Metal vocalists join Melissa Cross to respond to fan mental health comments
Revered vocal coach Melissa Cross has been teaming up with some of the foremost frontmen in the heavy music world to respond directly to comments fans have left on their songs.
In this brand-new series launched in partnership between Melissa and HeartSupport, comments are identified from real fans who have commented on artists’ songs, sharing the ways the song connects to their own struggles. The comments are raw, honest, and often deeply in need of hope.
Most commenters probably assume that no one will ever see their expressions of pain— least of all the band members themselves. But HeartSupport has always existed to break down the barriers that keep music fans alone and struggling with their mental health.
Some of the singers who have joined Melissa Cross for videos posted to YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and TikTok include Jonathan Davis of Korn, Chris Daughtry, David Draiman of Disturbed, and Chad Grey of Mudvayne.
Click on each image to hear from your favorite singers
“I’d be sitting inside a room of people laughing and still feel like I was breaking apart inside,” said one comment that Melissa read to Korn’s lead singer. “But this song made me feel like I wasn’t insane: just human. It’s still the soundtrack to every moment I feel like I’m slipping.”
Jonathan Davis commiserated, “I think a lot of us have been in that place. I was in that place for a long, long, long time. I was in that place so long that it became very comfortable and became a happy place, if you could believe that. The minute that my life became happy, I didn’t know how to deal with happiness. So I’d try to resort to going back to that dark place. You can get to that point where the depression and all of the things going on in your life, that’s your comfortable place. It’s happened to me for years. But now — it took a long time — but I’m accepting my happiness. But I named that place. I used to talk to made-up friends in that place. I’m not going back there, but I totally get what they’re talking about.”
The videos offer the reminder that no one should struggle alone. The walls are broken down between artists and fans, proving that everyone is human and everyone needs a little extra help sometimes.
Viewers can reach out to have volunteer HeartSupport repliers come alongside them immediately, or they can apply to be part of monthly Support Calls with a dedicated peer encourager.
“I lost my dad in 2023 and I’ve been carrying so much guilt,” one music fan commented on a Daughtry song. “I didn’t realize that was a part of grief. Thank you for helping me see that.”
“I’m so glad you felt like you could share that,” Chris Daughtry offered in response. “I think that was one of the hardest things for me, the guilt. The feeling you could have done something. The lies we tell ourselves that ‘If I only did this, I could have prevented something.’ That is hard to deal with. You’re not alone. I feel you, I understand you, and I appreciate you sharing that.”
Melissa Cross is well-equipped to accompany vocalists on these forays into fans’ struggles. Melissa is a seasoned vocal coach who has trained countless vocalists across the rock, metal, and hardcore scenes—from Grammy-nominated artists to underground icons. With decades of experience in both performance and pedagogy, she brings a unique blend of technical expertise and deep empathy to her work. She has led clients like August Burns Red, Bad Omens, A Day to Remember, Beartooth, Escape the Fate, Halestorm, Nothing More, I Prevail, and countless others into full ownership of their vocal power. In this series, she’s strengthening voices in a whole new way as she connects fans and singers who have shared the same wounds.
You can learn more about Melissa, one of HeartSupport’s board members, at melissacross.com. Make sure you’re following HeartSupport across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok to see each artist’s response to poignant fan comments.
