New Chloe x Halle? At this ungodly hour? And featuring vocals by Swae Lee and production by Mike WiLL Made-It? Why, it’s precisely what the doctor ordered. The twin R&B starlets gave fans another preview of their sophomore album, Ungodly Hour, by releasing their collaboration with the “Sunflower” singer on Apr. 17, and anyone who has been sleeping on Chloe x Halle better “Catch Up.” It’s the perfect mix of alternative R&B, dance and trap, making it a versatile song to either groove or vibe to (or both).
The collab even arrived with a music video, which looked like it was taken straight from the on-stage visuals at an EDM festival. This fills the void that Coachella’s pushed-back date has left! Neon light beams danced across the screen as a digitally animated Swae sang on the screen, who had the images of Chloe and Halle Bailey tattooed on his chest.
Since releasing their debut EP, Sugar Symphony, in 2016, Halle and Chloe have grown up both physically (Halle is now 20, and Chloe turns 22 in July) but also sonically. Their Ungodly Hour album promises to offer a more mature sound than found on their debut LP, 2018’s The Kids Are Alright. It’s more grown; it’s sexy, it’s darker,” Halle said to PopSugar. “We’re not little kids anymore,” added Chloe. The sound has evolved into something that is “edgier, grittier,” something that PopSugar says would be heard “during an episode of Euphoria.”
As for the name, Ungodly Hour comes from a single studio session with English electro act Disclosure. “They are two brothers, and they’re literally like mirrors of us,” said Halle, of Gus and Howard Lawrence. The siblings worked together on the up-tempo title track, and Chloe said, “[Ungodly hour] was a phrase for that riff. We kind of spoke it into existence, you could say.” The follow-up was reportedly expected in May, per Genius, but since COVID-19 has delayed the release of countless albums, the timetable might have shifted.
Similarly, production on the live-action film adaptation of Disney’s The Little Mermaid was temporarily halted due to the coronavirus outbreak. This means that fans will have to wait a little longer to see Halle bring Ariel to life on the big screen, but her enthusiasm for the role hasn’t diminished. “It’s so overwhelming, and beautiful, and breathtaking,” she told PopSugar. “I’m like, ‘Wow, am I really doing this?'” She says she hopes to bring a “freshness” to the character, and that it’s been “amazing that the directors have been so forward in asking me to show my true self.”
It’s Halle’s first significant acting role without her sister (who she stars with, along with Yara Shahid) on grown-ish. Yet, fans will also see Chloe embark on her own solo acting project, a role in the supernatural thriller The Georgetown Project. She’ll star alongside Russell Crowe, Samantha Mathis, and David Hyde Pierce. “When I got the script, I fell in love with it. I was like, ‘I have to do this,'” she told Pop Sugar, adding that as a self-professed “scaredy-cat,” working on the film helped her conquer her fear of horror flicks. “I know how it works behind the scenes, so now when a scary movie trailer comes on, I don’t close my eyes.”