The pop star opens up about her creative journey in a new episode of Apple’s Time to Walk audio series for Fitness+ users.
When Apple launches its Time to Walk audio series for Apple Watch Fitness + users earlier this year, it unsurprisingly received positive reviews from subscribers. The experience itself (which was designed to encourage users to walk more often) allows subscribers to hear different stories during their strolls, all provided by famous faces, who recorded sessions while walking themselves. And while Dolly Parton and NBA superstar Draymond Green were all part of the initial Time to Walk line-up, singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha is one of the newest celebs to take part.
Rexha’s Time to Walk episode officially debuted Monday on Fitness+, with the 32-year-old pop star opening up about how walking positively impacts her emotional well-being. “Walking means tranquility, calmness. It really does help with my mental health, my anxiety… it calms me down,” said Rexha during her 13-minute installment, which was recorded as she strolled the Hollywood Reservoir in Los Angeles, California.
During the early moments of her walk, Rexha explained how she became “obsessed” with writing music at the age of 17, even skipping her high school graduation to focus on her creative endeavors. She also detailed the early days of her career, including professional setbacks, and how walking outdoors helped her push forward. “I was in the house for a good three months straight, I refuse to leave. My father would literally go to my bedroom, grab my hand and be like, ‘let’s get out of the house,’ and he would force me to go on a walk with him,” said Rexha during her Time to Walk episode. “And I remember the route we would take. I’m thankful for my dad for a lot of things, but the one thing I’m always thankful for him for is at that time when I was at my darkest and my lowest, he literally would just grab my hand and go,’ we’re going for a walk.'”
Rexha added that while at her lowest point, she searched the internet for quotes and found one that spoke to her. “‘We stop looking for the monsters that are under the bed when we realize they’re inside of us.’ That quote spoke to me on so many levels. To me, that really struck a chord because I was dealing with a lot of blame and self-judgment, like, wow, we could really be our own worst enemies,” she said during her Time to Walk episode. Feeling inspired, Rexha collaborated with her fellow writers on a song. The song, enтιтled “The Monster,” was later released by Eminem and Rihanna in 2013 and won a Grammy two years later.
“It just opened so many doors for me,” said Rexha of the song during her Time to Walk episode. “It’s so incredible how a dark situation can lead to something so awesome and so beautiful. You never know where anything is going to lead.”
In recent years, Rexha has released solo tracks, including 2018’s “I’m a Mess,” and collaborations with fellow artists, notably 2017’s “Meant to Be” with Florida Georgia Line. As the New York native explained during her Time to Walk session, music is her “therapy.” “I find it very hard to this day to communicate how I feel. I tend to keep a lot of things boxed in. And it’s funny how a lot of fans will come up to me or people that listen to my music and support me and will be like, ‘this song helped me through a break-up.’ And it’s funny how my therapy ended up becoming other people’s therapy. I think that’s like the coolest thing,” she said.
Although Rexha frequently shares her daily happenings with her 10.7 million followers on Instagram, this Time to Walk installment is something new for her fans to explore. In fact, they could potentially be inspired by the pop star’s perseverance to never give up on their own dreams.
