Many times over the past few years I’ve had conversations with others about singing sisters Chloe x Halle. It usually starts out with a question from me about a recent performance or new music. The response I get is, “Who are they?” Then I mention that they are the girls Beyonce mentored. The next response is, “Oh yeah, I know them.” However, that’s as far as the conversation goes because they have not listened to any of their music. As 2020 continues to roll toward the fall that non-recognition is changing. What is interesting is that I was unaware of their ages. You see, Beyonce signed them to a management deal five years ago. In the life of a child that’s a long time. The teenage girls five years ago are now young women, complete with adult experiences and music that supports their growth. Nevertheless, I know that as I write this post there are many music fans who still are not familiar with the duos music. Perhaps they don’t even know who they are. Hopefully some of them are reading this post, and when finished will be aware of the young artists and their music.
Chloe Elizabeth Bailey and Halle Lynn Bailey, were born in Atlanta, Georgia on July 1, 1998 and March 27, 2000, respectively. The two were raised in Atlanta by their parents Courtney and Doug Bailey, and later moved with them to Los Angeles in mid 2012. While in Georgia, Chloe played a minor acting role in the film The Fighting Temptations (2003), and both sisters in Let It Shine (2012). They launched a YouTube channel at the ages of 13 and 11 respectively, with a cover of Beyoncé’s “Best Thing I Never Had”, They first performed as Chloe x Halle when uploading covers of pop songs onto this channel. The duo made their talk show debut when they appeared on The Ellen Show in April 2012. They were crowned by Radio Disney as the winners of the fifth season of The Next Big Thing in December 2012.
Knowing how young the girls were when all of this started, I always must look toward the parents and realize how much they sacrifice for their children to accomplish something so special. Usually it takes an enormous amount of support for children just attending school. Imagine your five year old in a motion picture. No matter how small the part, rehearsals and everything else is the responsibility of the parent. In the entertainment industry time is money! The work put in by their parents is not lost on Chloe x Halle. Recently, the sisters took to Instagram to celebrate their dad on Father’s Day. The girls wrote a heartwarming message, sharing pictures of Doug Bailey on their official Instagram page
Coolest dad there is!!! thank you for always being our ride or die. thank you for teaching us how to truly love ourselves. thank you for being our personal protector, bodyguard, manager, A&R, lawyer, comedian, x the list goes on x on. any baby that meets you falls in love so that’s even more confirmation of your pure soul. we love you dad. don’t know what we’d do without you. happy father’s day!! x happy father’s day to all of the fathers x father figures out there!
Chloe and Halle did the same thing for their mom, Courtney, on Mother’s Day.”You’re our world and to all of the mothers and motherly figures out there who are doing amazing jobs… to anyone who may not have their mother with them today, we’re sending you so much love.”
After gaining prominence with their YouTube videos and Disney projects, the duo independently released a four-track project titled Uncovered in September 2013. The release was made up of covers of the pop songs “Applause”, “We Can’t Stop” “Roar” and “Wrecking Ball”. Their December 2013 rendition of “Pretty Hurts” by Beyoncé went viral and drew the attention of the singer herself. In 2015, she signed the sister duo to her management company, Parkwood Entertainment with a reported $1 million deal for six albums. The duo made a cameo appearance in her visual album Beyoncé: Lemonade (2016), and accepted the BET Award for Viewer’s Choice on her behalf in 2016.
The sisters had gained prominence at this point for sure, but with Beyonce’s stamp on them at that BET appearance, they would get a major shot at stardom.
Chloe x Halle made their professional debut with the EP, Sugar Symphony, which was released under Parkwood on April 29, 2016. The duo’s debut single and the EP’s lead single “Drop” was released in early April. It was accompanied by the EP’s second and final single “Fall” in September 2016. The duo performed the song in addition to “Baby Bird” and “This is For My Girls” at the White House Easter Egg Roll, where they were introduced by Michelle Obama. Prior to this, Chloe x Halle also performed as the opening act to Obama’s keynote discussion at the SXSW Music Festival in March 2016. They also performed “Drop” at the BET Awards 2016. Chloe x Halle later served as Beyoncé’s opening act for the European leg of The Formation World Tour. The duo also supported American singer Andra Day on her Cheers to the Fall tour in late 2016.
In the spring of 2017, Chloe x Halle released their critically acclaimed mixtape, The Two of Us, which featured new music mostly written and produced by the duo. The two were busy with music and acting simultaneously as they released the theme song for the TV series Grown-ish, entitled “Grown”, in December 2017. They were added to the cast as series regulars, after initially signing on for recurring roles.
With all of the appearances and mixtapes, there would come a time when Chloe x Halle would need to drop a studio album. Then ir happened. The Kids Are Alright was released on March 23, 2018, by Beyoncé’s record label Parkwood Entertainment.When asked about the title, Chloe said, “The title means so much to us; we’re speaking about ourselves as we’re growing into young women, telling ourselves we’re going to be OK. We’ll make mistakes and we’ll have obstacles, but we’ll overcome them. But then also in a general sense, with this generation and how the world has gone mad and all these crazy things that are left for this generation to handle, it’s just proclaiming that we will be alright no matter what, and they shouldn’t worry about us. I love being part of this generation because we’re not afraid to let our voices be heard, and we’re not afraid to speak our mind.”
Briana Younger, writing for Pitchfork said about the album, “The Beyoncé-approved sister act are fearless on their debut album, reshaping pop and R&B in their own images until even the highest-profile co-signs seem beside the point… Listening to their debut, it’s easy to believe that if God spoke, she would sound like Chloe x Halle. Extremely high praise for such a young duo, however Chloe x Halle’s approach and the overall reaction laid the groundwork for the music that would come next.
That brings us to June 12, 2020. That’s the date Chloe x Halle released their second studio album Ungodly Hour. The album debuted at number 16 on the Billboard 200 chart with 24,000 units sold. “Do It” also became their first entry on the Billboard Hot 100, debuting at number 83, on the chart dated June 27, 2020. Oh yes, Chloe x Halle hit big this time and 2020 appears to be their year. At least up to this point. It feels like this is a beginning for the duo. Get ready for more!
I recently watched an interview with Chloe x Halle and that’s when I realized how much the two have grown since their start. Emotionally, physically and musically, the young women have matured and their music has become openly their own. The duo has stepped forward as songwriters and producers, gaining control of their art early in their careers.
Rachel Aroesti of The Guardian said the pair match “sumptuous harmonies with intricate beats” and that the listener’s attention was drawn to the album’s details and “the slow-burn appeal of the pair’s vocal melodies, which are habitually inventive, ornate and hauntingly beautiful”. Andy Kellman from AllMusic claimed “the Baileys’ second album is really a refinement of and progression from The Kids Are Alright. Its pop-R&B foundation is a little slicker, still tricked out with the occasional trap-styled production techniques — probing bass, rattling percussion — twisted just enough to not sound overdone.”
Chloe x Halle have grown, with more growth right on the horizon. Therefore I’m sure there will be more music coming to us. Possibly even better than Ungodly Hour. I just ask that everyone enjoy the music and judge it for yourselves.