Chl?e says she "broke down crying" the first time she read the ‘Swarm’ script
“The Jason Lee Show” keeps the big-name celebrities coming. On the latest episode, which aired Wednesday (May 24), host and famed blogger Jason Lee sat down with actress and Grammy Award-nominated singer and songwriter Chl?e Bailey.
The 24-year-old entertainer and star of the newest comedy “Praise This” stopped by to discuss several topics including catching Beyoncé’s attention and getting signed to her Parkwood Entertainment label, going solo, dealing with seemingly endless online criticisms, and much more.
Fans were introduced to Chl?e as one half of the musical duo Chloe x Halle with her younger sister and actress Halle Bailey. The pair released two studio projects including their 2020 Grammy-nominated sophomore album, Ungodly Hour. A year later, the two announced that they were taking time away to pursue individual ventures.
While many fans of the “Do It” singers were furious, Chl?e revealed to Lee that the conversation about parting ways with her longtime bandmate was “quite seamless, to be honest, and interesting at the same time.”
According to the “Body Do” chanteuse, the topic surfaced around the time Halle began filming in London for Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. “That was the first time where we had to go, ‘Okay, who am I without Halle and who am I without Chl?e?’ So that was really scary for us, to be honest with you,” she added.
During the eight months that the pair were apart – which was also due, in part, to the COVID-19 pandemic – Chl?e admitted that she buried herself in her work by making beats and different records. She had been hoping to save the new songs for the duo’s next project “but it was so personal and vulnerable” that she kept the new songs for herself instead.
Since going solo, the singer has also ventured off into more acting roles. Aside from appearing on “Grown-ish” and “Praise This,” the star also appeared in Donald Glover’s latest series “Swarm.” The dark comedy follows a young woman, Dre, played by actress Dominique Fishback, whose obsession with a pop star takes her on a murdering spree.
Chl?e, who plays Dre’s foster sister Marissa “Ris” Jackson, opened up about working with the cast and crew. She also shared that when she finished reading the first script, “I broke down crying.” Chl?e added, “Marissa, I feel, represents a lot of people who, on the outside, seem like a huge ball of sunshine, and on the inside, they are dying.”
The entertainer ultimately went viral thanks to a particularly steamy sex scene with actor Damson Idris, but she seemed to downplay its effect, telling Lee, “But if you think about it, you only really see the side of my hip and… of my little booty for two seconds,” while adding that “people like to pigeonhole me sometimes, which is fine, and that makes it even more fun to break outside of the box.”
Critics have not been easy on Chl?e, especially after her solo album In Pieces only sold 11,000 copies in its first week and debuted at No. 119 on Billboard’s Hot 200. However, it doesn’t seem like she’s letting the negative remarks get to her anymore as she declared, “I’m in this for the long haul – God willing.”
Elsewhere she added, “It only gives me the fuel to go harder. It only gives me the fuel to go harder at these shows that are selling out, and I hope everyone buckles up their seatbelts because this is just the beginning.”
She continued, “And instead of letting those things break me down – which I almost did – I’m like, ‘No. This just proves to me that I have everything, and I have what it takes.’ Because if you look back [at] all of the greats, nobody accepted them when they first came out. Everyone had s**t to say, every single one. Now they love them.”
When asked if she felt bad for how her mentor, Beyoncé, was singled out amid the backlash, the singer adamantly stated she never wanted the “Formation” singer to be blamed. “She’s one of the most incredible human beings; I never want her to be attacked,” she said. “And attacked on anything with me involved, of course. That’s never fun.”
The discussion didn’t stop there, the singer addressed allegations that she and rapper Gunna were once an item, her album, and of course Lee had many gifts for his guest star, and much more.
Like always, if you liked what you heard, tune into new episodes of “The Jason Lee Show” every Tuesday on REVOLT’s TV channel at 10 p.m. ET as well as every Wednesday on our website, YouTube Channel, and app at 5 p.m. ET. Also, don’t forget to watch the latest installment with Chl?e Bailey here.
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