Henry Moodie Writes About Mental Health Without Falling Into Sad Boy Tropes: 'I'm Willing To Be Vulnerable'

The rising UK star and TikTok phenom Henry Moodie is a stan. "I'm a massive Taylor Swift stan," he declares.

And Moodie knows that sounds disingenuous. "Everyone is a Swiftie these days." Ironically, the drunk text singer/songwriter himself has a following potentially rivalling that of any pop idol – the Moodettes.

Moodie was recently in Eora/Sydney on his inaugural Australian headlining tour – all three East Coast dates selling out after a "wild" run in Asia.

Today, the fresh-faced 20-year-old is Zooming from Sony Music's headquarters, the label heralding him as a "UK sensation and future global pop superstar." It's rare that buzz acts avail themselves of media access, but Moodie is preternaturally at ease as an interviewee, raving about his experience. "It's been so fun, genuinely – like [I] don't wanna leave. Everyone here's so nice. It's so sunny and positive and chill. Yeah, I love it here." 

The chatty Moodie has managed to explore each city, mentioning that he loves "going on a stroll" or run. The Brit has visited Sydney Harbour ("the water was so clear!") and Taronga Zoo to check out the koalas – "which were so cute," he croons, "like they're actually my favourite creatures in the world." Indeed, Moodie is warm – and effusive. Aptly for a modern pin-up, he occasionally sighs. 

Moodie's ascent is shrouded in mystery. He doesn't even have a bio on Spotify. Any press releases are full of impressive social media and streaming stats (Moodie is approaching 500 million streams globally) with little narrative. But he has personality. And some facts can be gleaned from Googling. "Oh my God – love the research!" Moodie chuckles.

Moodie grew up in the historic town of Guildford in South East England, an hour-and-a-half from London. "It's a lovely place," he relates. "It's very chill." Yet, in his bedroom, Moodie daydreamed of escaping. "It's very small-minded," he admits of Guildford. Mind, Moodie still lives at home when not on tour.

Singing in school and picking up the guitar, Moodie developed a passion for songcraft – Swift a touchstone, as evidenced by his covers of songs like Blank Space. "I just love – I can't describe it – but that sort of singer/songwriter really encapsulates a certain feeling of growing up and what it's like to be going through a certain emotion," he says. "I just love those kind of artists who are vulnerable and personal with their music." 

Inherently Gen Z, Moodie enjoyed initial success uploading covers to YouTube, which attracted management. The teen briefly joined a boy band, The 202, circulating the plaintive Dance Floor in the midst of the pandemic.

However, it wasn't fulfilling. "I think, being in a band, you have to be a certain type of person," Moodie says. Writing for a collective was challenging. "I found it difficult, I think, 'cause to me music – songwriting – is kind of like therapy." Besides, he wanted to make decisions. "I'm kind of just like a control freak – so it's kind of like a 'me' issue. But I just loved writing from a personal space, and I loved having my own vision and not having to compromise."

In the meantime, Moodie embarked on a diploma in song composition at the BIMM Music Institute in London. He realised that "you really can't teach songwriting" since it's subjective. However, the pupil welcomed the collegiate atmosphere at BIMM – "being surrounded by creative people was really inspiring." Emerging from lockdown, the musician craved connection. "I loved just being back out and having routine and structure in my life and having a social life again," he says. "So I'm so happy I did it."

Additionally, Moodie was allowed to bunk off. "Being in London, I was doing a lot of sessions alongside [the course] – like I would miss lectures because I'd go do an industry thing. But the teachers didn't really mind that because it's benefiting your career." 

Moodie cultivated an audience on TikTok. In 2022, he introduced himself as a sincere balladeer with you were there for me. It went viral, and Moodie was soon fielding label deals, signing to coder/entrepreneur Robert Ronaldson's Sony-sponsored venture Robots + Humans in the UK. Moodie then broke out majorly with the plaintive drunk text.

He followed with the indie-rock anthem eighteen (airing on his 19th birthday). Along the way, Moodie supported The Vamps on their 'greatest hits' tour, performing at The 02 Arena in London. Earlier this year, he presented his debut EP, in all of my lonely nights, playing in Europe.

Rather than model himself as a sad boi, Moodie has long written purposefully about mental health. The spacey pick up the phone encourages people to reach out for help, while his recent glam rock single bad emotions was prompted by a panic attack en route to the studio. Moodie attributes that candour to his psychotherapist mother and a harmonious home life – something for which he's "grateful".

"The reason why a lot of men struggle with their mental health is because they were never raised in an environment where they felt like they could speak about it. So, having Mum as a therapist has really helped. But also having a dad who is just a very open person – like there's not really any toxic masculinity in my dad or in my household in general.

"So I feel like growing up in that environment has really helped me – and it means that, with songwriting and stuff, I'm willing to be vulnerable and open. It's something that comes to me very naturally." 

Moodie is currently promoting an epic new single, right person, wrong time. "Right person, wrong time is about looking back at a previous relationship that ended – or situationship, actually, it wasn't even a relationship – and sort of feeling like maybe it could have ended up being way bigger than it should have been. It could have actually been the love of your life if it was at the right time… So, it's like, I guess, yearning about a previous relationship – being like, 'Maybe this could have been something, I don't know, and still not fully over your ex."

In September, Moodie will deliver his second EP, good old days – containing the previously released beat up car, bad emotions and now right person, wrong time. "It's kind of about growing up – and all the different forms of what happens growing up," he explains. "There's songs in there about having an existential crisis, which I feel like is part of growing up. 

"There's a song called the old me, where I'm just like fully deep in life. Then, there's songs like be a part, which is [about] the first time falling in love, and right person, wrong time is about looking back at that first relationship – which is a big part of growing up. And like good old days – there's songs about friendship on there, songs about my mental health, all different aspects of growing up. 

"So I really hope people take it as a coming-of-age record. That was kind of my mission with it. So, I'm excited for it to come out. Can't wait."

Moodie can discern his maturation lyrically. "I feel like, when I started off songwriting, I wrote from a very victim mentality – and maybe it was a maturity thing," he ponders. "You sort of gravitate towards being like, 'Hey, you messed me over' – like 'You did this to me…' And it's very like accusing someone in the songs. [But] I feel like now, 'cause maybe I've matured as a person, I look at situations in a very different kind of more complex light." The fan favourite closure, off in all of my lonely nights, exemplifies Moodie's fresh outlook – the club-themed video incidentally hailed for its queer representation.

Moodie has evolved in other ways, too. He now has his own fashion style. "I look back at old pictures – I'm like, 'Who let me set out of the house in that?'" Moodie quips. "Some of those outfits I wore on the first shows are so funny. So I feel like I've evolved a lot of my image – which is nice to know." 

Moodie has been invited to fashion shows, attending last year's London Fashion Week for a Daniel w Fletcher show and, latterly, the V&A Summer Party launch of NAOMI: In Fashion. "Fashion is a big interest of mine," he says. I've heard it's a really toxic industry… But I wanna get into it."

Come October, Moodie will again tour Europe – this time behind good old days. Still, even as he plugs the EP, Moodie is contemplating an album. "I've got a goal of 'album next year' – and that's my biggest goal as an artist. I feel like every artist's first album is like, 'You only get that once; you gotta give it your best go.' So, I'm just so excited to get in the studio and really nail or try my best with that first album. It's such an iconic part of our careers. So, yeah, I can't wait. It's gonna be fun."

Ask Moodie for a secret and he is game. "I have this random, weird evolutionary phobia that some people have, but some people don't, called trypophobia. I literally cannot stand loads of little holes… But I hate it. I can't stand it! Anything that's like bumps or holes in a pattern genuinely freaks me out. It's the weirdest thing ever."

The ‘good old days’ EP will be released on Friday, 27 September. You can keep up with Henry Moodie here.