Blondshell says she feared being considered “too old” to make it in music

nme.com:

Blondshell has spoken out about how ageism in the music industry made her feel “too old” to be a success.The LA-based artist who was speaking on NME‘s The Cover this week, is only 26 but the singer-songwriter said that she was made to feel that by her late teens and early twenties, she might be considered “too old” to make it in music.“There’s that horrible thing where people say you have to be under a certain age to be a musician, and I felt that because it was explicitly said to me,” she said. “The idea was always there through media and people talking about the music industry – there was always an emphasis on youth and this idea that you write your best songs before a certain age.”The pressure to find success before she got too deep into adulthood was exacerbated by her gender, which added the need to fit into beauty and age standards.“It affected my sense of urgency in a very painful and stressful way,” she said. “I was like, ‘I gotta make this album now, and then I have to find people to work with so that they can help me put it out and get it heard.

And this one has to be great because I don’t have a million tries’.”She added: “I don’t want anyone listening to my music who would be like, ‘She’s not young enough’ or who would think I’m less interesting because I’m over 25.