There is something rather exciting about watching an artist continue to evolve without ever seeming too comfortable in one particular lane. Chloe Qisha is doing exactly that, and with her new music while continuing to gain momentum. I’m increasingly curious to see just how far this alt-pop journey can take her.
Having wrapped her summer festival season with a performance on The Ballroom stage at Reading & Leeds over the August Bank Holiday. Chloe is now back with another taste of her forthcoming “Fantasize” mixtape, due October 30th. The project is shaping up to be a wonderfully unpredictable collection, and new single “Question of the Day” certainly adds another intriguing piece to the puzzle.
I actually rather like the decision to make “Fantasize” a mixtape rather than an album. It feels very Chloe. There is room to experiment, switch things up and wander wherever the music takes her. We’ve already had hints of that through “Baby Girl” and “Surprise Surprise”, which lean into indie-rock and acoustic balladry. Whereas “So Sad So Hot” and “YDH” have showcased a more obvious pop sensibility.
Then came “Question of the Day”.
I’ll admit, the first time I heard it, Dua Lipa immediately sprang to mind. That comparison caught me slightly off guard because one of the things I’ve always enjoyed about Chloe is her individuality. But perhaps this is simply another side of her artistry emerging.
Working with producer ILYA (“Problem” – Ariana Grande) alongside songwriters Julia Michaels (“Sorry” – Justin Bieber) and Steph Jones (“Espresso” – Sabrina Carpenter), Chloe has clearly dipped her toes further into mainstream pop territory — and, actually, she seems rather comfortable there.
“We only had a couple hours left, and we were all hitting a wall. So when we were asking each other what we were going to do after the session, Julia Michaels jokingly started chanting ‘Question Of The Day… what are you going to eat for dinner?’ ‘Question Of The Day… etc.’. Ilya started playing the bass while she chanted. And I think someone then said ‘the bedroom or the parking lot?’. Steph, Julia and I then passed around the microphone and started riffing/toplining each section. In the original demo you can actually hear me on the verse, Julia in the pre chorus, Steph in the second verse and all of us singing gang vocals in the chorus.”
She aded, “She’s the most inquisitive of my “Fantasize” girls, so many questions! This song was born out of pure giggles, thank you to the dream team ILYA, Julia Michaels, Steph Jones, Jason Gill and the best Cameron Gower Poole! And a huge shout out to my boys bedroom for being the goats as usual. We have some more really exciting stuff that we’re cooking up in the next few weeks.”
The “Fantasize” mixtape lands October 30th — the very same day Chloe headlines Heaven in London. And with “Question of the Day” potentially giving her profile another sizeable nudge, I can’t help wondering whether Chloe Qisha is now standing on the threshold of something bigger.
Could packed-out smaller rooms soon become a thing of the past? I certainly hope so. After all, every rising pop star needs a few good questions before finding their answer — and Chloe might just have found hers on the dancefloor.
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