Random Thoughts

Jay Shetty podcast

I'm putting this here so that I have ample space to say what I want. It's also easier for people to comment since they can do it under a specific paragraph.

I have lots of thoughts and they aren't all positive, but I want to preface this by saying I don't think Shawn said or did anything wrong in the podcast. I'm not coming at him; I'm just making observations. My lens might be a bit different from other people's because I'm not really involved in the fandom and am only a fan of his music at this point.

1. He looked fantastic and had a very calm presence, which was good to see. I know there's been talk that he was high. I honestly could not tell, so I'm not going to assume he was just because he smokes a lot. If he lit up to relax, I don't blame him. I use THC for anxiety so I'd never judge, but I will say this, his speech patterns didn't indicate that he was super high so if he did anything, it wasn't a lot. He did say quinced for winced, which made me laugh, but I eff up words all the time when speaking.

2. While we're on the subject of speech, I did not love that he used his fake voice instead of his real one. You know the voice...very soft, measured, and reflective. I think he started using this post-COVID, and I'm curious to know if this is his actual voice now or just one he switches to for interviews. I went back to listen to others (research!) and it's definitely become more pronounced. It was not there in the clips I watched from 2018-2019 at all. He uses something close to his regular voice in the 2020 interview with Zane Lowe, though when he's being deep he employs the soft one. In the 2021 Justin Baldoni podcast it's soft, but at times he slips out of it, which makes me think he uses his real voice around friends or when he's relaxed. I'm going to refer to that podcast again and if you've never listened, I highly recommend it.

3. The interview with Jay was 96 minutes and given the length, I felt like very little "new" information was revealed. There were times when he talked in circles and it felt like he was trying to be profound. Like this: "Having a space that holds the intention of the place you go to; lay it all out." What. Going back to the Baldoni podcast, in that one he shared some pretty intense and intimate things. Shetty did not get the same kind of response, but maybe that wasn't the point. I really hope he's not trying to sound deep because his intelligence was insulted, because doing so has the opposite effect.

4. We got more insight into how touring impacts him and why he canceled, but it wasn't significantly deeper than what he's shared already. I hope he doesn't feel that he needs to keep justifying canceling the Wonder tour; I think most fans believe that it was the best decision for him even if they were disappointed. I wish he'd talked a bit about future tours. Will he ever do a massive world tour again or will it be small to medium venues and festivals from here on out? Maybe he doesn't know, which is fine, but I think it's something his fans are curious about.

5. Oops. I meant to say this earlier. The fact that this interview was recorded prior to any of the singles being released, and before the Sabrina shit hit the fan, made it somewhat irrelevant. It felt like promotion at times- the way Jay read lyrics and asked Shawn to go deeper into them and how much of the album process and vibe was discussed. That's not a problem at all, but it feels a little late at this point. I don't think that after three failed singles, this is going to have the impact it could have before anything was released. Also, the lyric that broke the internet wasn't mentioned at all, which was odd given the gravity of it. He's not obligated to share the circumstances, and I respect that, but it felt like a gaping hole in the conversation about the songs.

6. After hearing about the song Heart of Gold, I expected a different narrative about how it came about. He shared that he had the concept and then Scott Harris (I think that's who it was) asked, "Didn't you have a friend that passed away while you were on tour?" So basically they retrofit this incident into the song, which feels contrived to me. I respect that doing this let him finally process the trauma, but the fact that another person (who didn't even know the young man who died) connected it to the original concept feels off to me.

7. He's clearly still in love with Camila and even used present tense verbs when talking about that love. Maybe he loves her as a friend, but that wasn't what I was picking up. Jay asked about a line in Nobody Knows and Shawn avoided answering because I think the only answer is that he is still in love with her. To me, it seems like she's the one (and the only one ever) and he's hoping they work out, which explains why he dropped Sabrina like a hot potato when he had a chance to reunite with Camila. Maybe Camila feels the same way. Maybe they will be together in the end. Who knows. What I do know is that until he lets go of her, the door isn't open to anyone else, and he can talk about finding that "wife" but they are hollow words if there's only one person he wants to marry. I think he should definitely date and have all the casual sex he wants in the meantime, but he owes it to whomever he dates/bangs to be honest about the fact that his heart is taken.

8. Hyperbolic Shawn was at it again. Every album/song was NOT recorded in upstate NY. We all know this, so why say it? If I'm being honest, I am very triggered by this kind of thing because I've been hurt repeatedly by liars in the past. I have zero patience for exaggeration and this irritated me in the same way that "every song is about Camila" did in the documentary.

9. I am really glad that he's making the music he wants to make and that it feels personal and important to him. I don't know if anyone else picked up on it, but Andrew clearly put some pressure on him to get back in the studio. Maybe he was obligated contractually? Part of me wonders if he'd been allowed to take a longer break, maybe his music would be better. It's a bunch of short songs and from what I've heard so far, they're rather repetitive.

10. He did an excellent job of spinning his cult-adjacent activity into a men's group. Well played and clever.

11. Aaliyah's letter was beautiful but it read like an endorsement. I'm sure every word was genuine, but why was this part of the interview? This circles back to it feeling very promotional. I am glad that he's surrounding himself with real friends and family, and I am happy he has her to lean on.

12. He's mentioned god a few times lately and got a cross tattoo with Aaliyah. Maybe a spiritual journey is part of his healing process? I expected him to touch on this during the interview, but religion can be very private so I understand why he wouldn't.

Cross tattoo pics: