To Chloe x Halle, Riley and Jojo

I discovered 73 new artists, listened to 63 different genres of music, added 101 new songs to my playlist, and downloaded 37 new albums to my Spotify library. But only three artists had my eardrums going throughout the last quarter of this year.

Now if you don't know me well enough, then hi my name is Bethany and I'm a huge Christina Aguilera fan. I've mentioned her so many times throughout my previous Vocal stories, and she is one of my all-time favourite vocalists alongside Mariah Carey. I can't deny the fact that both Christina and Mariah were on repeat throughout my playlist this year, as their music helped me get through tough situations. I am also obsessed with modern-day pop music and artists such as Ariana Grande, Cardi B, Ella Mai, and Dua Lipa as they all delivered feel-good music that we definitely needed during this crazy pandemic. However, there was something unique and special that came from three completely different artists that made my music library ten times better due to their rare vocal ability and their style of music.

Chloe x Halle, Jojo and Riley

Jojo is definitely a name you've heard of before as she became the youngest person ever to have a number 1 billboard top 100 song when she was just fourteen with "Get Out, Leave Now" back in 2004. If you hear the song you most definitely will be familiar with the sound. Next you have Riley which is the stage name for Amber Riley as she is known for playing Mercedes Jones in the hit TV series Glee from 2009-2015. She's not known to be an artist but she dropped her first-ever EP titled Riley which gave me all the thrills. Finally there is Chloe x Halle, a duo sister group that has been releasing music since 2017 but made their breakthrough with one of my favourite albums of this year titled Ungodly Hour which had my body grooving non-stop.

Discovering and listening to these three artists has made me realize there are so many hidden voices buried on Spotify that don't get the attention they deserve. Hearing their sound and the lyrical content within their music was uplifting to hear, as all three have there own unique experiences and stories to tell through a range styles such as smooth contemporary R&B to hard hitting ballads that filled my ears with pleasure. I can't exactly remember how I came across these talented female artists, but one thing that I know for sure is that they have given me nothing but pure sweet music that I couldn't stop listening to. Chloe x Halle's album Ungodly Hour is all about their perfectly matched harmonies serenading together within the R&B rhythm throughout the entire album, whilst Riley kept her voice gentle in hip-pop tracks such as "BGE" and "Ride" but belted her vocal cords out in a sweet tribute to the late Naya Rivera in "A Moment". It was also nice hearing from Jojo after so many years as she still has that beautiful Massachusetts voice that we all lived for back in the early 2000's. I've noticed she has released a couple of albums and EP's within the last three years but her highly perceived album Good to Know that dropped in May of this year had me shattered in tears as I was shocked at how amazing her vocal ranges were.

But of course these memorizing albums and EP's have a broader meaning to them as all three artists gave me a variation of subject matters that are not known to be discussed in mainstream music. Out of the three Jojo had me drawn to the lyrics of her music as she mainly discussed the hardship she went as a young artist in the music industry and how her record label turned their back on her whilst she wanted more from her record deal. This subject matter is mainly heard in tracks such as "JOANNA" and "Proud". Whereas Riley broadly discussed how she's letting her faith lead the way and letting everything in her life fall into place without her being controlling over every situation that happens. But Chloe and Halle are simply about living their best life. Songs such "Baby Girl" and "ROYL" in Ungodly hour briefly touches on having the power over your ownership and how the world will always be yours to freely do whatever you want to do. In some way shape or form, if there was some way I could communicate my love for these albums to these artists then I would give them a short sweet message describing how their music made me feel. Majority of the songs by these artists are related to everyday situations which made me appreciate the fact these individuals are just like me.

So as we all know our Vocal stories are known to be found on search engines which means anybody outside of the Vocal community can scroll through your stories. So by further means, if either Chloe x Halle, Jojo or Riley find this story through the world wide web then I would want them to know how their music made me feel this year as all three gave me music that I needed to lightened up my spirit throughout the hardship of 2020. So here are just three small messages written by myself to each of these artists for them to know that there music is being listened to by someone that admires and appreciates them.

Jojo

It was finally good to know you.

I can see you were misunderstood by those two

But those two ended up being the entire crew,

These were bad habits the industry just couldn't brake

But yet on this planet those habits will always be forsake.

I see you still wanted a comeback after all these years,

So I spun back once you dropped an album souvenir.

It started off with you needing a man

But I just knew that wasn't your plan,

Then you talked about the small things through your span

So I figured those small flings were apart of Joanne,

Don't even talk about lonely hearts

Because my heart will always be with your path,

Then you had that one special kiss

But yet I'm still waiting for my wish.

Then it became gold when this album came to the throne,

Then you became bold and that's when you had me overblown,

But then you said don't talk me down

So I walk to town with that sound,

I guess I'm here to say I'm nothing but proud

But it looks like Riley will be coming around,

You will always be in my room on loud

Because there is nothing on zoom that has me like wow.

Riley

Riley I've always been on your ride

When I knew you were all about that Pride,

You proved that you could be a savage

And I just knew you were above average,

I hope this isn't temporary thing

Because I always will be creepin up when you sing,

That Big Girl Energy had me on replay

So I figured that type of energy will just have me saying OK!

But then you took it back to that hood living

Which opened my heart for me to be forgiving,

But it wasn't until that moment you had me in tears

But for you it was all about letting go of those fears,

I hope this EP builds to be a potential release,

But Chloe and Halle already have released their piece.

Chloe x Halle

Forgive me forgive me where have you've been on my screen,

My ears were never cleaned until you came onto the scene,

Ungodly Hour was such a power,

So you just had me singing in the shower,

Your brought me back to that friend of mine Troy

But then years later he became that busy boy,

I was overwhelmed by your harmonization

Then I discovered Beyonce will push it to world domination,

You had me worried when you both became a bit tipsy

So just be careful you don't end like those gypsy's,

You came onto the platform with you biggest hit

So I hope people realise that this how you do it,

I will never be lonely with your sweet melodies

Because I know you sing to all the Bethany's,

Now I'm encouraging everyone to catch up with your discography

Because in later years everyone will be reading your biography.

There's nothing better than listening to songs that you can relate to through words that are sung beautifully by incredible singers. In times where I was in my darkest moments, it always fulfilling to hear music that gave me hope and dignity so I can keep pushing on. From Christina to Beyonce they all enriched my ears with deep monumental ballads to feel good dance pop that kept me going through the months of the year. But discovering Jojo, Riley and Chloe x Halle towards the end of September just gave me the insight to all the hidden singers out there on Spotify that deliver powerful and relatable songs that we can escape our minds too at the end of each day. With these talented ladies releasing their music that elevates my mood, there couldn't be a better a way to finish off my year with songs that put me at ease and uplifts my pride to move forward into 2021.

To sum things ups, I hope this article gives you chance to listen and explore new artists in the same way I did with these four incredible female singers. Stepping into the new year I hope everyone listens to music that will make you feel a certain type of way so you can escape into another world of enriched rhythms and melodies. Listening to music is definitely a beautiful therapy that we all need to help us get through our everyday lives.

So with that being said and done I wish everyone at the Vocal team a happy new year and a massive thank for taking 36,000+ hours your time this year to read our stories. To every single creator that will read this story I hope next year will be your year to shine along with happy and fulfilling moments with or without Covid. May you also keep on writing brilliant stories to the Vocal community for everyone to read as no story on this platform goes unheard. Finally, to Chloe, Halle, Amber and Joanna I know you will be reading this one day so wish you nothing but the best for your musical careers and I will definitely be waiting in my bedroom to hear some more album drops.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Xoxo Bethany Gordon