Liam St. John Is Processing His Pain on His Debut Album (Exclusive)

Liam St. John is ready to tell his story.

Four years ago, the rising star began writing his debut album as he dug “into the roots of who I am.” Through that process of pondering who and where he comes from, he was able to tie it all together through Man of the North, which is out now.

“It was a really incredible process and cathartic and therapeutic to write all those songs,” St. John, 34, tells PEOPLE, adding that it “all made sense” when he wrote the title track in November of 2023.

“It’s basically the story of my life… ‘Man of the North,’ the song, was just the capstone that brought it all together,” he adds. “I wrote it about where I’m from, my hometown, Spokane, Washington, and it all made sense after I wrote that one.”

On the 16-track album, his story is told in chronological order, beginning with “If I Were My Father,” where he opens up about the absence of a father figure in his life. For St. John, this caused him “a lot of harm emotionally and spiritually” early on.

As the album progresses, St. John — who appeared on season 19 of The Voice — gets candid about the storms he weathered over the years, including a “dark depression,” which he says was a result of “not being able to fully express myself.”

“I spent a lot of my life suppressing a lot of what I was feeling and bottled up enough until finally, the pressure just broke,” he recalls.

“When people go through something like that, they understand it’s hard to express that to other people. And so, the next best thing is to self-medicate. That’s what I did,” he adds. “I leaned on alcohol and drugs and it just snuck up on me… until I realized that I had a problem.”

Then, in 2020, St. John went through a major breakup — and that’s when he hit “rock bottom.”

“I started realizing how negatively I was looking upon myself and speaking about myself. And I think that was the moment I realized I would never treat anybody else like this. Why am I treating myself like that? And so, just started affirming myself and telling myself, ‘I love you. You’re going to do everything you’ve ever dreamed of.’ And that really changed my life,” he says.

He adds, “I’ve been able to process all the pain I’ve been through and I’ve been able to grow from it… I’ve grown away from needing to numb things because I get the privilege to just be myself and speak my truth. And I’m lucky that that is being an artist.”

Track No. 7 on the album, “Dipped in Bleach,” was the first time that he “really went there emotionally” and “told it all” — but “Devil in Disguise” was the hardest to write.

“I never had to wrestle with speaking how I felt more than that song, because it was a scary thought to question if I’m doing the right things or not,” he says reflectively.

Now that the album is out into the world, St. John is spending the rest of the year on his Man of the North Tour. In between shows, he likes exploring the city, walking into vintage shops and getting spontaneous tattoos.

“Sometimes I just like binging Netflix, escaping the grind, and just relaxing my voice too,” he says, adding that he’s “really into meditation and sauna.”

“I also have people outside of my team that check in on me. I’ve got my therapist that I can call at any time,” he says.

St. John cut his teeth singing in church growing up. When he finally played his first show outside of church, he felt like he was “floating.”

“It was the greatest feeling in the world. And for a moment, I felt fully at peace and fully myself, which I’d never felt before. And it felt spiritual,” he says.

Adding, “I have two degrees. I’ve got a master’s degree in business administration and marketing. And I pursued academics and athletics, but nothing ever made me feel so true than playing in a small coffee shop for 50 people.”

After playing empty dive bars and open mics, this album cycle is a surreal feeling for St. John.

“It’s a real dream come true to be releasing this album with my dream label,” he says. “And none of it would be here unless I wasn’t first screaming into microphones at a open mic at 2 a.m. when nobody was there.”