Chloe George’s
Viral TikTok Moment Made Her Pop Music’s One To Watch
By Chichi Valle-Riestra
Photo Credit: Anna Koblish
Singer/Songwriter Chloe George is the latest Bay Area native to achieve social media virality. Influenced by her parent’s love of music, the artist rose to fame after posting a TikTok cover of Kanye West’s “Ghost Town” earlier this year. The delicate version of the song quickly became a Gen-Z staple, currently featured in over 70k TikTok videos and recently surpassing 47M Spotify streams.
“Seeing a number that big is such a weird feeling,” Chloe said. “But it feels good knowing it came from me just making something I loved and connected to in the first place.”
The artist has continued to use social media to connect with others by being her most authentic self. Often accompanied by her piano, much of Chloe's content consists of song covers and teasing original music, both of which highlight her distinct vocal tone and masterful songwriting prowess.
Her two singles, “Peachi” and “The Door,” have been met with similar critical acclaim. As 2021 comes to a close, we speak to the artist about new music, her rise to TikTok fame, and plans for the new year!
Hi Chloe! Thanks so much for speaking with us, and congrats on the new single! How are you feeling now that it’s out?
Hi! Thank you so much, I’m feeling great! It so good to have this one out–it’s super special to me.
A lot of successful artists were also born in the Bay Area. How do you think that environment has influenced your artistry and bred such incredible talent?
I feel so lucky to be from the Bay–it’s a very inspiring place to grow up, and it definitely positively affected my songwriting. I always felt like art and creativity were encouraged in and outside of school, and I think I became aware of the music that had come from the area at a really young age. Both of my parents went to high school in the Bay in the ’70s and are very much products of the music/events that were around at that time. My dad is a huge Grateful Dead fan, and would always show me new songs he used to listen to or tell me stories from Day on the Green and shows at the Fillmore. When I started getting into music for myself, I got into artists like Andre Nickatina, Mac Dre, and E-40. I think because there are so many artists that come from the Bay that span across so many different genres, it always allowed me to think of music as a real possibility in my life and not just a hobby.
What type of music did you listen to during adolescence? Do you think this has influenced your vocals and sound production?
My music taste was inspired by what my parents listened to for a while–lots of Carole King, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Grateful Dead, Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon, Led Zeppelin, which I definitely hear in my music from time to time. Growing up, the music I listened to was always a mix of singer/songwriter/folk and r&b/jazz. I think my melodies definitely stem from my r&b influences, and my lyrics are more inspired by my folkier influences. I lost my shit over Ella Fitzgerald when I was like 8–I literally wrote a whole-ass book report on her lol. I was so obsessed with the way she used her voice and the melodies she pulled out of nowhere, I definitely think she has a huge influence on the way I view singing and melody. At this same time, I got really into Parachutes by Coldplay and Lauryn Hill. Looking back, these three artists are a huge reason why I gravitate toward the music I make now!
On your social media, you often post videos of yourself singing while playing the piano. What other instruments can you play (or love the sound of) and how did you learn?
Yeessss. I took guitar lessons for a sec in high school—I can play basic chords, nothing crazy. I also play ukulele from time to time but have no idea what I’m doing lol. I’ve always gravitated toward piano because it’s the easiest for me to learn things by ear. I honestly don’t know what chords I’m playing whenever I’m writing, which I kinda like because I don’t ever feel like there are any rules or theories that get in my head when I’m making something. I think I’ve just gotten better and better at playing piano by making covers. Growing up, if there was a song I was obsessed with, I would just sing it over and over again until I found the chords that I felt fit the best under it. Sometimes they were the right ones, and sometimes they were completely different, and I would realize I had accidentally stumbled into making a song my own in a way that is always dope.
You went extremely viral when releasing your cover of Kanye West’s song “Ghost Town”, but your success did not end there. How did you crack the code of using platforms such as TikTok to maximize visibility for yourself as an artist, especially when you released your follow-up single “Peachi”?
I think TikTok is such a crazy place hahah–having that experience with “Ghost Town” honestly just reaffirmed how I looked at social media in the first place. I feel like everyone just wants to connect to people they see themselves in, so I never wanted to do anything that felt unnatural or weird to me when I started to promote my own music. With “Peachi”, it was weird since the only thing I had out was this super-viral random song haha. I definitely had to do the whole: “Hey, I did that thing, and now I have another thing that’s out if you wanna hear it.” I’m not the best at promoting myself, but I’ve just been hella open about that on TikTok and shit, and I feel like that’s when I’ve felt the most connected to people that listen to my music.
How did you come up with the “Peachi” music video? Explain the process. What inspired you?
I did that video with Callum Walker Hutchinson, whose work I had loved for a year at that point. I knew that I wanted the video to lean into the dreamier aspects of the song, but in a more mundane setting, and then Callum took that and ran. He came up with a beautiful treatment that brought in the idea of having multiple rooms in what would represent my childhood house because that’s where I wrote the song. Each room was perfectly decorated thanks to the set designer Maya Sassoon, and Jonah George (DP) got so many amazing shots that made it feel like a fever dream in the best way. It was my first music video, and I’m so happy with how it came out
You have amassed over 1M monthly listeners on Spotify and millions of streams, did this shift the way you see music and the industry?
So nutty–I feel like if anything it allowed me to feel less tied to the music industry in a way. Most of those streams came from “Ghost Town”, which was just a random video I decided to post one day. It just reaffirmed my belief in the fact that music will connect with whoever it’s meant to connect with. Seeing a number that big is such a weird feeling, but it feels good knowing it came from me just making something I loved and connected to in the first place.
Do you feel any pressure from using social media? If so, how do you navigate the stress and keep it a positive place for your art?
Sometimes! There are definitely times where I forget to post about something or am like I should probably put something here lol. But I think it’s easy to navigate when I treat it like an extension of myself. Sometimes my friends from home and I will send each other videos with check-ins of random funny shit that happened to us, and I kinda look at social media like that. Like the need to constantly be relevant feels dumb, but the desire to connect with people over some stupid shit I did last weekend is very real–I never wanna lose sight of that.
Photo Credit: Anna Koblish
Your newest Indie Pop banger “The Door” is out now. It feels very nostalgic. What message do you want to convey to your audience and what do you want them to take away from it?
Definitely a very nostalgic song!! I think I just want people to be able to feel nostalgia for their own experiences through my writing. The lyrics are very personal and specific to me, but the overall feeling is one that everybody experiences at some point in their life. I hope people feel like they have a 3 ish minute opportunity to notice feelings they didn’t realize they were still carrying with them.
How does a songwriter like yourself continue to improve their writing and create songs others can relate to? Do you keep a journal or set of notes to reflect on?
I do keep a journal! Just for my anxiety and depression and shit lol, but I do stumble on a lot of ideas from journaling. I mainly just write shit in my notes app as I think it, and then I’ll randomly come back to different lyric ideas later. The biggest thing I think I learned this year was to not force it. I think I’ve become a better writer by writing less–that sounds backward, but I feel like the stuff I am writing is so much more fulfilling and real because I’m really taking my time with it.
You started recording songs and covers from your bedroom/home, what would you say to a young girl wanting to pursue a similar path as a DIY musician?
So cliche, but keep doing it! I feel like the second I stopped thinking about where I’m gonna end up or who’s gonna like what is when I started making some of my favorite songs. As long as you’re happy with what you’re doing at the moment, everything will fall into place.
Are your songs “Peachi” and “The Door” building up to a bigger project? Should we expect a debut EP or album coming soon? Explain any concepts you might have in mind.
There may be something coming…next year is gonna be very fun!
What song would you love to perform live and why?
I think the song I’m most excited to perform is one that is not out yet haha. But “Peachi” is so fun, I can’t wait to sing that one live.
Aside from music, do you have any hobbies, activities, or interests you frequently participate in or advocate for?
Yes! I really love cooking and baking, it makes me feel calm and fun like the little rat in Ratatouille. I’ve also started reading more lately, and that feels really good. I’m really passionate about women’s reproductive rights–Before Covid, my friend and I had started an abortion support group for women in the LA area. I definitely want to continue it in the new year!
Lastly, what can fans expect from you in 2022?
Just more! Lots of new music coming, hopefully, some live shit, and just more dumb videos. So stoked.