The rapper B.o.B was all over the radio and TV with ‘Airplanes’, a song that to this day evokes memories of this period – just one song in a list of many that I have ruined by attaching them to moments of my own annihilation. — Janet Devlin, My Confessional

Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now. — B.o.B, ‘Airplanes’

It’s said that, when we are near death, our Life will flash before our eyes. Some of us don’t wait until our streaming subscription is near expiration to press Play. We continuously binge-watch our own biopic, debating the plot twists in a subreddit with a single member. Each of our liaisons is rehashed, those that thankfully failed and the ones that were all too successful.

‘Cinema Screen,’ a song by Janet Devlin, provides the soundtrack to the fourth chapter of My Confessional, an autobiography by Janet Devlin. The track describes a toxic relationship that must be resolved or abandoned; in the text we learn that the relationship in question is with anorexia.

I’ve been laying wide awake
Watching every last mistake
I’ve ever made
On a cinema screen
in the back of my forehead

While my depression was to break through the surface in various disguises, not even in my bleakest nightmares could I have predicted that it would emerge through something I would need every day to survive: food.

And I know you’re no good for me
And I know, I know
I should be moving on
Moving on, from this Hollywood dream
On my cinema screen

The thoughts expressed in the book and song apply to the Obsessions of Everyperson; if we delve into self-destruction, there is no shortage of methods at our disposal. And we are reminded that, sometimes, the plot threads fail to tie themselves into a neat four-plait before the final credits roll. If we don’t understand our own character’s motivations, then we may see ourselves in a summer sequel that is already being screened for test audiences.

The catalyst for this behaviour I am still oblivious to… I fully understand that this is an issue unresolved.

Originally from Northern Ireland but currently based in London, Janet Devlin has been offering her music to the public since she posted her first YouTube video fourteen years ago at age twelve. In 2011 she captured an appreciative audience as a contestant on The X Factor singing competition. ‘Cinema Screen’ appears on Janet’s new twelve-song concept album, Confessional, the musical accompaniment to her autobiography, My Confessional. Each chapter in the book corresponds to a track on the album.

The music of Janet Devlin is available on Bandcamp, Spotify, and Apple Music, and from OK! Good Records. Visit her website to learn more about Janet, her music, and her book. And be sure to follow Janet Devlin on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.