It’s #SisterhoodSaturday here at The Glow Up, so it’s only natural to feature one of our favorite sister-acts, Chloe x Halle (aka Chloe and Halle Bailey), whose premier album, The Kids Are Alright, debuted Friday.
Frankly, it seems like just yesterday that we were watching these two as preteens, performing lushly harmonic YouTube covers of popular songs. Fortunately, one of those covers was of Beyoncé’s 2013 hit “Pretty Hurts,” which not only caught the diva’s attention but also prompted her to swiftly sign them to her Parkwood Entertainment imprint and begin the development process for her young protégées. (Because Bey knows a good business investment when she sees one.)
Just a little over four years later, it may seem as if Chloe x Halle’s debut album has been a long time coming. But consider this: They released a five-song EP called Sugar Symphony in 2016, swiftly followed by the experimental 16-demo track teaser The Two of Us in 2017. Both show the clear evolution of the duo’s sound, at points evoking what the original lineup of Destiny’s Child might have sounded like had they stayed together. (Both are available on Chloe x Halle’s website.)
Of course, in that time, the sisters also made an on-screen appearance in Beyoncé’s visual album, Lemonade—and opened for her Formation World Tour. More recently, they’ve won our hearts with flawless comedic timing as twins Jazz and Sky Forster on the hit spinoff Grown-ish (for which they also penned and performed the theme song), showing themselves to be far more streetwise than their semisaccharine preteen personas once suggested.
On that note, they’ve also had time to grow up; younger sister Halle is now just shy of her 18th birthday on March 27, while big sis Chloe turns 20 in July.
So maybe the time is just right for Chloe x Halle, whose voices always seemed to have lived far beyond the sisters’ tender years. The Kids Are Alright is an eclectic, edgy and age-appropriate album full of #BlackGirlMagic anthems for Generation Z; and frankly, this Gen Xer got her entire life from it, too.
What can I say? It made me feel like a kid again. Is that all right?
The Glow Up tip: The Kids Are Alright is the perfect soundtrack for sundress season (or for working on that summer body). The album is out now on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon.com and, of course, Tidal.