Sheryl Crow Made Music Her 'Identity Crutch' Because She Didn't Want to Drink and Smoke Like Her Friends at the Time

The musician's newest studio album 'Evolution' drops Friday

Instead of turning to drugs and alcohol, Sheryl Crow turned to music.

Speaking to Red magazine recently, the "Soak Up the Sun" singer opened up about turning to music "when all my friends started drinking and smoking pot and I felt left out."

“It was an identity crutch, and when it came time to figure out what I wanted to be, music was the thing I was good at,” Crow, 52, told the outlet.

Elsewhere in the interview, she also reflected on the moment a producer asked her to sing for a commercial after he heard her singing in a bar.

Related: Paul McCartney, Jon Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow and More to Honor Jimmy Buffett with a Tribute Concert at the Hollywood Bowl

“It was the first time somebody said, ‘I think you’re good, and I’m going to help you utilize what you do and you’re going to get paid for it,”’ Crow told the outlet.

Though Crow she previously toldNPR that 2019's Threads would be her last album, her newest album Evolution drops on Friday.

“I still think it’s a waste of time and money!” she said of her decision to make another. “People don’t listen to records as a full body of work, but I had all these songs that felt very timely.”

Crow added of Evolution: “So, I thought, ‘OK, I’m not going to make a conventional album, thinking about the beginning, middle, and end.’ Instead, it’s a compilation of new songs."

Earlier this month, the pop-rock performer joined Olivia Rodrigo onstage at her Guts World Tour date at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville where the pair performed Crow's hit "If It Makes You Happy" together onstage.

Related: Sheryl Crow Reveals the Simple Piece of Advice She Gave Olivia Rodrigo

“I’m very excited because tonight we have a very special guest,” the "Vampire" singer, 21, said, per fan-captured footage of the concert on YouTube. “I think she’s one of the most talented, most wonderful, kindest human beings I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. I’ve been lucky enough to sing with her a few times. And I’m even luckier to call her a friend.”

In November, the pair performed the same duet for the opening of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, where Crow was inducted.

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