Chloe Bailey has been a star for most of her like. She broke out as half of the duo Chloe x Hailey in 2016, and scored major successes alongside her sister before going solo in 2021. Her debut album was praised by fans and critics alike, for its musical ambition and eclectic blend of sounds. Chloe Bailey was trying to defy easy categorization with her art, but she was repeatedly tagged with the label of R&B. She talked about this frustrating situation during a recent interview with Nylon.
Bailey told the outlet that her R&B categorization stems from the color of her skin, and not her sound. "Any music I do will easily and quickly be categorized as R&B because I’m a Black woman," she noted. "If someone who didn’t have my skin tone made the same music, it would be in the pop categories. That’s just the way it’s always been in life." The desire to break out of genre constraints is something Bailey has sought to do more as she's gotten older. She's found chart success, and now she's seeking out artistic success on her own terms. Bailey cited two of the singers who managed to shed the R&B label, and one of them, unsurprisingly, is her mentor.
Chloe Bailey Wants To Challenge R&B Conventions
Chloe Bailey loved Beyonce's album Cowboy Carter. She had a front row seat to Beyonce's transformation, given that she signed to the icon's label in 2016. She was still surprised by what she heard in terms of genre experimentation. "I was really proud of Beyonce doing Cowboy Carter," she asserted. "Because Black people originated country music. It’s just showing that possibilities are endless." Bailey also mentioned Whitney Houston as a Black, female singer who proved that true crossover success is attainable.
The singer isn't going for Houston's pop or Beyonce's country on her new album, though. Chloe Bailey told Nylon that she's seeking to carve her own genre and musical path. One inspired by the sounds she has heard in the Caribbean. The outlet cites "calypso, gospel, Afrobeats, and Carnival band music" in the upcoming album, which is titled Trouble In Paradise. Bailey concurs. She also described an overarching theme to the album. "[It's a] coming-of-age celebration of being a woman and having fun," she stated. "Not taking life too seriously." We can't wait to hear it.
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