Having something that felt like a normal life likely helped Tisdale adjust to the pressures of her meteoric rise to fame, which hit critical mass when she played queen bee Sharpay Evans in the wildly popular High School Musical franchise, starting in 2005. But even off screen, Tisdale was fiercely individual on the streets and red carpet, wearing boas, UGGs, and no shortage of tulle and beads. You could tell from the squinty-eyed celebutante pout she perfected that she could care less about the public’s judgement.

Tisdale’s acting triumphs opened the door for equally successful music entrees, from 2006’s gold-selling bubblegum pop debut, Headstrong (“He Said She Said”), and her edgier pop-rock influenced follow-up, 2009’s Guilty Pleasure (“It’s Alright, It’s OK”). During both major-label efforts, Tisdale’s winning personality never dimmed, even when leaning into the tumultuous experiences of her teenage fanbase with life, liberty, and the pursuit of individuality.

This diverse industry cred all worked to establish Tisdale as one of the pre-eminent talents of her generation, coming from the same child star boot camp that bred contemporaries like Selena Gomez, Lindsay Lohan, Vanessa Hudgens, Drake Bell, Justin Bieber, Hilary Duff, and countless others. But of course, growing up in the limelight is not without its challenges, as we’ve seen time and again through the turbulent highs and lows navigated by all these stars.

And somehow through her own inner fortitude, Tisdale made what looked like a seamless transition to adulthood, taking on more risqué roles on shows like Sons of Anarchy and in Scary Movie 5. She has since gotten married to musician Christopher French, launched a makeup line, and executive-produced the ABC Family TV series Young & Hungry for its four-season run. Now 33, Tisdale is more in the driver’s seat than ever.

After nine years, super fans were elated to discover that Tisdale was ready to release her third album Symptoms. It’s out in 2019, and on it, she shows audiences a side they haven’t seen during her decades-long career — that of Ashley Tisdale, a woman navigating the ups and downs of her internal world. And it’s 100 percent her: alongside producer John Feldmann, Tisdale wrote the album’s nine songs, forging a creative partnership that allowed her to reveal her most vulnerable self yet.

The lead single from Symptoms, “Voices in My Head,” which you can stream below, carries an almost quiet grace. Over a simple, catchy guitar lick that morphs into a spare electro-infused beat, Tisdale acknowledges the voices that threaten to “fuck me up and change me” when she buries her feelings. She sings with serene acceptance about the voices as lies to you and me, making her experience universal. It’s the calm therapy session we all need right now.

Where does this come from? Tisdale gets candid and espouses hard-earned wisdom with PAPER in an illuminating interview. Here, she talks about being true to herself, self-love, and why we should label ourselves less.