Taking over by storm with the release of her heartfelt ballad, “Blueberry Skies”, and dominating the South African Spotify charts, Australian singer-songwriter CHIRAI couldn’t have announced her arrival any better. Poised to heal the world with the vision of making it a better place with the wholesome remedy of joy and happiness, the warbler has only just begun to carve her place on the map.
CHIRAI spoke about the early influences in her childhood that led her to make music.
“I grew up in a music-loving household. My dad is a reverend, so I grew up singing in the church choir, much like a lot of vocalists out there. I grew a lot in that experience and also in my love for music, and through different endeavours, I’ve always found myself coming back to music. After I graduated, I begged my parents to let me move to New York to Juilliard to study music and become a singer. They refused and told me that I’d be getting a degree instead, and so I ended up staying in Australia to study while pursuing music on the side,” she said.
CHIRAI | SUPPLIED
She recently released her single, “Blueberry Skies”, a summery ballad that celebrates the beauty of love and cherishes the wonder of a serendipitous connection that promises to last a lifetime. She shared how the song came about.
“I wrote ‘Blueberry Skies’ around late last year, and I was in a happy, whimsical state. I had fallen in love at the time, and everything I wrote was based on my feelings reflective of what was happening within me at the time. That magical feeling of reality and imagination blurring into one when you’ve just met someone you think you can spend the rest of your life with was the main inspiration. Those euphoric feelings of happiness and joy that come from falling in love, I wanted to put all of those things into one song.
“There were other things that helped me shape the song, one of them being a poem called ‘Blue’ by Lang Leav. I also thought about what type of song I wanted to use as references, so what’s in the intro and outro is ‘Chapel of Love’ by The Dixie Cups, which helped me to create a world where blueberry skies exist,” she said.
Check out “Blueberry Skies”:
With the single doing rounds on streaming platforms, CHIRAI talked about near-future prospects, including the release of an extended play and more music, including some treats for the eyes.
“At this stage, my team and I have been working on the next couple of rollouts connected to the EP that will be dropping. There’s also another single that will be coming out after this one, and visuals that will accompany both—long and short form. So there are lots of exciting things on the horizon in terms of what will be coming from the creative side. I also hope to be on the road and performing as well very soon or later on in the year, hopefully,” she said.
CHIRAI shared that her aim was to capture the meaning of life and the joie de vivre, translating it into music for her followers.
“I think every person has their own voice and their own message that they will be bringing into the industry. As musicians, a lot of us sing about love and life. But when I look at my main purpose, when I make music, I want to make people feel less alone with it, and I hope it makes my listeners recognise the beauty of life and what a beautiful thing it is to be alive. Even on days and times when it doesn’t feel like it, there are ways to find joy and things to be happy about, and I want my music to help people get to that stage,” she said.
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CHIRAI showed love to her fandom—one she has affectionately dubbed The CHIRAI Kingdom—and their infectious energy of spreading good vibes.
“Because it’s still early days, when I look at what I’ve managed to build so far, I’d like to credit my fanbase—the people who have rallied behind me and helped me to pioneer a lot of what I’ve become. The community behind me are such a beautiful group of people. When I look at the TikToks, the reels and the creations I’ve seen from them based on my music, everything has been so beautiful and way more than what I anticipated. This CHIRAI Kingdom is a community of people who want to spread joy, happiness, and love, and it’s something that excites me because I feel like it’s beyond me,” she said.
In the fast-paced digital world of doom-scrolling and falling into a zombie-like trance of running through reels and text-based posts, CHIRAI talked about the value of slowing down and taking a moment to touch grass.
“I always try to put myself in positions where I allow myself to be calm and peaceful in order to experience what’s going on. Sobering myself. With social media being where it’s at and having so many things thrown in our face. I really like to sit and read a book or just go to the park and sit and not do anything apart from just existing in the quiet. Because it’s in the quiet, when there’s not much being thrown at you, that I get most of my inspirations,” she said.
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The songstress wrapped up by sharing her sentiments on exploring different musical terrains.
“There are so many songs I have in the vault that I have written or worked on that touch on many genres. I think music is fluid, and its creation should match that quality. I’m a believer in the idea that boxing ourselves can be limiting at times, and some of my favourite records are those that play with different genres. For example, I love Rihanna’s Anti, and on it she plays with different sounds, and so when I look at myself, that’s how I wish my music would be,” she said.
