Self Esteem has spoken to NME about her plans for a hiatus – revealing that she wants to take time away from the hectic pace of the music industry and make something “beautiful and interesting”.
The Sheffield singer, songwriter and actor – real name Rebecca Lucy Taylor – caught up with us on the red carpet at the 2026 Ivor Novellos, where she was nominated for Best Song Musically and Lyrically and Best Contemporary Song.
Her appearance at the event came while she is currently focusing her efforts on acting, performing in the 50th anniversary revival of David Hare’s play Teeth ‘N’ Smiles, having completed an intense touring cycle last summer in celebration of her critically-acclaimed second album ‘A Complicated Woman’.
Earlier this year, she spoke candidly about the physical and mental toll that promotion cycle for the album had on her, revealing that it left her feeling “knackered”, “fed up” and “rock-bottom depressed because of music”.
Now, as she gears up to play some more live dates over this summer – including an opening show at the new British Airways ARC arena in Olympia, London – Taylor told NME that she is in “need of a bit of a breather” and will be using the time after festival season to “take a few months off to have a think” about what comes next.
“I’ve got an idea about what my next record is [going to be like],” she said. “But if you’re not careful, it’s you giving more and more in an industry that will take more and more if you let it. So I’m making myself stop so I can have a think and I can make some better art for it.”
She also explained that the huge response to ‘A Complicated Woman’ and the theatrical live show that accompanied it was “another reason why I’m having some time off”, so that “everyone forgets” the high bar she set for herself at each of the gigs.
“What I want to do is make an album and then let the album speak to me about what that show should be,” Taylor said, rejecting the idea of trying to “beat” what she did with her 2025 record.
“That’s what we did last time, but it’s hard and a lot of people don’t understand the insane financial [aspect],” she added. “It’s so expensive to put a show on, and you don’t get much back from it. You don’t make any money from music being bought or listened to, so it’s really hard to go ‘I’ll top it with bigger and more’ – because I won’t be able to! But I will be able to do something beautiful and interesting.”
The ‘Focus Is Power’ singer then said that she hopes to take a similar approach to Lady Gaga when it comes to taking some time away from the public eye, citing how the pop star used downtime to study alongside artists Jeff Koons and Marina Abramović, and channeled that inspiration into her 2013 album ‘Artpop’.
“I love that,” she said. “For me, it’s like when I’m acting I study the text, it feels like doing English Literature at school again. I want to test myself and unearth things in my brain, that’s the plan, and then hopefully it’ll make my art better.”
At the 2026 Ivors, Self Esteem was up for Song Musically and Lyrically with her song ‘Focus Is Power’, and the trophy ultimately went to Jacob Alon for ‘Don’t Fall Asleep’. She was also shortlisted for Best Contemporary Song with ‘I Do And I Don’t Care’, but lost out to Kae Tempest and Fraser T. Smith for ‘I Stand On The Line’.
Other winners on the night included Rosalía who was crowned International Songwriter Of The Year, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke who was handed the Academy Fellowship award by Harry Styles, and George Michael who posthumously received the Academy Fellowship.
Other winners included CMAT who won Best Album and Sam Fender getting the trophy for Songwriter Of The Year.
As well as the headline gig at the new British Airways ARC venue, Self Esteem will be playing at multiple festivals this summer, and also performing at three outdoor shows in the UK this summer, taking place in Reading, York and Cardiff.
Other gigs include a supporting slot for Pulp in Manchester, as well as for Florence + The Machine in Edinburgh. Visit here for tickets.
