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Jenny Lewis suffered meltdown after Rilo Kiley break-up

Written by . Published: May 20 2014

Singer Jenny Lewis has credited the recording of her new album with pulling her through "one of the most difficult periods" of her life, after suffering a meltdown following the break-up of her cult band Rilo Kiley and the death of her estranged father.


The star recruited rocker Ryan Adams and his musician pal Mike Viola to help her complete The Voyager, her first solo album in six years, and she admits channeling her pain and emotions into her songs proved to be the therapy she desperately needed.


She tells RollingStone.com, "Making The Voyager got me through one of the most difficult periods of my life.


"After Rilo Kiley broke up and a few really intense personal things happened, I completely melted down. It nearly destroyed me. I had such severe insomnia that, at one point, I didn't sleep for five straight nights. Many of the songs on The Voyager came out of the need to occupy my mind in the moments when I just couldn't shut down...


"This record was the hardest one I ever made. The Voyager tells that story: the longest night of my life and the journey to finally getting some rest."


Lewis lost her dad at the end of 2010 and disbanded Rilo Kiley the following year (11).

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