# Rachel Chinouriri

Rachel Chinouriri (born 1 November 1998; pronounced /ˌtʃɪnəˈriːri/, CHIN-ə-REE-ree) is an English singer-songwriter. After posting numerous songs on SoundCloud, she began releasing music on major streaming platforms in 2018. She released her debut extended play (EP), Mama's Boy, in 2019 to critical acclaim. One of the songs from the EP, "So My Darling", received attention on TikTok when it became a popular audio to use.
Chinouriri was signed to Parlophone, with whom she released her debut mini-album, Four° In Winter, in 2021. The single "Give Me A Reason" off the album was nominated for the Best Contemporary Song Ivor Novello Award. She then released her second EP, Better Off Without, in 2022. She released her debut album, What a Devastating Turn of Events, in May 2024.

## Early life and education

Chinouriri was born in Kingston Hospital on 1 November 1998. Her family later moved to the Forestdale area of Croydon, where she was raised from the age of three. Her family had moved to UK from Zimbabwe shortly prior to her birth, and she experienced a "traditional African upbringing". Her upbringing led her to be curious about British culture, specifically its music, and as a teenager, she became influenced by the discographies of Daughter and Lily Allen. At the age of 17, Chinouriri began writing songs and recorded them on a £20 microphone, uploading them to the music-sharing website SoundCloud via her mother's laptop.

## Career

Chinouriri began formally releasing various singles on major streaming platforms in 2018, which led to her being signed to Parlophone. Her first release with the label was "So My Darling", which she wrote aged 17 and released in 2018. The song received radio play when it was picked as a special play on BBC Radio 1. She was then announced as an act at Field Day festival in 2019. Chinouriri followed "So My Darling" with "Adrenaline" in April 2019. She played a headline show in London in June 2019.
Chinouriri released her debut extended play (EP), Mama's Boy, in August 2019. It was released to critical acclaim. Following the release, she dropped the song "Where Do I Go?", which she said was written about her thoughts on the afterlife. She played at Dot to Dot Festival and Pitchfork Music Festival that year. The song "Beautiful Disaster", featuring Sam Dotia, was released in July 2020. Tom Bibby of Yuck magazine described the song as "an honest and heartfelt portrayal of the isolation and stillness felt in the midnight hours, told through Chinouriri's powerful falsettos", adding that she has proved herself to be "a powerful singer-songwriter". She then released various singles, including "Give Me a Reason", "Darker Place" and "Through the Eye". The latter acted as the lead single for her debut mini-album, Four° In Winter, which was released in September 2021. She released a deluxe edition later that year, with the addition of three new songs.
In January 2022, after the rise in popularity of her 2018 single "So My Darling" on the video sharing app TikTok, Chinouriri re-released the song in acoustic form. At the time of release, the audio had more than 40,000 videos shared on TikTok. In March 2022, she released the single "All I Ever Asked". The song was chosen as that week's "Hottest Record in the World" by BBC Radio 1's Clara Amfo. Chinouriri subsequently announced plans for a second EP that would feature the song, as well as a national tour throughout the UK. That summer, she played at the Great Escape Festival and Boardmasters Festival, and also had a gig supporting Sam Fender.
In early 2023, Chinouriri was one of the openers for Lewis Capaldi on his tour, and humorously told the story of how she had secured the gig through having sent him a drunk DM. She played at a number of summer festivals, including Latitude Festival, Truck Festival, Kendal Calling, Connect Music Festival, and All Points East. Later that year, she was selected as one of the openers for Louis Tomlinson on the Europe leg of his Faith in the Future World Tour.
In January 2024, Chinouriri announced that she would be releasing her debut album, What a Devastating Turn of Events, on 3 May. Four promotional singles were released in the build-up leading to the record: "The Hills", "Never Need Me", the title track and "It Is What It Is". What a Devastating Turn of Events debuted at number 17 on the UK Albums Chart, and at number 5 on the Scottish Albums Chart during the week starting from 10 May 2024. Also in May, the artist performed as one of the headliners on the Introducing Stage at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend festival in Luton. In June, Chinouriri played on the Other Stage at Glastonbury Festival 2024, playing both her own songs and a cover of Estelle's American Boy. In July, it was announced that she would be the opener for the United Kingdom and European leg of the Short n' Sweet Tour by Sabrina Carpenter.
On 7 February 2025, Chinouriri released a new version of "All I Ever Asked", recorded in collaboration with American singer-songwriter Sombr.

## Artistry

Chinouriri grew up listening to indie music, pop girl groups such as Girls Aloud, The Saturdays and the Sugababes; African a cappella; Britpop bands like Oasis, Blur, and The Libertines; as well as the likes of V V Brown and Noisettes. She cited Daughter and Ladysmith Black Mambazo among her main influences, while Coldplay is her favourite band. She has also expressed an admiration for Sampha, Kings of Leon, and Phoenix. For her debut album, Chinouriri took inspiration from the sonic and visual aesthetics of the noughties Britpop culture and icons of her childhood.

## Personal life

In March 2024, Chinouriri was one of the acts who decided to boycott the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas over the event's sponsorship deal with the US Army and major defense contractors, and in protest against the Israel–Hamas war. In a statement of social media, Chinouriri explained her decision by stating that the topic of war was "extremely triggering" for her, as both her parents had served as child soldiers in Zimbabwe before emigrating to the United Kingdom; she also encouraged fans to "support victims of war in any capacity".

## Discography
### Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected details :
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Details | UK |
| What a Devastating Turn of Events | Released: 3 May 2024 Label: Parlophone Format: CD, LP, digital download, streaming | 17 |

### Mini-albums

List of mini-albums, with selected details :
| Title | Details |
| Four° In Winter | Released: 23 April 2021 Label: Parlophone Format: Digital download, streaming |

### Extended plays

List of extended plays, with selected details :
| Title | Details |
| Mama's Boy | Released: 21 August 2019 Label: Marathon Format: Digital download, streaming |
| Better Off Without | Released: 20 May 2022 Label: Parlophone Format: Digital download, streaming |
| Live at KOKO | Released: 23 August 2024 Label: Parlophone Format: Digital download, streaming |
| Little House | Released: 4 April 2025 Label: Parlophone Format: Digital download, streaming |

### Singles
#### As lead artist

List of singles as lead artist, showing year released and album name :
| Title | Year | Album |
| "What Have I Ever Done" | 2018 | Non-album single |
| "So My Darling" | 2018 | What a Devastating Turn of Events |
| "Adrenaline" | 2019 | Mama's Boy |
| "Mama's Boy" | 2019 | Mama's Boy |
| "Where Do I Go?" | 2019 | Non-album single |
| "Beautiful Disaster" (with Sam Dotia) | 2020 | Four° In Winter |
| "Give Me a Reason" | 2020 | Four° In Winter |
| "What the World Needs Now" | 2020 | Non-album single |
| "Darker Place" | 2021 | Four° In Winter |
| "Through the Eye" | 2021 | Four° In Winter |
| "November" (featuring Hak Baker) | 2021 | Non-album single |
| "If Only" | 2021 | Four° In Winter |
| "All I Ever Asked" | 2022 | Better Off Without |
| "Thank You For Nothing" | 2022 | Better Off Without |
| "Smithereens" (with Boyish) | 2022 | Non-album singles |
| "I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Trying)" | 2022 | Non-album singles |
| "Maybe I'm Lonely" | 2023 | Non-album singles |
| "Ribs" | 2023 | Non-album singles |
| "The Hills" | 2023 | What a Devastating Turn of Events |
| "Never Need Me" | 2024 | What a Devastating Turn of Events |
| "What a Devastating Turn of Events" | 2024 | What a Devastating Turn of Events |
| "It Is What It Is" | 2024 | What a Devastating Turn of Events |
| "Even" (with Cat Burns) | 2024 | Non-album single |
| "Can We Talk About Isaac?" | 2025 | Little House |

#### As featured artist

List of singles as featured artist, showing year released and album name :
| Title | Year | Album |
| "Animals (MK Remix)" (Preditah featuring Rachel Chinouriri) | 2019 | Non-album single |
| "Stuck" (Kam-Bu featuring Rachel Chinouriri) | 2021 | Black on Black |
| "Right Together" (Conducta featuring Rachel Chinouriri) | 2021 | Non-album single |
| "Can't Get Enough" (p-rallel featuring Rachel Chinouriri & Venna) | 2022 | Forward |
| "End of the Road" (The Snuts featuring Rachel Chinouriri) | 2022 | Burn the Empire |
| "Love Me in Chapters II" (Chrissi featuring Rachel Chinouriri) | 2023 | Non-album single |
| "Fairytale" (Mac Wetha featuring Rachel Chinouriri) | 2023 | Mac Wetha & Friends 2 |
| "Parachute" (Shimza featuring Rachel Chinouriri) | 2024 | Non-album single |

## Tours

Headlining
* What a Devastating Turn of Events (2024)
* All I Ever Asked For Was A North American Tour (2025)
Supporting
* Short n' Sweet Tour (2025)

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award ceremony | Category | Nominee(s)/work(s) | Result | Ref. |
| 2025 | Brit Awards | Artist of the Year | Herself | Nominated | |
| 2025 | Brit Awards | Best New Artist | Herself | Nominated | |