Florence Welch doesn’t think she could cope with being “more famous” than she is.
The Florence + the Machine singer insisted she doesn’t feel “underrated” because as she has got older, she’s stopped worrying about the people who don’t appreciate her music, and doesn’t worry about attracting more fans because she can just about “handle” the level of attention she receives now.
Asked if she ever felt underrated or unappreciated, she said in a live conversation event with Rolling Stone magazine: “It’s not a sense of being underrated. It’s just sometimes you’re looking at the wrong people to validate you. There’s all these people over here who love it and get it, and there’s just one dude who’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m not into it’.
“That is something that you grow out of, which is really nice. Also the way that I am appreciated is the only way I would have it. I never wanted to be any more famous than this. This is actually about as much as I can handle.”
The 36-year-old star noted there was a point where her career could have gone “very mainstream” but ultimately she has made choices that steered her away from that.
She added: “Eventually, through all the work, I got the career I always wanted. There was this moment where I think there would’ve been huge intentions for me to go very mainstream.
“On Lungs, there was a moment where I could have chosen a different path. I don’t have the kind of brain that can handle that amount of attention. I kept making choices that took me away from the spotlight and always back to the work, or that took my personality out of it and always back to the music.”
Meanwhile, Florence praised Nick Cave and his wife Susie for their kindness towards her.
She said: “Nick Cave has been so kind to me. Nick and Susie Cave have just been the most wonderful and kind friends. I sent Nick some of my poetry, and he helped me edit some.
“[I’d] write him stressed emails from tour, and he would reply and be so kind. As someone who’s such a physical performer as well, he understood what I was putting myself through. He’s an incredibly wonderful human being.”