Halle Bailey

Halle Bailey
Halle Lynn Bailey (born March 27, 2000), known by her mononym Halle, is an American singer and actress. She became known for being one half of the musical duo Chloe x Halle with her sister Chloe Bailey. They have released the albums The Kids Are Alright (2018) and Ungodly Hour (2020), and have together earned five Grammy Award nominations. In 2023, Bailey released her debut solo single "Angel".
As an actress, Bailey has played the leading role of Sky Forster in the television sitcom Grown-ish (2018–2022). In 2023, she had her first lead role as Ariel in Disney's musical fantasy film The Little Mermaid.
Early life
Halle Lynn Bailey was born on March 27, 2000, and raised in Mableton, Georgia, with her older sisters Ski Bailey (born 1991) and Chloe Bailey (born 1998), and her younger brother Branson Bailey (born 2005), later moving together to Los Angeles in mid-2012. As children, Chloe and Halle began writing their own songs, learning to play instruments through watching YouTube tutorials. Their father and co-manager, Doug Bailey, who "taught [them] to do everything on [their] own," began teaching them how to write songs at the ages of 8 and 10.
Career
2006–2016: Early work and record deal
While in Georgia, Bailey played minor acting roles in films such as Joyful Noise (2012), having begun a career in acting at the age of 3, and the Disney television film Let It Shine (2012). The duo launched a YouTube channel at the ages of 11 and 13 respectively, with a cover of Beyoncé's "Best Thing I Never Had". Their first video to go "viral" was a cover of another of Beyoncé's tracks, "Pretty Hurts". They first performed as Chloe x Halle when uploading covers of pop songs onto their channel. The duo made their talk show debut when they appeared on The Ellen Show in April 2012. In 2013, the Bailey sisters won Season 5 of Radio Disney's The Next Big Thing, with them making a cameo appearance in the Disney series Austin & Ally performing the song "Unstoppable" the following September.
In May 2015, both sisters were in talks to sign on with Parkwood Entertainment, with the contracts submitted to the Manhattan Supreme Court, as both sisters were then minors detailing that they "[would] receive at least $60,000 and advances that could total almost $1 million if they make at least six albums." Parkwood Entertainment, which was founded by Beyoncé, finally signed them in 2016 for a five-year contract, becoming "[her] first true musical successors," per NPR, as well as being considered "Beyoncé's prodigies." The Bailey sisters were featured, along with Beyoncé, twin sisters Lisa-Kainde Diaz and Naomi Diaz, Amandla Stenberg and Zendaya in the clip for Freedom in the formermost's eponymous visual album Lemonade, which premiered on HBO in April 2016.
2016–present: Chloe x Halle
Chloe x Halle made their professional debut with the EP, Sugar Symphony, which was released under Parkwood on April 29, 2016. The duo were also featured as the opening act for the European part of Beyoncé's Formation World Tour, held between late June and early August 2016.
Nearly a year after, Chloe x Halle released a mixtape, The Two of Us, on March 16, 2017, on YouTube. It was featured on Rolling Stone magazine's Best R&B Albums of 2017 list. On December 29, 2017, the duo released the theme song for the TV series Grown-ish, entitled "Grown". Halle played Skylar "Sky" Forster in a recurring capacity in the first season before being upgraded to series regular starting with the second. She departed the series at the end of the fourth season when her character graduated from college.
Both "Grown" and "The Kids Are Alright" served as the lead and second singles, respectively, of Chloe x Halle's debut studio album, The Kids Are Alright, which they announced in late February 2018. The album was paired with a visual. Chloe x Halle released their debut studio album, The Kids Are Alright, on March 23, 2018, to critical acclaim. Their single, "Warrior", appeared on both the soundtrack for the film A Wrinkle in Time (2018), as well as their debut album.
On May 31, 2018, it was announced that they would be the opening act for the U.S. leg of Beyoncé and Jay-Z's On the Run II Tour, alongside DJ Khaled. The duo were nominated for two Grammy Awards in December 2018, namely Best New Artist and Best Urban Contemporary Album (for The Kids Are Alright).
On February 3, 2019, Chloe x Halle's performance of "America the Beautiful" at the Super Bowl LIII was praised by their mentor Beyoncé in addition to several news publications. A week later, on February 10, 2019, the duo honored American musician Donny Hathaway by performing his 1972 single "Where Is the Love" at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
On June 12, 2020, the duo released their sophomore album, Ungodly Hour, to critical acclaim. 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.
Chloe x Halle performed the American national anthem at the kickoff game for the 2020 NFL season in September 2020. The duo hosted the Glamour Women of the Year Awards in October 2020. In November 2020, they received nominations for Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Video of the Year, Best Dance Performance and The Ashford And Simpson Songwriter's Award at the 2020 Soul Train Music Awards. They also received nominations for Best Progressive R&B Album, Best R&B Song and Best Traditional R&B Performance at the forthcoming 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. They performed "Baby Girl" at the 2020 Billboard Women in Music ceremony, where Beyoncé presented them with the Rising Star Award.
2019–present: Solo endeavors
In July 2019, Disney announced that Bailey had been cast as Ariel, the titular mermaid, in The Little Mermaid, a live-action remake of the 1989 animated film of the same name. She would also record and perform the soundtrack for the film. Director Rob Marshall said that Bailey "possesses that rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence, and substance—plus a glorious singing voice—all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role". In an interview with Deadline, Marshall expressed that he was brought to tears by Bailey's singing. Explaining how "Bailey was able to embody everything else that he was looking for with Ariel...she set the bar way too high for any other hopefuls to match.
Bailey's casting caused a backlash, with some claiming that casting an African-American in the role of Ariel was unfaithful to the original character. In responde to the criticism, Disney defended their casting and stated that Ariel "is a mermaid". The Little Mermaid was released in May 2023. Bailey received praise from critics for her performance.
On October 1, 2021, Bailey made her debut solo performance with a rendition of the Disney song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight", in the televised event, The Most Magical Story on Earth: 50 Years of Walt Disney World, which celebrated Disney World's 50th Anniversary.
On August 4, 2023, Bailey's debut single as a solo artist, "Angel", was released.
Artistry
Influences
Bailey's musical influences came from jazz and listening to Billie Holiday from a young age. She has cited the singer as one of the major influences on her vocals. In addition to her singing, she plays the guitar.
Personal life
Bailey resides in North Hollywood, Los Angeles with her sister. She and her sister are both vegans. Since March 2022, Bailey has publicly dated DDG, a YouTuber and American rapper.
Discography
Singles
As lead artist
Promotional singles
Guest appearances
Filmography
Film
Television
Music videos
Appearances
"If I Want You" (2022) [by DDG]
"It's Givin" (2022) [by Latto]
As Solo artist
"Part of Your World" (2023) [from "The Little Mermaid"]
"Angel" (2023)
with Chloe x Halle
"All Night" (2016)
"Drop" (2016)
"Fall" (2016)
"Grown" (2017)
"The Kids Are Alright" (2018)
"Warrior" (2018)
"Happy Without Me" (2018)
"Shine Bright" (2018)
"Cool People" (2018)
"Who Knew" (2019)
"Catch Up" (2020)
"Do It" (2020)
"Forgive Me" (2020)
"Ungodly Hour" (2021)
Awards and nominations
References
External links
2000 births
Living people
Chloe x Halle
21st-century American actresses
21st-century American women singers
21st-century American singer-songwriters
Actresses from Atlanta
African-American actresses
African-American child actresses
American child actresses
African-American female dancers
African-American women singers
African-American songwriters
American women singer-songwriters
American film actresses
American television actresses
American contemporary R&B singers
Singers from Atlanta
People from Mableton, Georgia
Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)