28 S MAGAZINE ★ 18 AUGUST 2019
How to save a life
An emotional ballad by US singer Hilary Roberts brought her friend back from a
dark place. Now she’s determined to focus on helping others Words by Kirsten Jones
H
ilary Roberts is an American
singer-songwriter, loyal friend,
charity founder and one of the most
generous celebrities in the music
world – unless you count her pal
Elton John. “That man has so much love for
people,” says the singer, who met the British
legend at one of his many fundraising events
last year. “Elton is sober, like me. We both
know the struggle. He is transparent and
genuine and his legend speaks for itself.”
Hilary’s rocketing career came rather later in
life than she would have liked. The 50 year old,
from Dallas, suffered abuse as a child, which
led to drug and alcohol addiction that in turn
would ruin four major record deals.
Now 22 years sober, Hilary has recovered
from life-and-death heart surgery and picked
herself up from rock bottom to soar up the
US’s Billboard chart with her 2018 debut hit
There For You and charity reboot Back To Life,
which has had two million YouTube views – and
counting. Great ballads by Celine Dion and
Josh Groban inspired her latest single, Fight To
The Other Side, which she wrote for the woman
who made it all possible.
“Annie Blake was there for me when I was
in a lot of pain,” the singer recalls. “We met
through mutual friends. I’d gone through
horrible heartbreak – the type that puts you
in a foetal position on the floor – and she
brought me back to life.”
Based in the New Forest, Annie and her
husband Kevin know some major British
artists. The women met in 2010 and Annie,
enchanted by Hilary’s voice, implored her to
make singing her priority. But while Hilary
battled her demons and achieved her dream,
tragedy struck Annie and in 2017 she was
diagnosed with a rare inherited form of
muscular dystrophy. The aggressive condition
starts by affecting the muscles in the face and
upper body. It progressed faster than anyone
expected and Annie was unable to cope with
how her life had changed.
“I found out that Annie had tried to take
her own life six times in a fortnight,” says
a tearful Hilary. “She looked at me and said,
‘If I die tonight that’s fine with me.’ I was
completely devastated.”Above: with Elton John and Diana
Ross at the AIDS Foundation
Academy Award Party in FebruaryHilary launched into action, recruited an
award-winning musical team and penned her
powerful ballad in Los Angeles. The singer
put her own pain aside to send a message to
her friend and show her she is not facing the
battle alone.
“Fight To The Other Side is about the we of
the world – that’s W-E – empowering others
and lifting ourselves up from the darkness and
into the light,” she explains. “People love you
and there is love around Annie. She no longer
wants to take her own life. That brave woman
has a new purpose.”
Annie and Kevin flew to the States to see
the star, watch the music video and receive
Hilary’s Hero Award at the launch of her Red
Songbird Foundation. It’s a cause very close
to her heart.
“I went to trauma treatment for the abuse
I suffered growing up. I had nightmares in
those first six years of sobriety. That treatment
gave me the tools to heal,” she reveals.
“I used to trudge through life in a horrific way.
Eventually, I started getting the ‘yay’ of life
and I swore if I could ever afford it I would
help others.”
And help others she has, offering treatment
and therapy to adults who suffered from abuse
in their childhoods. She has been inspired by
new friend Elton, who fights for an AIDS-free