Christina Perri: I write better when heartbroken

MANILA, Philippines - When the love is gone, what will remain? For American singer/songwriter Christina Perri, it’s a broken heart — and a killer song.

“100 percent, (I write better when I’m) heartbroken. I’ve been proving that right, year after year... When you’re in love and happy, it’s very difficult to be creative because, you know, happy songs are a little bit tougher to write. When I’m heartbroken, it blows out because it’s feeling and when you’re a writer and you’re feeling, it helps to write. That’s why I think it’s easier to write in pain,” the singer famous for the multi-platinum, heart-wrenching anthems Jar of Hearts and A Thousand Years (both from her 2011 debut album Lovestrong) told The STAR in an exclusive phone interview.

Interestingly, listeners have been coming up to her, saying how her songs have been a soothing balm for their weary, wounded hearts.

“I feel so lucky that majority of the people that come up to me tell me, very, very emotional stories. I love that my music is a little bit more famous than I am. You can walk around, and people don’t know that it’s me singing their songs and then they find out, and they have this giant joy to tell me about Jar of Hearts, they have this giant story about A Thousand Years,” Christina related. “Most people meet me and tell me that they got married with my song, or say, they aren’t depressed anymore with my song, or that they stopped hurting themselves because of my song. This is really emotional, powerful stuff so I feel very fortunate to have this connection to people.”

There’s no shortage again of emotions in Christina’s follow-up record Head or Heart (released in the Philippines last year under Warner Music). But the love woes aren’t solely responsible for it. The album, for one, came about after her feeling burned-out.

With the success of Lovestrong, Christina was touring nonstop and it was taking a physical, mental and emotional toll on her. After wrapping up 27 straight months on the road, she felt sure she wasn’t going to write, sing or perform — at least, not anytime soon. “I was like, thank you very much, that was fun but I couldn’t breathe,” Christina revealed to The STAR. “That was what I thought. But I was wrong.”

This was because a few days after her tour ended in late 2012, she penned Hurt, which would fire up the making of the second album. “I write songs when I’m hurting and I was writing music about not wanting to write music anymore,” she mused. “It was sort of funny because it’s the only thing I know how to do when I’m upset. So, I wrote this song called Trust, and it became the first song of the album and I knew it was to be the beginning of the album. I knew I was going to call it Head or Heart, and that the whole album would be about trusting your head or your heart.”

Asked if she felt enormous pressure and feared a sophomore slump, the 28-year-old replied, “I didn’t. I know that the pressure exists. Many, many, many people tell me about it. But I decided that I will not be afraid. I pretended that none of it (fear) existed for the whole writing process. I really, really challenged myself to grow as a writer, as a singer, as a performer, as a musician. I tried all sorts of different things. I worked on the album for a year, I didn’t rush it, I decided I wanted to love every single part of it. I didn’t release it until I was very, very happy. And I’m so glad that I did… I’m really, really proud of it. I’m very glad of the response and I’m satisfied.”

Christina also pulled off a surprise by sneaking a “happy song” into Head or Heart titled Be My Forever, a duet with the British pop star Ed Sheeran. “It’s my one and only happy song,” the story of which, according to the singer, was “I was recording with Jamie Scott in London,” referring to the British songwriter who has composed for the likes of One Direction and The Vamps, “and he and I were writing a song and I was singing lalalala and was like, wow, this song is not for me. No way! But by the end of the day, I fell in love with it. I said, you know what, if Ed Sheeran, who’s not singing happy songs either, is gonna do this with me, then I’m putting this on my album (laughs).”

Another song that holds special meaning is I Believe, which she wrote for a charity event of To Write Love On Her Arms, an American NGO that aims “to offer hope and assistance to people struggling with addiction, depression, self-injury and thoughts of suicide.”

Christina said, “Honestly, I feel strongly about different charities, but this particular one struck a chord with me. I feel like when people have difficulty with depression, self-harm, addiction, all these lower emotions that we have — I feel a lot of creative people have this capability of going very dark easily, and that’s a very general statement, but I feel like writers, musicians, poets, artists, they’re my people, and I feel like, it’s just very common to struggle with the self.”

She continued, “To me, that’s a very soft spot in my heart. As a kid, I struggled with different things. I was very melancholy, a little bit bad, I was listening to Mariah Carey sad songs and I would just cry, I didn’t know I was a writer yet, I didn’t have anyone to talk to about it and what to do. (The charity) reminded me of who I am… It makes me feel good to think that I could reach a lot of people, sort of, through my story. And so I wrote I Believe, what I would say to a younger version of myself, as a teenager going through a rough stage. It was very authentic and I meant it for the charity and included it in the album.”

Christina will be singing these songs from Head or Heart and other heart-tugging hits when she swings by Manila on March 5, 8 p.m., for a concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, to be presented by Midas Productions. Tickets are available at Ticketnet outlets, with prices ranging from P5,830 to P1,590. For details, call 911-5555.

It’s going to be Christina’s first visit to the country, and the thought of meeting fans from across the world prompted some reflection on her musical journey so far. “It’s more wonderful than I’ve ever imagined and more challenging than I’ve ever imagined. When I was a kid, dreaming about being on stage and performing before people, I didn’t know how hard it was be to ride on 217 airplanes in one year and live in hotels, to be very nervous, to be nauseous on television, as television is very scary — I didn’t know these things.

“But, I also didn’t know how wonderful it will be to have an audience full of people singing every word of my songs, showing their love for me, and to be selling lots of records and meeting my favorite people — I just met Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Paul McCartney. Honestly, I didn’t dream big enough when I was young. So, it’s bigger and better than I’ve ever imagined.”