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The New Yorker Radio Hour

Chloe Bailey on Working Solo; and the Lost New Jersey Photos of Cartier-Bresson

The New Yorker Radio Hour

WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

Politics, Arts, News, Wnyc, Books, David, Storytelling, Society & Culture, Yorker, New, Remnick

4.26.2K Ratings

🗓️ 7 March 2023

⏱️ 25 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When they were just thirteen and eleven years old, sisters Chloe and Halle Bailey started posting videos of themselves singing on YouTube and quickly built a following. Their covers often went viral—their version of Beyoncé’s “Pretty Hurts” even caught the attention of Beyoncé, who brought them on tour as her opening act.  Now, with two albums and five Grammy nominations behind them, the sisters are for the first time working on separate projects: Halle is starring as Ariel in an upcoming remake of “The Little Mermaid,” and Chloe is releasing a solo album, “In Pieces,” later this month. Chloe Bailey spoke with the contributing writer Lauren Michele Jackson at the New Yorker Festival in October about the mixed blessing of social-media stardom. “When we program our minds to think about being No. 1 … it really suffocates you and it stifles the process,” she says. “Right now, I’m just creating to be creating, and I have never felt more free.”  Plus, the lost New Jersey photographs of Henri Cartier-Bresson. In 1975, the French master photographer spent a month documenting New Jersey, which he called a “shortcut to America.” Why did the pictures disappear?

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is The New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker.

0:10.0

This is The New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick.

0:13.7

When they were just 13 and 11 years old, Chloe and Hallie Bailey started posting videos of themselves singing on YouTube.

0:21.6

Hey, what's up you guys? I'm Chloe and I'm Hallie.

0:24.6

And you all have requested so many songs and we want to thank you for that.

0:28.6

Yes. But the way you all have requested the most was rolling in the deep by a down.

0:32.6

There's a fire songing in my heart

0:37.8

Reaching all people

0:39.7

Pitching me out the dark

0:41.8

Chloe and Hallett

0:43.0

That's how they build themselves

0:44.4

Quickly build to following

0:45.9

Their cover versions of other artist's songs

0:48.3

Often went viral

0:50.0

A cover of Beyonce's Pretty Hertz

0:52.5

Caught the attention

0:53.8

Of Beyonce herself.

0:56.2

But Chloe and Halley were thinking a lot bigger than just going viral for a and fakes your teeth, but you wear.

1:11.2

But Chloe and Halley were thinking a lot bigger

1:13.6

than just going viral for a hot second.

1:15.6

They wanted to build a career, and they did so,

1:19.1

owing in part to Chloe's producing of their songs,

...

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