Exploring The Other Side With R&B’s Newest It Girl, Chxrry22
Photo by @Ro.lexx
[UNPUBLISHED:] For any of the readers of Unpublished who might be new to your music, can you give a quick introduction to yourself and how you got started in your music career?
[CHXRRY22:] My name is Chxrry22 (pronounced Cherry) and I am from Toronto, Ontario. I actually have been singing pretty much my whole life. Both of my parents were in a choir, so they would make us sing a lot – all of our home videos are me and my brothers singing. We quickly realized I could actually sing pretty well, so I would sing for weddings and parties, and it's kind of how I made friends growing up. Fast forward to when I went to university, I hated it and I only did one semester. I actually did all right grades-wise, but I did not enjoy the idea of school anymore. I dropped out and I didn't really have a plan. One day I asked my friend to take pictures of me, and she was like, “Why don't you just sing instead?” We took a video, posted it, and then in one night I went from 400 followers to like 4,000. This was back in like 2017, so that was like a big deal back then. It was like the first time I had gotten any real attention online and we were so excited, so we did it again two weeks later on my birthday. That one did even better and people just started reaching out from all over. Now we’re here.
[UNPUBLISHED:] That is a crazy journey, especially with an overnight explosion into virality.
[CHXRRY22:] Back then it was also very rare that you could go viral like that. Now, it's obviously way more normalized, but when it happened to me it was just so cool. I was just very excited. It was that realization of “Oh, my God, I could be a singer.”
[UNPUBLISHED:] And now here you are! I love that. I also want to give you major congratulations on your two recent singles, “The Falls” and “Call Me” are both incredible. I also am super excited about your upcoming EP, The Other Side. With all of this excitement, how are you feeling?
[CHXRRY22:] I feel excited. I don't know how to explain it. When you're in it, it doesn't really feel real. It only feels real when people will come up to me like, “I love your song” or “I really like you!” That’s when it hits that people actually know me. Honestly, the reaction of everyone is the most rewarding part of all of this. I spent a good amount of time preparing The Other Side but I think the best part has been seeing how people receive it. Seeing like all the things people have manifested for me for so long now come to life, it’s so crazy. I never thought these things would happen, but they did. That’s the coolest part.
[UNPUBLISHED:] I want to dive a little bit into your two currently released singles. “The Falls” follows you through a journey that is talking about a lot of subjects, such as cheating and coming to terms with needing to leave a relationship. What was the process like creating that song for you?
[CHXRRY22:] I actually had been traveling back and forth from Toronto to Atlanta working with a lot of people. Working with so many people, it felt like I wasn't really saying what I wanted to say anymore. I felt like I wasn't being honest in my music, so one day I was in Atlanta and I sat down and just wrote about an actual experience. I immediately knew it was special and I knew that I wanted it to be on my project. I think it’s a really good introductory song to me and my music.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Your second single “Call Me” seems to continue through this idea as you're striving really for independence and keeping yourself from being tied down. Do those songs interact in that storyline?
[CHXRRY22:] Yeah, for sure. First off, I'm an Aries. That's like enough for me to explain. I really like my independence, and I don't like feeling smothered. I don't like anything that feels too attached. I think a lot of people feel that way, they just have a hard time saying it out loud because it makes you sound like a bad person, so I wanted to make a song that describes the way I feel. People have shit to do, I have shit to do, so “Call Me” is like the energy of “we can do this and then I'm gonna go.” After making it, it really made sense to me as the second single. It’s a natural progression to me.
[UNPUBLISHED:] That’s hilarious because when I was listening to your music, I immediately thought you had to be a fire sign. The energy is strong.
[CHXRRY22:] It’s really so obvious.
Photo by @Shamaal
[UNPUBLISHED:] So both singles have accompanying music videos that I am deeply obsessed with. They’re both really stunning in the fact that they have completely different visual experiences to immerse the viewer into your song and your energy. Do you have any fun stories or moments of inspiration from the shoot to share?
[CHXRRY22:] With “The Falls” being my first video, I had years of ideas ready to go. I wanted crazy production and a big immersive experience, so to see that executed was really cool. For “Call Me,” it couldn’t have been more different because it was actually just an on the fly photoshoot. We were just supposed to be taking pictures and then everyone was like, “Well, why don't you just just record a video now?” It was very random. We were hopping in and out of cars changing clothes, and I’m pretty sure we did my makeup in a Chinese restaurant. It was all on the fly, but I’m super happy that we pulled it off.
[UNPUBLISHED:] That’s so chaotic in the best way. Was the photoshoot supposed to be the promotional images for “Call Me” or something else entirely?
[CHXRRY22:] Honestly, no. I have a lot of friends who do really cool things and they happened to be in town, so we just set up a photo shoot. Then they happened to have a camcorder and we just started recording in the middle of the street. It was very awkward, but it came together.
[UNPUBLISHED:] I'm so super excited that both of these songs are on your upcoming EP, which I've gotten to listen to and I truly have not been able to turn off.
[CHXRRY22:] Oh my God. Have you? What's your favorite song?
[UNPUBLISHED:] Hmm. You’re putting me on the spot when I keep going back and forth. I think right now it’s “Wasteland,” but it might change by the time The Other Side releases. I love diving into projects and listening over and over, so it is hard for me to pick a favorite because I hear new production choices or lyrics on every listen that I hadn’t noticed before. Do you have a favorite on the EP?
[CHXRRY22:] I think I also have to say “Wasteland” for right now. It changes. “Call Me” used to be my favorite, but now I've heard it so many times and I am just so excited for the rest of the EP to be out that I’m leaning towards the other songs.
[UNPUBLISHED:] That’s fair. In terms of the EP as a whole, I know that you've been working on “The Falls” for a while, but how long did it take you to put together the entirety of The Other Side?
[CHXRRY22:] A month. My producer sat down in his room for a month and made the project into what it is now.
[UNPUBLISHED:] I honestly expected you to say a much longer period of time.
[CHXRRY22:] I've been working on music for years. When I met Bueno, it was very instant. I made him a playlist of songs that I wanted my project to sound like, and then when we made The Other Side into exactly what I wanted. It was so cool how perfect it was with the playlist, and he was like, “What playlist?” He had never even heard it. That's how much we just understood each other.
Photo by @Ro.lexx
[UNPUBLISHED:] What was on the playlist?
[CHXRRY22:] Lots of Lana Del Rey, but also a lot of different songs and artists. Honestly, there was no one particular style.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Interesting. You having so many different inspirations definitely comes through in your music. Is there certain inspiration that you were really trying to pull from outside of the playlist?
[CHXRRY22:] I think just being from Canada is my biggest inspiration. Growing up, we had one radio station that was R&B and hip hop. Other than that, it was a lot of soft pop and soft rock. I think that influenced the sounds that I chose and the production I chose. Also being able to show different sides of me was huge. I didn't want the whole project to just sound like one long song. I wanted it to be for different moods and different vibes. I would also say my cultural background being Ethiopian is major. A lot of Ethiopian music has certain sounds and differences in the way people sing. So if you go back and listen, you'll hear the similarities.
[UNPUBLISHED:] I didn't immediately clock that, but now that you're saying it, I'm excited to go back. I also love that the artists in Canada have really impacted you in that way. Just for a fun question, when you're not making music, what do you like to do in your free time?
[CHXRRY22:] Shopping. I have a real problem. I love shopping. I also like ice skating in the winter.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Do you have any favorite songs right now?
[CHXRRY22:] Rosalia just dropped a new song that I really liked. Also really loving the new albums from Brent and Steve Lacy.
[UNPUBLISHED:] As you've grown and changed throughout your music career so far, is there any advice that you wish that you had been given or advice that you had been given and wish you took?
[CHXRRY22:] Everyone tells me to stop worrying, but that's really fucking hard. I wish I could tell myself to stop worrying, whatever is meant to be will be. It sounds like bullshit but it's honestly true. It's already been written. But, in reality, I'll never stop worrying.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Do you have any self care that you like to do when you’re really worried?
[CHXRRY22:] I probably shop. I have learned that if I do something creative I feel better. Or I go on TikTok, which is just another world of distraction for me.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Is there anything else you want the readers to know?
[CHXRRY22:] I really hope you like The Other Side and I really hope you stick around for the rest of this ride. There’s more coming.
Photo by Gunner Stahl