Chlöe Bailey’s Comments About Body Confidence Speak To The Power Of Beyoncé

When it comes to Chlöe Bailey, Beyoncé is much more than an esteemed producer or musical influence. Yes, Chlöe and her sister, Halle, first caught Queen Bey’s attention with their cover of “Pretty Hurts” in 2013 — and in the years that followed, Beyoncé helped foster their professional music careers by welcoming them to Parkwood Entertainment. But as Chlöe revealed in a January interview with In The Know, the “Be Alive” singer was a source of personal inspiration well before she could officially be called “mentor.”

“I can honestly and genuinely say it was Beyoncé who made me look at my body and say maybe it is okay to have my body. Maybe it is okay to have a plump butt. Maybe it is okay to have to shake and jump to fit in my jeans,” Chlöe told the outlet. “During the ‘Bootylicious’ era, I would go and see her flaunting her curves and be like, ‘She looks damn good!’”

In the cover story, Chlöe also pointed to Beyoncé as one of several notable women (along with Kelis, Donna Summer, and Nina Simone) who have been “powerful in the skin that [they’re] in,” influencing Chlöe to do the same as a woman — and musician — today.

“I just have to give kudos to every woman who’s inspired me, every one of my peers right now who’s saying, ‘I love my body. I feel sexy,’” Chlöe continued. “When I hear the word ‘sexy,’ when I want to be sexy, when I want to feel sexy, I don’t really think of that as a bad thing. I don’t think of it as being promiscuous. That’s just being confident.”

Chlöe, who acknowledged that “any Black, beautiful woman,” faces scrutiny over her body, said she’s still working on feeling fully empowered. “I don’t think insecurities or pinpointing your body will ever go away no matter how confident you might seem,” she told In The Know. But there is one place where those insecurities fade away, Chlöe said. And it’s maybe not all that surprising.

“When I make music, and I am on the stage, that’s where I feel 1,000% confident,” she said. “Any other time, I feel very insecure and small. The music fills me up, but also seeing these beautiful, bright souls liking and being around me. That’s what also fills me up.”

More time on the stage is in Chlöe’s future. In August, she shared with Billboard that she was “90% done” with her still-unnamed debut solo album and had “been fun finding [her] voice” through working on it. She also noted she was “wrapping it up with such bad b*tch energy” and hoped to inspire others.

“[I hope] that when people look at me, they look at themselves and they’re like, ‘I can be myself completely and unapologetically, no matter what the world says,’” she told Billboard. “No matter if people are saying I’m doing too much, it’s OK, because that’s who I am. I’m not forcing it or being anyone different.”

Beyoncé should be proud.