Chayla Hope is pop’s next great voice. Making a name for herself in Cleveland’s music scene pressing vinyl at Gotta Groove Records, opening for acts like The Marías and collaborating with up-and-coming producer Jesty Beatz (aka Holy Mattress Money), her sophisticated take on the sounds of the ‘80s and ‘90s recalls the influence of Kate Bush, Lady Gaga, Annie Lennox and Robyn, marrying inventive arrangements with an impressive range and infectious spirit.
After years spent fronting and singing in alternative rock bands, including Emmy and multiple ADDY award-winning local favourites Seafair, pop is where Chayla was meant to be. “Pop is the music that raised me, the music my mom used to listen to while cleaning the house,” she says on planting her musical flag in the genre. “It’s always been there for me as an anchoring and joyful force. It is me.”
Throughout her life, Chayla has had to overcome obstacles like heartbreak and trauma by dressing up, performing, and powering through by sheer force of her artistic and creative vision. She has long been fascinated by the juxtaposition of happy music masking sad lyrics, exploring the complicated nature of human experience through its most common facet: feelings. Singles “Love in Lo-Fi,” “Falling,” “Forget Me Not” and “High”—all mixed by 10-time GRAMMY award winner Josh Gudwin (Bad Bunny, Justin Bieber, Dua Lipa)—are early tastes of her debut album Damn, Feelings, out October 28th.
A proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community who found her performance identity doing drag, it’s no surprise Chayla was selected to sing the theme song for Care Bears: Unlock The Magic and has numerous features in the show’s soundtrack and merchandise, embodying its core themes of empowerment, inclusion, and self-understanding through her music.
On the verge of finally releasing her highly anticipated debut album ‘Damn, Feelings’, Chaya shares another brand of her joyous and infectious electro pop with lead single ‘Alone’. Mixed by three-time GRAMMY award nominee Andrew Wuepper, known best for his work with Gudwin on Justin Beiber’s Purpose, as well as Iggy Azalea and the Free Nationals, brings out Chayla’s vocals and melody in full force in this powerful pop exploration.
“‘Alone’ is all about me working through my deep-seated fear of abandonment,” Hope says. “This was the song that not only proved to me that I could go solo, but that there was power in going it alone.”
Hope has a knack for finding those melodies that hit the sweet spot, making us think that we have heard these songs and vocals before as she has such an individual familiarity and charm which immediately grasps then holds your attention. ‘Alone’ is another single that stops you in your tracks; catchy, rhythmic and uplifting, it perfectly personifies Chayla Hope. Fans of MUNA and Christine and the Queens will be absolutely besotted by Chayla, and ‘Alone’ alongside her first LP, will be an ever resonating success in modern pop.
