Meet Singer-Songwriter And Footballer Chelcee Grimes
Chelcee Grimes isn’t your average up and coming artist. Before starting her career as music talent, Grimes made her debut in football. From the age of 10 to 16, the songstress honed her craft as a footballer playing for her hometown club, Liverpool Ladies. 2018 saw the singer-songwriter release her debut single ‘Just Like That’ and music video – with the visual garnering 100,000 views on YouTube in just 24 hours. Since then, Chelcee has continued to release a plethora of singles, has co-written tracks with some of music’s biggest artists, and has become a big name in BBC football coverage.
We got to chat with Chelcee Grimes about everything from songwriting, the artist that has shaped her, her new single ‘Tryna Not Fall In Love’, and more…
Before releasing music yourself, you already had an impressive list of artists that you’ve written material for in the past. What inspired your decision to jump into the limelight yourself?
I started out in music, performing as an artist myself. So, it was naturally the way I was bound to go. As much as I like writing songs for/with other artists. I love to perform, so I think I’ll always bounce between both.
Between being a singer, songwriter, and footballer, you definitely wear a lot of hats! How did you end up pursuing all of these at once?
I really couldn’t tell you. It was all a bit of luck. I guess I just continued to do all, and they’ve somehow all managed to do a full circle and meet me in the middle. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Was there an album or artist that shaped you growing up?
Not really one. I grew up on everything from dance music, which my mum would constantly play around the house, to Elvis, to Sting. Then, when I started discovering music in last 90’s early 2000’s it Lady Gaga for the first time when I was about fifteen or sixteen and her debut album “The Fame” and “The Fame Monster” I listened to religiously! I think that’s when I knew I wanted to make music.
Do you have a favourite song that you’ve written so far, either for yourself or another artist?
My father passed away when I was a child, and I always used to make a wish at 11.11 on the clock like a little fairytale. I remember writing the song 11.11 with my friend on an acoustic guitar in Copenhagen and never thinking it would see the light of day, it was just for myself. A year on, we got a call that it was about to be a single for one of the biggest k-pop acts “Taeyeon” it ended up selling a lot too, although the song is now translated, and the story has switched a little. It’s amazing that song from my brain traveled across the world and is now out in the universe. That’ll always have a special place in my heart.
‘Tryna Not Fall In Love’ is such a fantastic song! What inspired you to create it?
Literally, the title. I was “tryna not fall in love”. I’d just come out of something heavy and was doing that whole “I’m gonna be single for a while” then I met someone pretty quickly, and I was trying my best not to catch feelings but… I quickly did. I’m such a romantic. It’s annoying!
How would you describe your sound?
It’s pop music, but I think it branches out into other genres, when I listen to the recent music I’ve been making it has a lot of live elements to it. I prefer my music to be able to bang on the speakers but also be able to sound just as good acoustically.
What do you like most about the pop genre?
It’s so varied. I think that’s what makes it so diverse these days. A country record can now be pop or a rap song. It’s just good music.
You posted on your Twitter on New Year’s Eve that you had a lot of exciting projects in mind for the future, is there any part that you can elaborate on now?
I’ve just recently extended my contract with MOTDx, so I will be back on TV doing what I love. If it isn’t music, it’s football. I’m also starting up a podcast, I’m signing a brand new music project I’ve recently created with two of my friends. I had two songs on the new Kesha album, one on the new Dua Lipa album, and I’ve got a new single with my friend Nick Talos dropping in March. There’s even more fun stuff but all in the pipeline! It’s going to be a good year!
Make sure to check out Chelcee Grimes latest single for ‘Tryna Not Fall In Love’ below…
