Beyonce’s Hands-On Approach To New Parkwood Duo Chloe x Halle
Nestled among the famous faces in Beyonce’s Lemonade film are sisters Chloe and Halle Bailey. The teenagers (Chloe is 17, Halle is 16) are signed to the superstar’s Parkwood Entertainment label and recently released their debut EP, a spellbinding electro-R&B adventure called Sugar Symphony. If you’re wondering what it’s like to have Queen Bey as a boss/mentor, it’s time to dive into their interview with The Cut. In a nutshell, it’s pretty great.
“Beyonce’s been extremely fair with the girls in their deal with her,” their father reveals in the cover story. According to him, Bey invites the girls backstage at concerts, constantly updates their recording equipment and sent them on a trip to London to work with Naughty Boy. The 34-year-old also wanted to give them the opportunity to experience a different culture like she did when touring with Destiny’s Child. Sounds like a sweet deal so far!
But how hands on is she with their development? Parkwood’s A&R, Teresa LaBabera-Whites, has the answer. The industry heavyweight, who has been working with Beyonce since she was nine years old, says Chloe x Halle have sent the 20-time Grammy winner at least 150 songs since mid-2014. “I think at some point Beyonce actually did listen to all of them, because we sent them in batches and she’s very dedicated to the girls,” she says, adding that Beyonce regularly emails feedback and has face-to-face meetings with them every couple of months.
Halle shared some of the advice her mentor has imparted. The “Formation” diva urges them to trust their gut and be creative with song structures. “That’s something Bey brought up to us, how if she hears something in this song or that song, she will combine them into one song,” says Halle. “It also helps with just, you know, condensing the amount of songs we have, and then you have a really cool song!” Watch the duo’s mesmerizing “Drop” video below.
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