Batman and Robin may be considered one of the greatest duos of all time, but there's another twosome that's just as eminent — Chloe and Halle Bailey.
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Much like the superhero legends, the singing sisters are a force. There’s no sidekick though. Each is a star, and together they are celestial.
One listen of their debut studio album, “The Kids Are Alright,” will leave you entranced. The infusion of jazz, R&B and trap coupled with gorgeous melodies and flawless harmonies produce a unique sound.
“It’s a mixture of all of our favorite things,” younger sister Halle explains. “For me, I’ve always been a jazz fan. My sister listens to very cool, eclectic music. We both listen to trap, and we love feeling like ‘Ayyyeee! This is good.’”
Per the lyrics of their title track, these teenagers "don't really care about the trends you like to follow." They are in a lane of their own and have been since their adolescent years.
Before becoming professionally known as Chloe x Halle, the young women spent much of their childhood singing their way through Atlanta. The natives caught the music bug around ages 5 and 7. In fact, they were bit after performing at Spelman College.
“We performed at a summer camp there. That was our first real performance together,” Halle recalls. “I remember being in front of all our friends and having that feeling of just happiness being on the stage for the first time.”
“Even at that young age, we still remember how exhilarating that feeling was,” Chloe echoes, “and I feel like that’s the moment that catapulted us into wanting to pursue music even more.”
With the help of their father, they began to learn basic song structure. From similes to metaphors to personification, they discovered several writing styles that helped them craft their own tunes. Their very first song was called “What Makes You Sad.”
“It was us listing everything that made us sad. The song turned out really depressing,” Halle laughs. “The lyrics were, ‘What makes you sad? Losing a loved one. What makes you sad? Being betrayed by your closest friends.’ We were singing it in a very monotone voice.”
The ballad wasn't a hit, but their YouTube channel definitely was. The self-taught musicians and producers launched it about six years ago at 11 and 13, so they could upload covers of their favorite songs. Each week, their videos garnered thousands of views, but it was their version of Beyoncé's "Pretty Hurts" in 2014 that amassed the most attention.
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The four-minute clip was simple. It was just the two of them, both dressed in baseball tees with their locs cascading just past their shoulders, belting out the tune in front of a wooden dresser. As Chloe glided her fingers across an out-of-frame keyboard, the girls combined their vocals to create a rendition of the song that was unlike any other.
At the time, it had been viewed more than 10 million times, and one of the viewers was Beyoncé. She not only gave them a special shoutout on her Facebook page, calling them "amazingly talented," she also signed them to her Parkwood Entertainment imprint.
The deal, which transpired soon after their big move to Los Angeles, was monumental.
“We have learned so much more just being a witness to Beyoncé’s greatness up close and personal,” Chloe gushes. “We have also at the same time stayed our same selves. We’ve been given such an incredible platform, and we’ve been blessed with so many opportunities to share our art.”
Those opportunities include being asked to sing at the White House by then-first lady Michelle Obama, becoming the faces of a Nike campaign, taking the stage at Coachella and landing gigs on Freeform's popular series "Grown-ish," which is a spinoff of the ABC sitcom "Black-ish."
And more recently, they've been recruited for the American leg of Beyoncé and Jay-Z's "On The Run II" tour, which includes Aug. 25-26 dates at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
As their album title suggests, Chloe and Halle, now 19 and 18 respectively, are certainly alright.
“We’re growing and maturing into womanhood, but we will be OK no matter if we make mistakes,” Chloe assures. “No matter what crazy things happen in the world today, this generation will be OK.”
Although precocious, the songstresses maintain a youthfulness and sweetness that is evident. They understand their influence and are ready to take a deeper dive into their already flourishing careers.
"It's really cool when people call us role models, because we almost don't believe it," Halle says. "We think we're just two little girls from Atlanta, Georgia, who love singing, but we accept that with gratefulness. We aspire to continue to put positivity out there for the world to see."
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