Wonderland.

New Noise: Cherée

Getting to know the BRIT School alum.

North London’s Cherée is destined for great things. The previous BRIT School attendee burst onto the scene last year with her debut single “Please” and her skill in her craft was clear. With a throwback R&B style, her soulful voice glided over the retro-vibes of the track, creating something moving and beautiful. Influenced by her Scandinavian and Ghanian heritage, along with growing up in North London, her sound was rich and stunning, showcasing her sugar sweet vocals.

Cherée is now back with her newest offering, “I Will Be There”. With her signature vocal tones, and captivating songwriting, it’s an excellent showcase of her growing talent. Incorporating synths and electronic beats, the track is a glimmering R&B soundscape with intoxicating electro elements.

Set for greatness, we sat down with the up and coming star to find out all about her.

When did you first realise you wanted to pursue music as a career?

I would make up songs and dance routines in the playground in primary school. I had note books full of lyrics. I can remember watching Mya, Aaliyah and Beyonce music videos and thinking I want to do that. I guess being that young, I realised I loved to write and sing and perform but I don’t think it occurred to me that it could be an actual career until I was older.

What inspired your forthcoming single, “I Will Be There”?

Wanting to remind myself of my worth and just say bye to trash guys without feeling like my vulnerability was a weakness.

Can you tell us a bit about the creative process behind “I Will Be There”?

I got sent the instrumental by El Train and at the time I was writing a lot just as a venting process. I wrote to the track pretty quickly and then put down the vocals in one session, he made a couple more tweaks after that but pretty much it was one of the fastest tracks I’ve put together since I’ve been recording. Probably because it was still very relevant to me at the time of recording so it naturally flowed into place.

“I think being in BRIT [School] just allowed me to have the time to feel passionate and look at music in a focused way. Learning certain things made me have the confidence to perform better and just appreciate songs.”

What musical genres inspire you the most?

Hip-Hop, Soul and Contemporary RnB. The artists I listened to as a child were influenced by my parents and sister, so it was a lot of Whitney Houston, Sade, Eva Cassidy, Michael Jackson, Etta James, Luther Vandross, all that stuff from my parents and then Aaliyah, Biggie, 2Pac from my sister but as I got older I got deeper into Hip-Hop and then inspired by a lot of artists that are more contemporary, like Kelis, Pharrell, Frank Ocean or James Blake.

As a graduate of the BRIT school, how do you feel your experience there helped develop your sound?

It’s been a couple years since I left now but it definitely opened up my musical palette, I discovered music that I now love just because of other students and friends who were into things so different from me. I think being in BRIT [School] just allowed me to have the time to feel passionate and look at music in a focused way. Learning certain things made me have the confidence to perform better and just appreciate songs. I started to want to develop my song writing skills and focus on the writing of artists I loved, like Amy Winehouse or Andre 3000 and really listen to them as lyricists.

Describe your sound in three words…

Growing, Lustful, Nostalgic.

What else do you have lined up for this year?

I just want to put out more music and show people how my sound has been developing. I definitely want to perform, so hopefully I’ll be seeing you at a show soon.

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