Gen Z’s Musical Mental Health Warrior: Yarin Glam

At just 22 Yarin Glam has a resolve well beyond her years, and is certain about her purpose. She’s experienced the darkness and isolation of an eating disorder, and now a year into her recovery, she’s ready to share her story with the world. The L.A. based music artist is on the verge of releasing her first EP Realness, a collection of self-actualized vulnerable songs amidst a pop beat. In a time where we’re all struggling with who we are, who we’re meant to be, and who society tells us we should be, Yarin wants all of us to embrace ourselves exactly as we are. No stranger to society's harmful standards, she’s determined to use her platform for good, and to be a source of inspiration to people who’re dealing with their own insecurities and road blocks. Her instagram (which already boasts 79K followers) is intentionally authentic, filled with deeply personal quotes and accounts of her struggles, while also teasing us with her insane culinary skills (please check out her chocolate chip cookies—they’re ridiculous). She’s a breath of fresh air in the music industry, and is cementing herself as an artist with a story to tell, in the hopes that she empowers her listeners to tell their own.

The following interview has been edited for brevity and length.

You’re originally from Israel but moved to L.A. in your teens, how was that move for someone so young?

I was 14 when we moved here. It was me, my parents, and my older sister. It was something that I always dreamed of because I knew I was going to do music someday, so I was beyond excited to move here. I think I was kind of naive in how I pictured things would be—like I’d come here and it would be like High School Musical, I’m going to find my Troy it’s going to be amazing [laughs]. But then when I came here it was a culture shock, and my english wasn’t as good as I thought it was, so I had to get used to speaking a foreign language and how people interact here.

How did you know that you wanted to be an artist.

I was always obsessed with anything related to music. The shows I would watch were very much music related. I always felt like music has such a strong power, and I loved how other artists inspired me. And I always just thought that would be a cool thing, traveling around the world, making music, connecting with people, and speaking a language [music] that speaks to everyone.

Who are those artists that have inspired you?

I love Rihanna, I love Beyonce—I adore her work ethic, the fact she’s been doing it for so many years and it always feels like she brings everything on stage regardless of how long she’s been doing it. And I love that Rihanna is just really herself, she doesn’t care what other people think, and that’s always inspired me—I want to be like that on stage.

You’ve said that you gravitate more towards American music and artists, but are there any Israeli artists that have impacted you?

Yeah growing up I watched this Israeli TV Show called ‘HaShir Shelanu’ which in English translates to Our Song. It was like a musical tv show, and the two main characters I loved—Ran Danker I thought we were going to get married one day but that didn’t work out [laughs]. And there was Ninet who I also loved and still listen to today. Another Israeli artist I love is Nathan Goshen, I think he’s an incredible writer, and he really tells a story in his songs. And I love that kind of music, when you can relate to the artist because they’re vulnerable and share a lot, and he’s one of those people.

How would you describe your sound as an artist?

My new sound is very different to the things I’ve released in the past. I have three singles out and I was 17 when I did those. I listened to what my producer wanted me to do instead of focusing on what I truly wanted to sing about. I was still very insecure and unsure if I wanted to talk about my message then. It took a few years to bring me more to the surface, and those new songs are definitely pop, but I brought in [in some of them] a middle eastern twist. So middle eastern instruments into the songs to make it more authentic to me.

You have a particular set of experiences that influence your music, particular your eating disorder—can you talk about that?

As a kid I was bigger than most girls my age. Even as early as 9, I would get comments about my body and started being self conscious of it. I started developing a bad relationship with myself, my body, and food. At 11 years old I started restricting my food intake and over exercising. I was controlled by my disorder. At 13 I thought things got better but I never realized that the disorder stays with you unless you take care of it. So it was always in my head, but I just wasn’t giving into it as much. I got triggered again at 18, and I feel like in our society a lot of people allow themselves to make comments about people’s weight without any repercussions. So I’d get a lot of people commenting on my food choices or the way I look, and throughout our lives we all look different. We go up and down in weight, and people would make comments about when I was skinner—-so in my head I’d think I lost control. Not only did I already have a bad relationship with myself, I had a bad body image. I also was going through a lot of personal stress which was the biggest part of me falling back into my disorder. I wanted to have a sense of control over my life and was seeking self worth...but it was only my disorder controlling me. Yes, the media and our society promote a very unhealthy body image but it's important to know that it is not the only cause of developing an eating disorder. Eating disorders are complex mental illnesses that can be life-threatening. There’s a lot of stigmas around eating disorders and mental health which is why it was really important for me to bring it up in my music. To start opening up about it and to bring awareness towards it. 

It’s definitely going to be an ongoing thing, but how are you regulating your disorder with your emergence into the music industry?

I started my recovery about a year ago, so I’m working with a therapist and a nutritionist. And first of all therapy—I feel like everyone should be in therapy! It’s a shame that it’s such a privilege to be able to go to therapy because our mental health is so important and should be talked about a lot more than it is. Having a support system is very important, and by me understanding what triggers me and how to be ok with myself and not seeking validation from others, it allows me to work on myself and knowing my self worth is not my weight. So with me knowing all this stuff I don’t let it get to me, because I know I’m worth so much more than just a number on a scale. I’m here to inspire people, and put my message out, and hopefully make this world a better place.

Has what’s happened in America--regarding where we’re at politically and the racial injustices we deal with, impacted you as an artist in any way?

I think for me as an artist, 2020 has been a crazy year. It’s given us time to reflect more about things. And I feel like I see people starting to care more, and educate themselves. Whether it’s Black Lives Matter, or anything else, it’s beautiful to see more people standing up for each other and being more empathetic towards each other. And it makes me want to push myself more, to learn more, and to be more honest with my music.

What do you want people to take away from your music?

My intention with my EP is that it empowers other people, makes them feel seen and heard. If it’s even just one person who listens and feels like they’re less alone in what they’re going through—it’s a goal of mine. But also to have people—instead of hating themselves for their differences, embracing it and learning to love it, and love how unique we all are. We should all be different from each other!

What can we expect from realness, and when does it come out?

So Realness is the name of the EP, and also the second single. The first single, “Free”, is coming out December 4th! So be sure to check it out as soon as it's dropped! I’m super excited about this release. It’s really the first song that I opened up about the disorder. I was very eager to let that disorder go, and I kept saying I just want to be free of it. The lyrics are very deep, but the song is kind of upbeat.