Florence Welch Opens Up About Having a 'Breakdown' and Taylor Swift's Advice

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Florence + the Machine singer Florence Welch is opening up about having "kind of a breakdown" during a break from touring last year in this month’s Billboard Magazine cover story.

"I had just wore myself out," Welch says of the break, which was supposed to be about rest and relaxation, but left the singer wrestling with her own inner demons. "Without the structure of touring, you have to face your own chaos. I was playing gigs nonstop since I was 21. When I was left to my own devices, I realized I was f--king everything up."

The singer admits that alcohol use also factored into her struggles. Welch says that she used to drink before every performance to overcome her natural shyness, but she's now kicked that habit, adding "when I finally took time off to make this new record, I had time to strengthen. And when I was coming back into the fray, I really didn't want to lose that."

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"I was in and out of a relationship, in and out of drinking too much," the British singer said of her break. "It was like constantly picking yourself up and then dropping yourself, picking yourself up and dropping yourself. And that was exhausting."

The singer is revealing more about her personal life than ever before, a trend that carries over into her third studio album, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, and was inspired by none other than a friend of the singer who knows all about writing about your own experiences, Taylor Swift

"Taylor said that you must sing about what's happening in your life," Welch explained. "It's about being honest."

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Swift even shared a quote about the singer to Billboard, calling her "truly electric."

"She’s the most fun person to dance with at a party, but then five minutes later you find yourself sitting on the stairs with her having an in-depth conversation about love and heartbreak," the "Shake It Off" singer said of her friend and fellow musician. "Every time I've been around her, she is the most magnetic person in the room — surrounded by people who are fascinated by the idea of being near her. But when she meets people, she pays them a warm compliment and immediately disarms them."

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