Halle Bailey

**Halle Lynn Bailey** (born March 27, 2000) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and record producer. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Halle, alongside her sister Chloe Bailey, started to perform at age 4 in different events. She also played minor acting roles as a child. At the age of 13, she and Chloe formed a duo and launched a YouTube channel with a cover of Beyoncé's "Best Thing I Never Had", under the name of Chloe and Halle, later changed to Chloe x Halle. The duo earned recognition after they covered Beyoncé's "Pretty Hurts" in 2013, attracting Beyonce's attention. She eventually signed the sisters to her company Parkwood Entertainment.

The duo has since released two studio albums, *The Kids Are Alright* (2018) and *Ungodly Hour* (2020); two extended plays, *Uncovered* (2017), *Sugar Symphony* (2016); and a mixtape, *The Two Of Us* (2017). Halle has co-written all of the Chloe x Halle songs alongside Chloe, and participated in the production on several of them.

In 2019, Disney announced that Halle had been cast as Princess Ariel in the upcoming live-action remake of *The Little Mermaid*, set to be directed by Rob Marshall. The casting caused a small amount of controversy, with some claiming that casting an African American in the role of Ariel was unfaithful to the original character. Facebook and Instagram pages dedicated to 'defending Ariel' began to spring up around this time, and would frequently share racist arguments against Halle's casting and stereotypical images of black women as mermaids. Disney responded to the public with an open letter defending their casting.

## Life and career

### Early life and career beginnings

Halle Lynn Bailey was born in Atlanta, Georgia on March 27, 2000. She is the daughter of Courtney and Doug Bailey, and Chloe and Branson Bailey's sister. She, along with her siblings, were raised in Atlanta until their family decided to move to Los Angeles in mid 2012. Halle had minor roles in films including *Last Holiday* (2006), *Let It Shine*, and *Joyful Noise* (2012).

Their dad began teaching them how to write songs when Halle was eight. At the age of eleven, Halle started posting covers on a YouTube channel with Chloe under the name of Chloe x Halle, with the first cover being "Best Thing I Never Had" by Beyoncé. They made their talk show debut when they appeared on *The Ellen Show* in April 2012. They also were crowned by Radio Disney as the winners of the fifth season of *The Next Big Thing* in December 2012, and consequently made a cameo appearance in the Disney series *Austin & Ally* performing the song "Unstoppable" in September 2013.

### Musical career

After gaining prominence with their YouTube videos and Disney projects, the duo independently released a four-track project titled Uncovered in September 2013. The release was made up of covers of the pop songs "Applause", "We Can't Stop" "Roar" and "Wrecking Ball". Their December 2013 rendition of "Pretty Hurts" by Beyoncé went viral and drew the attention of the singer herself. In 2015, she signed the sister duo to her management company, Parkwood Entertainment with a reported $1 million deal for six albums. The duo made a cameo appearance in her visual album Beyoncé: Lemonade (2016), and accepted the BET Award for Viewer's Choice on her behalf in 2016.

On April 29, 2016, Chloe x Halle released ther professional debut EP *Sugar Symphony* under Parkwood. Both Halle and Chloe co-wrote all the five tracks on the EP. The duo performed the song "Fall", "Baby Bird" and "This Is For My Girls" at the White House Easter Egg Roll, where they were introduced by Michelle Obama. Prior to this, Chloe x Halle also performed as the opening act to Obama's keynote discussion at the SXSW Music Festival in March 2016. They also performed "Drop" at the BET Awards 2016. Chloe x Halle later served as Beyoncé's opening act for the European leg of The Formation World Tour. The duo also supported American singer Andra Day on her Cheers To The Fall Tour in late 2016.

In the spring of 2017, the duo released their critically acclaimed mixtape, *The Two Of Us*, which featured new music mostly written and produced by them. The mixtape was featured on *Rolling Stone* magazine's Best R&B Albums of 2017 list. In December 2017, Chloe x Halle released the theme song for the TV series *Grown-ish*, entitled "Grown". Their song "The Kids Are Alright" was featured in the series debut. Both "Grown" and "The Kids Are Alright" served as the lead and second singles respectively of the sisters' debut studio album, *The Kids Are Alright*, which they announced in late February 2018. Their single "Warrior" appeared on both the soundtrack for the film *A Wrinkle in Time* (2018), as well as their debut album. Chloe x Halle released their debut studio album, *The Kids Are Alright*, on March 23, 2018 to critical acclaim. To promote the album, Chloe x Halle performed "Happy Without Me" and "The Kids Are Alright" on *Jimmy Kimmel Live!*.

Chloe x Halle's performance at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was well received by critics. On May 31, 2018, it was announced that they would be the opening act for the U.S. leg of Beyonce and Jay-Z's On The Run II Tour, alongside DJ Khaled. Chloe x Halle were nominated for two Grammy Awards in December 2018, namely Best New Artist and Best Urban Contemporary Album (for *The Kids Are Alright*). At the ceremony, they honored American musician Donny Hathaway by performing his 1972 single "Where Is The Love", and additionally presented the award for Best Rap Album to Cardi B. 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. In September 2019, their cover of The Platters's "Enchanted" was featured in the recap montage of Jesse Pinkman's arc on *Breaking Bad* to coincide the Netflix film *El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie*.

On April 17, 2020, Chloe x Halle and Swae Lee released "Catch Up", a collaboration with Mike Will Made It, alongside a lyric video, and on May 14, 2020, the duo released the single, "Do It" and announced their second album *Ungodly Hour*. The next day, "Forgive Me" was announced as the second single, released along with a video. They released *Ungodly Hour* on June 12, 2020, 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.

     They performed the song at the 31st GLAAD Media Awards, as well as the 2020 BET Awards, which was where they also performed "Forgive Me" for the first time. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Chloe x Halle also performed "Do It" on the *Dear Class of 2020* virtual commencement event in early June 2020, as well as on *The Today Show*, and *Jimmy Kimmel Live!*. On August 30, the duo performed the title track, "Ungodly Hour", during the pre-show for the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards. Chloe x Halle performed the American national anthem at the kickoff game for the 2020 NFL season in September 2020. In early September 2020, Chloe x Halle released a remix of their single "Do It" featuring Doja Cat, City Girls and Mulatto. 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. On November 15, the duo performed the album's title track, "Ungodly Hour", at the 46th E! People's Choice Awards, where they were nominated for "Group of 2020". In December 2020, Chloe x Halle appeared in *The Disney Holiday Singalong* event and performed "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?". They shortly performed the songs "Don't Make It Harder On Me", "Baby Girl", "Do It", "Ungodly Hour" and "Wonder What She Thinks Of Me" at their NPR Tiny Desk Concerts in December 2020. They also performed "Baby Girl" at the 2020 *Billboard* Women in Music ceremony, where Beyoncé presented them with the Rising Star Award.

### Acting career

While in Georgia, Halle played her first minor acting role in *Last Holiday* (2006), with Chloe, starring Queen Latifah. The following year, Halle made an appearance in the American sitcom series *Tyler Perry's House of Payne* as Tiffany in the episode "Why Can't We Be Friends" from the first season.

In 2012, both Chloe and Halle made a cameo in the musical film *Let It Shine*, and the musical comedy-drama film *Joyful Noise*. In 2013, after being crowned by Radio Disney as the winners of the fifth season of *The Next Big Thing* in December 2012, the duo made a cameo appearance in the Disney series *Austin & Ally* performing the song "Unstoppable" in September 2013. They were also featured in Beyoncé's film *Lemonade* in 2016, for her visual album of the same name.

In 2018, the sisters were added to the cast of *Grown-ish* as series regulars, after initially signing on for recurring roles. Halle plays Skylar "Sky" Forster, with Chloe being the character's sister Jazlyn "Jazz" Forster.

In July 2019, Disney announced that Halle had been cast as Princess Ariel in the upcoming live-action remake of *The Little Mermaid*, set to be directed by Rob Marshall. She will also record and perform the soundtrack for the film. Halle Bailey's casting as Ariel caused a small amount of controversy, with some claiming that casting an African American in the role of Ariel was unfaithful to the original character. Facebook and Instagram pages dedicated to 'defending Ariel' began to spring up around this time, and would frequently share racist arguments against Halle's casting and stereotypical images of black women as mermaids. Disney responded to the public with an open letter defending their casting.

## Artistry

Just like her sister Chloe, Halle writes and arranges all of their songs in their home studio. They are also self-taught musicians. Halle enjoys jazz and has been listening to Billie Holiday from a young age. She has cited the singer as one of the major influences on her vocals.

## Discography

Main article: Chloe x Halle discography
* *The Kids Are Alright* (2018)
* *Ungodly Hour* (2020)

## Awards and nominations

For Chloe x Halle's awards and nominations, see List of awards and nominations.

## References

1. ↑ Starling, Lakin (September 8, 2020). "Chloe x Halle Cosmopolitan October 2020: 'Ungodly Hour,' Beyoncé, Quarantine". *Cosmopolitan*. Retrieved on March 22, 2021.
2. ↑ "Chloe x Halle Take The Sister Test". YouTube.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Beyoncé Protégés Chloe x Halle Prove 'The Kids Are Alright'". *Time*.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Meet the First Superstars of the Beyoncé Generation". *Vulture*.
5. ↑ "Disney's "Next Big Thing" Crowns Bailey Sisters as Season 5 Winners". *Vibe*.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Chloe x Halle Biography & History". AllMusic.
7. ↑ Chloe x Halle on Twitter: "Guess what guys?!?! We'll be on Disney Channel's "Austin and Ally" on September 15th performing our NEW song"
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Halle Bailey: Where You’ve Seen Disney’s New Little Mermaid Before". *CinemaBlend*.
9. ↑ "Chloe x Halle Artist Profile". AAE Music.
10. ↑ "Beyonce Enlists an All-Star Girl Squad for 'Lemonade' -- See the Powerful Cameos!". *ET Online*.
11. ↑ "Beyonce's 'Lemonade' Visual Album: Notable Cameos". *Billboard*.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "‘Grown-ish’: ‘Black-ish’ Spinoff Adds Francia Raisa & Jordan Buhat As Regulars, Chloe x Halle To Recur". *Deadline*.
13. ↑ "Who plays Sky in Grown-ish?". *PopBuzz*.
14. ↑ "Disney Finds 'Little Mermaid' Star in Singer Halle Bailey". *The Hollywood Reporter*.
15. ↑ "Halle Bailey Updated "Little Mermaid" Fans About What It's Like Recording the Music". *Teen Vogue*.
16. ↑ "Halle Bailey breaks her silence on 'Little Mermaid' casting backlash: 'I don't pay attention to the negativity'". *USA Today*.
17. ↑ "Halle Bailey On Overcoming Racism After The Little Mermaid Casting: 'Just Keep Pushing'". *People*.
18. ↑ "Halle Bailey responds to Little Mermaid criticism". *BBC News*.
19. ↑ "'Ariel...is a mermaid': Disney network defends casting black actress in live-action remake of classic film". *The Washington Post*.
20. ↑ "Halle Bailey: Where You’ve Seen Disney’s New Little Mermaid Before". *CinemaBlend*.
21. ↑ "Chloe x Halle Artist Profile". *AAE Music*.
22. ↑ "CHLOE X HALLE RELEASE DEBUT FULL-LENGTH ALBUM ‘THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT’ FROM PARKWOOD ENTERTAINMENT/COLUMBIA RECORDS TODAY". *Vents Magazine*.
23. ↑ "'Little Mermaid' Reboot Casts Halle Bailey as Ariel". *Variety*.
24. ↑ ""House of Payne" Why Can't We Be Friends (TV Episode 2007)". IMDb.
25. ↑ chloe x halle on Twitter: "Us on the Ellen Show earlier today! It was so fun :D".
26. ↑ chloe x halle on Twitter: "Guess what guys?!?! We'll be on Disney Channel's "Austin and Ally" on September 15th performing our NEW song...".
27. ↑ "Beyonce Enlists an All-Star Girl Squad for 'Lemonade' -- See the Powerful Cameos!". *Entertainment Tonight*.
28. ↑ "Nick Cannon's Wild 'N Out". Radio Times.
29. ↑ "Chloe x Halle Sing "Almost There" on Disney Family Singalong". *Harper's Bazaar*.
30. ↑ "Chloe x Halle Do Frozen in Disney Holiday Singalong Clip". *E! Online*.
31. ↑ "NAACP Image Awards: 'Harriet' Leads Film Nominations With 10". *The Hollywood Reporter*.

## External links

* Halle Bailey on Instagram
* Halle Bailey on Twitter