Halle Bailey, the younger half of singing sister duo Chloe x Halle broke the internet
when it was announced that she'd play Ariel in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.
But what else do we need to know about her?
"Hey guys, it's Chloe."
"And Halle."
Plenty of people were delighted when Halle Bailey was cast as Ariel in Disney's live-action
remake of animated classic The Little Mermaid, and there's little doubt about her ability
to crush the role.
After all, she's graced with the voice of an angel, and Ariel is a role that's all about
the voice.
In response to the casting news, plenty of more established celebs tweeted their congratulations.
Mariah Carey wrote,
"My kids and I are so excited for the emancipation of Ariel",
….while Janelle Monáe tweeted,
"Our Ariel...PERFECT choice...congratssss Halle my love".
Another famous Halle, Halle Berry, also joined in on the conversation, writing:
"In case you needed a reminder...Halles get it DONE.
Congratulations...on this amazing opportunity, we can’t wait to see what you do!"
In response to that comment, Halle Bailey wrote:
"This means the world.
Happy to share names with you.
Love you lots."
Unfortunately, some people couldn't help but be openly upset with the casting choice, not
because of Bailey's acting ability, but because of the color of her skin.
To that end, the hashtag #NotMyAriel started trending on Twitter.
People complained that the live-action Ariel should be fair-skinned with blue eyes and
red hair.
As you can imagine, the campaign was pretty gross.
"'This isn't about racism, we just want an Ariel that looks like the Ariel we love' and
'Stop ruining the classics.'"
In response to the backlash, the Disney-owned cable network Freeform published an open letter
on Instagram firmly standing by the casting choice, cleverly addressing the people complaining
as being "Poor, Unfortunate Souls."
The post read in part,
"The character of Ariel is a work of fiction.
So after all of this is said and done, and you still cannot get past the idea that choosing
the incredible, sensational, highly-talented, gorgeous Halle Bailey is anything other than
the INSPIRED casting that it is because she 'doesn't look like the cartoon one,' oh boy,
do I have some news for you…about you."
Are you wondering why Halle Bailey looks so familiar, but can't quite place where you
may have seen her?
It might help to know that she and her sister have recurring roles on the hit sitcom Grown-ish.
"You practice a little bit of it every day.
And you know, you can't get curl and life goals in one weekend."
"Wow, you're right."
According to Halle, co-starring on the show has been an incredible experience.
In an interview with Vulture, she revealed:
"Grown-ish actually came about really naturally and organic.
We always hang out with our friend Yara, and the show's executive producer, Kenya Barris,
saw us onstage at the BET Awards accepting for Beyoncé.
He said that was when the light went off in his head for us to be on the show."
Hey, it must be awfully nice to be on a first name basis with Yara Shahidi.
Even though Grown-ish is quite the cultural sensation, Bailey and her sister didn't freak
out when they were cast in the show.
Halle explained to Vulture:
"We entered the whole project with open arms and no expectations.
It ended up being beautiful and it never feels like work."
Halle Bailey has loved performing since she was very young.
Growing up in Atlanta, she and her sister Chloe would play together at gigs, and it
was something the two of them always wanted to do professionally.
But it was YouTube that ended up making them famous.
As she explained to Sister Circle Live:
"When we started posting YouTube covers, we realized we were gaining a wonderful group
of fans, and we were so grateful for them.
And, you know, we constantly pinch ourselves every day."
What really put the duo on the map was their cover of Beyoncé's "Best Thing I Never Had"
that blew up when Halle was only 11 years old and Chloe was 13.
Talk about an early start.
Neither of the sisters thought they'd go viral with the performance, but that's exactly what
happened.
In an interview with Time magazine, Chloe said:
"We didn’t expect much; we were happy about the first 100 views.
But then our covers started blowing up.
From there we went to The Ellen Show, we did some stuff with Radio Disney, and then we
just kept singing our hearts out and it opened up so many doors for us."
It's an experience that sounds both totally surrea, and like a dream come true.
Beyoncé has been instrumental in Halle Bailey's ascent to fame.
In fact, she reached out to the sisters shortly after hearing their YouTube covers.
From there, she signed them to her record label, Parkwood Entertainment.
"She's just a great role model in every aspect of life."
"Best advice she's given you at this point?"
"Just believe in yourself, really."
Beyoncé has also been a personal mentor to the Bailey sisters.
In an interview with Time magazine, Halle revealed:
"Beyoncé has always relayed that same message to us: your music is ahead of its time, and
it's beautiful in that way, and we need more of that.
Because our music is not the status quo, it's not like everything you hear."
Beyoncé also told Halle and Chloe to stay confident.
As Chloe explained:
"One of the things [Beyoncé] says is to let the world catch up to you; don't dumb down
your art.
As fans of hers and two young girls, hearing that from her was an 'aha' moment, and a confirmation
that we were headed in the right direction."
Let's be real: if Beyoncé offers you some career advice after giving you and your sister
a big career boost, you'd be a fool not to listen, right?
Given how polished and professional-sounding the Bailey sisters' songs are, you'd think
they have a super posh environment to develop their ideas in.
But in true Gen Z fashion, they embrace the same DIY spirit of fellow contemporaries like
Billie Eilish.
In an interview with Vulture, Halle revealed:
"We write all of our songs from our living room.
It's fun for us."
She also said,
"We...feel like this generation is on this wave of learning how to do things on our own
and learning how to stand up for ourselves.
It's a big thing for us."
Given that practically the whole world is watching her career develop now, it's kind
of a big deal for everyone.
After it became clear that Bailey and her sister were destined for pop culture success,
the Bailey family had to get strategic about their next steps.
So what do you do when you're on the threshold of becoming the next big thing?
Naturally, you go where the work is.
In a 2018 interview with Time magazine, Halle revealed:
"We moved to L.A. about five and a half years ago on the dream of living out what we want
to do.
We knew that being out here was definitely better for the music scene."
Sounds like the City of Angels was the best place for them to nurture their talents.
But the Bailey sisters didn't go on their own: this was a family affair, and it's worked
out exceedingly well for everyone.
As Halle explained:
"Our mom and dad made the decision to move us with our family.
We instantly fell in love; the sun was shining.
It makes you a happier person."
"Halle loves the sun."
"I love the sun."
"All things heat."
What can we say?
Vitamin D is a powerful thing.
Both Bailey and her sister are talented at what they do.
What makes them more impressive is that both girls are self-taught musicians.
In an interview with The Grio, Halle revealed:
"Ever since we were young girls our parents have always said to us, you can always do
it yourself, you can figure things out...So we were like, 'Okay, we'll make our own stuff.'
And learn how to play our own instruments..."
It sounds like the whole process was pretty organic for the sisters, who both had a natural
inclination to work on their projects together while growing up.
Halle told The Grio:
"Really it just happened with us growing and getting to know ourselves as young girls and
young women.
It was just a beautiful thing and we just feel like we can do anything we put our minds
to."
For her young age, Halle Bailey has an impressive list of accomplishments under her belt, from
her acting work to her musical successes to her roster of super-famous fans.
But she also knows some people have been a bit dismissive of her and her sister.
In an interview with Vulture, she explained:
"There has been underestimation at the front door, and that's bound to be there since our
appearance is these small, young girls.
Most people just expect you to go in and write a Disney song."
Ironically, she'll be singing quite a few Disney songs in The Little Mermaid, but yeah,
we get her point.
Fortunately, Halle doesn't take any of that too personally, and she doesn't let it get
her down, either.
Instead, she enjoys rising to the challenge.
As she told Vulture:
"It's fun for us to prove ourselves.
Once we put our foot in the door and shove it open, it's exciting for us to see people's
reaction.
They realize that we can do this."
You'd think Halle and Chloe would get tired of each other from working together so closely
all the time.
But even though Halle is taking on the role of Ariel by herself, she and her sister really
are super close, both as family members, and as collaborating artists.
Look at how well they get along:
"Maverick."
"Maverick!"
"Yeah… you can lead the way, I'll follow."
Chloe isn't at all shy about showing admiration for her sister.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, she said:
"In rehearsals I'll just see her freestyling and doing all these incredible acrobatics
on the guitar, and I'm like, 'Whoa, that's my sister.
I'm so proud of her."
It doesn't get much more wholesome than that, does it?
The feeling is mutual, too, as Halle has said some seriously kind words about Chloe as well.
She captioned one post on Instagram:
"sister, you have no idea how much you light up this world.
your genius, your creativity, and infinite love and positivity continues to make the
world a much better place."
The Bailey sisters have a wide variety of musical influences, as evidenced by the artists
they cover on their YouTube channel.
Besides Beyoncé, Chloe and Halle have covered songs from Rihanna, Lorde, and Cardi B, showing
the breadth and depth of their mutual music collection.
But Halle cites one artist in particular as being an especially important personal hero.
In an interview with Time magazine, she revealed:
"In terms of music, I've always been inspired by jazz.
Billie Holiday is one of my biggest influences."
That totally makes sense when you hear her unique vocal style.
Turns out, Halle has been a fan of the legendary singer's work for years.
She told Time:
"I discovered her voice when I was 5 years old.
Just that sound she emits and the feeling she gives you is pure love and joy and relaxation.
I feel like I’ve taken those melodies that she’s given me and incorporated them into
my repertoire."
And it's true: You can totally hear the influence when you hear Halle sing, and it's one that
may well be carried over to her Ariel interpretation in the live-action Little Mermaid.
Like many of her contemporaries, Bailey believes in the power of young people and isn't afraid
to tell the world about it.
In an interview with Time magazine, she said:
"We feel like the youth are definitely going to make a change in everything that we're
doing.
We're just happy to be a part of that conversation and use our art as a gateway for people to
see our message of love and empowerment."
Way to bring some real positivity into the world.
Bailey also hopes her powerful voice gives life to others.
She told TIme:
"We hope it inspires other young people.
I hope it's a ripple effect."
We hope so too.
"Don't be afraid.
You're magical.
You hold so much power in your hands."
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