the years. “PURE was who I wanted to be, without the OCD,” says Castro. “It is still who I am but I wasn’t being totally honest. I had tried to stuff my OCD back down inside me and I didn’t want to write about it. I felt like I wasn’t being true and it was time to address my issues on this record. OCD presents a constant fear and paranoia, so I want ‘Girl, Afraid’ to be a comfort for people who suffer from it as I do.”

This brave choice has led to Castro’s most celebrated song to date. Not only does it show the singer coming off as all the more brave and strong for admitting her own vulnerability, but it marks a change in direction for the singer, who now counts ‘mental health advocate’ amongst her impressive range of achievements.

In the run-up to the song’s release, Castro encouraged her followers on Instagram to share their own mental health stories, using the hashtags #beaprincessagain and #royalsoul, taken from the song’s poetic and personal lyrics. In doing so, Castro created an online community for support and sharing, something which will become all the more vital in these coming weeks. Isolation, paranoia and anxiety are emotions all felt by sufferers of OCD and so Taylor Castro may just prove to be exactly the sort of spokesperson we need during the coming weeks and months of global quarantine.

In this current climate, it is not enough for celebrities to be merely releasing music - it’s important for people with influence to do their bit to ensure that this isolation period goes as smoothly as it can for the people who look up to them. This is something Taylor Castro does with ease. She is exactly the sort of spokesperson the world needs right now, proving that there is strength in vulnerability and joy and community to be found in every tiny corner of the world.

Watch the beautiful video for ‘Girl, Afraid’ down below and make sure you follow Taylor on her social media channels to stay up to date on live shows and new releases coming soon!