Machine Gun Kelly considers himself to be a 'representative of the broken'

Machine Gun Kelly considers himself to be a "representative of the broken".

The 35-year-old singer, whose real name is Colson Baker, has been open about his mental health struggles and believes that it has helped him form more of a connection with his fans.

MGK said in conversation at the Grammy Museum: "I found through my fan base that I think they relate a lot more to the realness or the vulnerability or maybe the archetype of someone who rose from the ashes like a phoenix or someone who's more broken because I feel like that's a more common feeling around the world than people who are always in control or feel good about themselves.

"That's a really easy place for me to tap into because honestly, man, for the most part, I feel broken, and I'm starting to do the work and I've been doing the work to put those pieces back together."

However, MGK is worried that he will lose his creative edge if he is able to heal.

The Bloody Valentine singer said: "Sometimes I get a little too scared when the pieces come back together - like, 'Oh, but how can I ever write about being broken if I'm always fixed?'

"And so maybe that was what I was feeling in the past three years since my last album, which was a mainstream sellout. I was getting a little scared of the writing that I was doing."

He continued: "I wasn't impressed by it, and things were going pretty good for me, and maybe something was just clicking in my head, but out of torment comes some really good content, good stuff. Yeah, torment comes good content. Yeah, for a poet at least."

MGK has also revealed that he started writing a journal during a spell in rehab last Christmas.

He said: "I had this red notebook that a fan actually gave to me (that I) wrote so much in. They would lights off everything around 9:30, 10:00 pm, and then during all those hours that I couldn't sleep, I would just write my feelings. So yeah, I do do that."

MGK explained that he uses writing to "manifest" things that he is trying to achieve.

He said: "I write down things that I want to attain, and on a new moon, I burn it. I did that for the Grammys a couple of year ago. Didn't pan out, but I think I was waiting for the right year."