What is your favourite tune to belt out in the shower with a hairbrush in place of a microphone?
The hot water is pouring down, the temperature and acoustics are perfect, and I think I look and sound like Christina Aguilera in Burlesque. I try to put on a performance that would make Cher proud. In reality, I am channelling Emma Stone in Easy A when she sings 'A Pocketful of Sunshine' at the top of her lungs and spikes her hair with shampoo suds.
My worries and inhibitions wash away; I do not care if I sound pitch-perfect or if my voice could break the bathroom mirror. I expect my mirror to shatter if I scream along to Linkin Park or early-2000s Bring Me the Horizon. The thin walls and frustrated neighbours cannot stop me from trying to match Oli Sykes's or Chester Bennington's vocals.
Singing in the shower gives me more serotonin than being on Sertraline ever has. I can cry out to Beyonce's 'Best thing I never Had' or get into that "summer feeling" with Harry Styles' 'Watermelon Sugar'. I close my eyes and pretend Harry is in the shower with me- I want some of that "sugar".
I like to line up bottles of shower gel and conditioner and pretend they are a crowd of adoring fans. I do not have to picture the audience naked as I already have that covered. At least they cannot speak back and boo me out of the shower. It brings out my inner child and takes me back to when I would make 'potions' out of my mum's expensive products. Mum, if you are reading this, that was totally a made-up anecdote for the sake of this article.
I have learnt that there is an interplay between mental health and physical health. Singing in the shower is not just a fun way to pass the time as you detangle your hair. I go through an entire playlist before I get the knots out of my curls. Singing along to your favourite songs releases endorphins and helps fight that Monday morning feeling. It is an act of self-care that leaves your mind and your body feeling refreshed.
My Top 5 Shower Songs
1) Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance with Somebody (who Loves Me)
Please be careful if you attempt to dance in the shower! I hope the hot water chases your blues away. You might even get to feel the heat with somebody.
2) Miley Cyrus - Party in the U.S.A
It takes me back to my childhood and puts me in a partying mood!
3) Harry Styles - Falling
The tears are falling when I put this heart-breaking song on. It is healthy to have a good cry sometimes.
4) Paramore - Still into You
Hayley Williams, I will never get over the butterflies and will always be into you.
5) Bring Me the Horizon - Sleepwalking
The bathroom acoustics will save your vocal cords when you are trying to scream like Oli Sykes.