Within the first 10 hours after it's release - this album had already changed my life!!!
I'm confident enough to say this is already one of my favorite albums of all time. The way they've infused jazz and soul with 808s and trap like beats - but still have such an inspirational message and ethereal quality to their sound - I"M BLOWN AWAY!
It has truly inspired me creatively in my own life and has recharged my passions. It also caused me to reminisce and go back on a Chloe X Halle adventure.
My lil babies all Grown Up!!! LOL I truly feel like a proud Auntie right now. See I've been following Chloe X Halle since their early YouTube days - and the INSTANT I heard their voices I was hooked 😫! They were so young and I was so amazed at their developed ears for complex harmonies and just overall vocal ability. They were so poised and articulate - OH HONEY - I just knew these lil girls were gonna be stars and shock the world! They were only doing covers then, but they truly turned each song into their own and gave them new life! I believe the first video I came across was them singing "Diamonds" by Rihanna.
Y'ALL 👏🏾 BETTA 👏🏾 SING 👏🏾!!! 👏🏾👏🏾 I literally get chills and goosies all over my body EVERYTIME they sing! They got hella soul and RANGE! I naturally gravitate towards Halle's soft yet powerful jazzy vibe (that's just my thing - I'll explain more later) but def also fucks wit Chloe's piercing, rich, and soulful tone (play dem keys girl)! I love it when musicians help me hear a song in a whole new way - cuz "Diamonds" is my shit (shoutout to Sia for writing that gem 🙏🏾)! Did y'all hear that innovation or is it just me? It's just somethin' about em that transcends earthly reality for me. They have such creativity and power - and truly take me to another ethereal musical world I love to dwell in.
Of course once I saw this, I had to dive in deeper and watch all of their other videos. Come to find out Halle also plays Guitar (I love seeing girls play instruments 😍)! You already see Chloe plays the keys, then to also find out they are truly the ones arranging and creating all of these songs, like whhhaaa!! Who's super children are these?
Then the stalker in me comes out and I start looking for any and everything I can find about them (LOL). The main question on my mind is, how old are they exactly? That video was in 2012 - so that means Chloe was 14 and Halle was 12! Once again, WHO'S SUPER CHILDREN ARE THESE (LOL)?? Don't get me wrong, I know it's not completely unknown for young kids to have hella talent - but certain talent and ability like this is rare to find!
Then I also find out that they've been singing of course since they were hella young. So they've definitely had years of practice to develop their craft. I don't remember the youngest age of their first performance ever - but I can say the first video on their professional YouTube page was posted in 2008. They sang "Love Is You" by Chrisette Michele, and "God Bless The Child" by Billie Holiday. It's not the perfect vocal, but it's oh so cute and DEF shows vocal power and ability early early on. They were so damn jazzy and sassy! Just watch for yourself please!
LITTLE STARS!!! 😍 First of all, how these lil girls know these songs so well?? LOL, what you know about love at 8 and 9?? (That's the 80 year old lady inside of me amazed at the younger generation in disbelief - y'all know how they think young kids can't know or connect with real shit!)
The real youthful me was so refreshed and given life by their song choices! I was, and still kinda am an AVID Chrisette Michele Fan - can't nobody argue that her first album "I Am" wasn't the shit! That was mostly all I listened too back then, so there was that instant connection again. I've even been in situations where my own Mama was like "How you know that song?" 🤨 Uhhhh the internet!! LOL naw but real shit, one of the beauties of being a millennial was growing up with the World Wide Web. As evil as we know it can be, it's also miraculous in how much it can be explored! In watching them, in a way I felt I was seeing myself. I would go deep in music and listen to old school classics constantly! Y'all remember the Limewire days, then especially when Pandora came about - OH it was a wrap on what I could explore! In my younger years, I found that I also gravitated towards early Jazz Vocalists like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Bille Holiday, Dinah Washington, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, THE LIST GOES ON!!!!
But back to Chloe X Halle - I'm hooked at this point! The more videos I find the more of a fan I become. You heard them say they had also acted in Tyler Perry productions, so that let me know they're low key legit child stars on the rise! I'm still going deeper, and able to find older videos of them even younger being adorable AF - but still singing those jazz classics I love!
Be still my beating heart!! 😍 5 AND 7 - Ok so now it's getting real! I find they've done gospel classics like " I Love The Lord:" by Whitney Houston, "Jesus Is Love" by The Commodores (with an orchestra behind them), "I Decided" by Solange - I am respecting each and every song choice! It's all so me! I grew up in church like I believe they also did, and my parents also influenced a lot of my early listening with old school classics. These lil girls were right up my alley, and I loved to see how inspired they were by such monumental artists. It's commonly known that they are Beyonce's lil proteges, and especially in listening to Chloe's tone and certain runs she does - the similarities and influence are undeniable! And Of COURSE they didn't hide it! I believe the very first cover video they did was to "Best Thing I Never Had" by Queen Bey herself.
Let's just go through some more of my favorite covers they've done......
This was another defining moment for me! Y'ALL BETTA SING!!! When I think of this song now - (as much as I also love Lady Gaga) - this version is what I think of first! But just a few more.....Cuz we're just starting to see them truly grow up before our eyes!
Ummmmm LIL GIRLS!!! That Carol of the Bells took me into a real church shout!!! I was yelling at my screen and going AWF you hear me!! This is real music to me - and that good SANGIN!!! Once again the harmonies 🙌🏾 - the way their voices blend together so seamlessly - the TECHNICAL ABILITY ALONE!!! But what comes next is what truly took them into stardom.......
You best believe Bey Bey saw that one! First of all, 2013 was an ICONIC year in music - but no one will forget when Mutha dropped her surprise album Self Titled 'Beyonce' right before Christmas! (Thanks again BTW Bey!!) That album still gets me through to this day. It was unheard of for an artist to be able to drop an album without any previous marketing or promo of a release date - and be SO INSTANTLY SUCCESSFUL!! Perfect song choice again goes to Chloe X Halle - and talk about perfect TIMING!
From then on, sky was the limit for these two. They had international recognition and were taken under wing by the Queen herself. It was only right! I remember thinking to myself if Beyonce does not pick these lil girls up - I just dk. She had just established her own label Parkwood Entertainment - so I knew she could sign them. But of course the stars aligned and I got my prayers answered 🙏🏾.
I was so excited for their future. I always viewed them as the future front runners of the next generation in music. I hadn't heard anyone as innovative and soulful as them - who could infuse so many different genres and styles to just make magic! They were up there for me with Beyonce, Prince, Stevie, Ella, Janelle Monae, Chrisette, Jazmine Sullivan, Earth Wind & Fire, Solange - once again I can go on for days, but they were legends in my eyes already! I still hadn't heard any original music - but woooooaaahhh nelly I just knew!
They continued to do a few covers and gain more prominence - and the whole time I'm just living for all of it! They are truly special and everything I love about music. For me I imagine if Beyonce & Solange formed their own Super Duo and just vibed the fuck out! Bey's rich soul, clear as day tone, accurate runs, and uncomparable performance ability - mixed with Sol's jazziness, light and airy vibe, and just overall coolness and ease. It's literally the Knowles sisters reincarnate to answer all my what ifs!! (BTW I still dream of them doing an actual collab album in real life - it would change music forever!)
Finally in 2016, they brought the true magic I knew was coming. Their first EP of original music 'Sugar Symphony'. Chloe X Halle as artists were officially here! They released the first single and video "Drop" from the project - and got to go on the 'Formation World Tour' with Bey. I got to see them blossom as young women with a story to tell. I was so excited to hear the influences I loved but with a renewed sense of identity. They brought a dope soulful and alternative feel to their sound - but still had a hip hop bounce to it and an electric feel. Stars were reborn and the journey to their first album was just beginning.
You can listen to Sugar Symphony on all streaming platforms. Each song is my fav! I listened to it constantly on repeat for the entire 2016 summer! I cleaned to it, created to it, fell asleep to it, made a Pandora station based on it, it literally became everything I lived and breathed.
And I felt it was so slept on - I just wanted everyone to see and hear what I was experiencing - but I know that's unrealistic (lol)! Of course some people were on board - and the journey continues....
They did some more covers and toured the world. They collab'd with other brands, did hella fashion shoots, performed on major tv platforms and at music festivals, and also collaborated with previous FLOTUS Michelle Obama for the charity single "This Is For My Girl's," with Kelly Clarkson, Missy Elliott, Kelly Rowland, Janelle Monae and others. They also got to be apart of the iconic 'Lemonade' film by Beyonce. They performed at the BET Awards and went on tours with other artists.
Once again though, this was just the beginning! It's like bit by bit they started to peel back the layers of who they are and what they can do. I LOVE THAT!!! Take ya time girls!! (I'm sure Bey was giving them that advice.) Also because albums take time to make. And depending on the artist some may take longer than others. Everyone has their own creative process - and it can't be rushed! In recent interviews, I heard them say this new album was 3 years in the making. (Sidebar: Did y'all know Solange wrote "Cranes In The Sky" 8 years before it actually got released?) Point is SHIT TAKES TIME - Real Magic takes Time!!! And that is exactly what they continued to do!
Here's a few more fun covers they did in the meantime - and some of my favorite Fashion moments the created!
My Life, My Loves, My All! The creativity continues.....
So I'm an only child - but if I had a sister to grow up with who was engaged in music as much as me - OMG! To be able to sit around and just vibe out together and be hella creative - Thank You Universe! We would just create for fun - not focused on making an album - or even focused on making a mixtape. Why does it have to have a name? We just had fun! And that is exactly what Chloe X Halle did in 2017. They just wanted to release a project for the fans, and mainly for themselves amidst so much creative freedom. And when you're creatively free you get 'The Two Of Us'.
The songs are pretty short - so it's easy listening. 25 Minutes of greatness!! This is also available on all streaming platforms. Just a lil sum'n to hold us over til the album finally dropped. I considered it like an appetizer to what was coming next. Oh but I ate it constantly!
Then the anticipation just continued to build. Press Releases also came out that the Duo got casted to be apart of the new spin off TV show 'Grown-ish'. (I was already a fan of 'Black-ish' and Yara Shahidi is a dream - so finding out they were also going to be apart - I could not wait!) The show debuted at the top of this year - and was an instant success. OF course their celebrity continued to grow - they did a feature on Willow Smith's album that I loved - then we find out the debut album was going to drop March 23rd - and HERE WE ARE!
I'll be back to do a Part II to this journal - as this one is already a bit long. I just wanted to take everyone on the Chloe X Halle adventure I've been on since 2012. I've literally been waiting 6 years for dreams and visions I've had for them to be manifested. I couldn't be more proud! Until Part II is posted - you can enjoy the album on all platforms. And please please please watch the Short Film they created for the album 🙏🏾.
I promise it's creativity at it's best!
