From the depths of misery, Libianca composed a song that altered the course of her life. People (Check On Me), a heartfelt plea for assistance that recorded her at a heartbreaking low moment, has been streamed over 150 million times since the beginning of December.
It has been number one on the UK Afrobeats chart for eight weeks. It is expected to enter the official Top 10 on Friday, a first for a Cameroonian musician.
The singer states,
“In a matter of hours, my entire life transformed.” “When I awoke in the morning, everything had changed.”
If you’ve heard People, you’ll recognize it just by the hook.
“I have consumed more booze over the past five days… Did you inquire about my well-being?” Her voice is melancholic and lilting as she sings over a basic music box background.
The lyrics reflect her experience with the unusual mood disease cyclothymia, which causes emotional ups and downs comparable to those of bipolar disorder but less acute.
In November of last year, she created the song after hosting a Thanksgiving gathering where she “felt invisible.”
She recounts over the phone from Paris,
“I’d been at a terrible moment in my life for at least two weeks, and I was just like, ‘I can’t take any more of this.'”
There were self-destructive thoughts, excessive ruminating, and extreme anxiety in my head.
Although her friends celebrated, Libianca spent the majority of the night in the bathroom crying.
When she descended the stairs, no one saw her red, puffy eyes. No one inquired about her health. They merely offered her a beverage.
“I felt like I was drowning and no one could see me; I desperately needed assistance.”
“So, I concluded, you know what? Permit me to immediately enter the studio, since I always feel better after accomplishing something productive. This aids me.
“I was not anticipating the release of People. It was exactly how I felt. I was unable to write on any other topic.”
This music has been my closest companion. As she retreated to her home studio in Minneapolis, her emotions poured forth uninhibited.
According to her, the hook is the “bare truth” about her drinking. She had been sipping tequila, Ouzo, and wine chasers for days in an attempt to escape her depression.
“When I was drunk, I never felt depressed, so why not drink more?” she recalls.
Clearly, after a few days, I realized that I could not continue in this manner. I cannot continue waking up every morning with a hangover.”
Yet the song’s most important element is the continuous refrain “did you check on me?” It is a post-pandemic request that you inquire how your friends are truly coping.
“Following Covid, I believe that many individuals grew secluded. And regardless of what somebody is going through, if you ask them, “How are you doing?” they will respond, “I’m fine.” It’s a reflexive action.
“And I believe that what People is doing is breaking that spell and encouraging individuals to be more open and admit, ‘I’m not doing well. I require a hug from you immediately.
The response has been phenomenal. As I’m experiencing my fourth panic attack of the day, this song helps me feel like I’m not alone, according to a fan commenting on People’s YouTube video.
“This song has been my greatest buddy for the past few weeks,” remarked a fan who had lost a kid and found solace in Libianca’s music.
The comments page is replete with similar narratives. It is also filled with strangers expressing support and sympathy, which is encouraging.
“I couldn’t be more proud,” says Libianca, “since it is truly assisting people in receiving the necessary support.
Also, it benefited me because my pals did not know how I felt when I recorded that song.
Near-death encounter
Globally, the message has reverberated. People are ranked third in India, fifth in New Zealand, and first in Nigeria.
For Libianca, it is the culmination of more than a decade as a performer and a vindication following her appearance on the 2021 American version of The Voice.
She was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, but left the United States for Cameroon when she was four years old. She claims that her mother was “going through some immigration troubles” and decided to leave before being deported.
From the age of six, she began singing in Bamenda, exercising her voice “at church, the boarding school, and the chapel.”
Music was an integral component of everything.
When she was a teenager, the family moved back to Minnesota, and despite her musical aspirations, her parents encouraged her to pursue medicine and become a certified nurse.
“I can’t fault them,” she chuckles. “Parents work so hard to come to this country and provide us with opportunities, yet music is a risky endeavor.”
Nevertheless, her mother paid for singing and guitar lessons, while her father served as her manager for a brief period.
In order to keep them satisfied, she worked many jobs while writing in her leisure time.
When taking residents out for a swim day at a nursing home, she was accidentally pushed beneath, lost her footing, and came close to drowning.
“Fortunately, someone saw me and leaped into the water to save me,” she recounts.
Concerned that she wasn’t advancing in the music industry, she auditioned for The Voice, won the judges over with a passionate rendition of SZA’s Good Days, and advanced to the live performances before being eliminated.
Recently, she told BBC World Service DJ Edu,
“I am a really competitive person.” “I don’t like to lose. So when I was eliminated, I thought, ‘I was performing so well on this show, and I didn’t win?’ Are you serious? Something is amiss!'”
The event also taught her an important lesson:
“Just when you believe you’ve reached your maximum potential, trust me, you haven’t.” You can extend yourself further.”
Some of the songs she performed on the show, including a rendition of Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish, were officially released while the show was airing.
Yet, it is evident that Libianca’s solo material has shifted towards Afrobeats. She even sings with a Cameroonian accent on People.
“I frequently code-switch,” explains the singer. “At home, I speak with a Cameroonian accent the majority of the time, but when I’m outdoors, I convert to an American accent because I spent half of my childhood in the United States. That occurs without my knowledge.
“But when I’m truly enraged,” she chuckles, “you’ll only hear my Cameroonian accent!”
Currently, there is little cause for anger. Libianca is currently on a whirlwind promotional tour of Europe before returning home to work on new music for a late-year release.
She smiles as she states,
“I’m feeling very wonderful.” “It feels like it’s beginning to settle, and I’m thinking, This is actually happening!
“I have significantly less stress now that I’ve reached the first of many milestones in my profession, and I couldn’t be happier.”
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