For Fans Of: Years & Years, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry
Empowering pop star Alice Chater is a triple threat: singer, dancer, performer. A newcomer with an attitude and vigour that could match Beyonce, it won’t be long before she’s dominating every airwave.
The 24-year-old from Kent grew up training in ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, flamenco, hoop and aerial acrobatics. She discovered her wide range of vocals through her mother’s love of classical and opera, as well as legends Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Celine Dion. The latter became her biggest inspiration as she learned her performance techniques and annoyed neighbours by perfectly belting out the high note in ‘All By Myself’. If only she knew she’d support the queen of ballads at British Summer Time Hyde Park this July…
After winning a music scholarship to study at a private school and starring in a West End production of Annie at 11-years-old, Alice went on to attend the prestigious theatre school Italia Conti in London at 17. Crafting her performance style and sneaking off to record in studios across the city, she was unknowingly preparing herself for a life-changing encounter.
Soon after leaving Italia Conti, she was approached by Will.i.am at a party where they immediately struck up a bond that lead to him being her mentor. Before long, news got round and she was offered multiple record deals, including Virgin EMI whom she signed to. From the whole experience, she says one compliment from the mentor that’s really stuck with her was a comparison to Nicole Scherzinger, saying “You sing, you dance and you’re a good person. Good people go places.”
In April 2018, Alice released the first of her original, vocal-driven alt pop ballads ‘Girls X Boys’. BBC Radio 1 made it their Best New Pop song just weeks after release, with alternative versions released too. She also explored her artistry further in the high-concept music video, which was produced by Favourite Colour: Black (KT Tunstall, The Kooks, High Contrast), and had eery, lustful undertones.
Three months later, she shared ‘Heartbreak Hotel’; an equally powerful hit with added disco flair. October was her peak month though as she released two of her most popular singles to date. First came ‘Wonderland’ (My Name Is Alice)’, which had been teased long before the previous tracks were put out. Acting as a belated introduction to her her world, if ‘Girls X Boys’ and ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ didn’t mark her out as the next big thing, then this certainly did. Follow-up ‘Hourglass’ is her highest contender though as it has over 1.1 million views on YouTube and 601K streams on Spotify. These songs’ phenomenal successes didn’t just stop at radio plays or chart placements, but lead to her first headline show at Thousand Island in London completely selling out!
2019 showed Alice not stopping for breath as she burst into the New Year with ‘Thief’; an emotion-driven ballad about a past relationship. The video premiered on Essentially Pop, and follows the same dark theme as ‘Girls X Boys’ and ‘Hourglass’. While her previous tracks had uplifting power pop vibes, July’s release ‘Paper Planes’ was far more lamenting. The minor piano tune spoke of breakups in a contrasting way to ‘Thief’ and showed all sides of her head space which still captured fans’ hearts. But Alice is not one to bask in her own sorrow. She picked herself up in August’s ‘Tonight’ as the vibrant hit spoke of seeing the sunshine behind the clouds.
In Alice’s mind, at the forefront of every song is a performance. In an interview with MTV, she said fans can expect arena mentality: “I always put 100% into every show. Performing is my favourite thing to do. I adore dancing and I adore playing with vocals in a live capacity – be it audience participation or simply crazy ad libs! I try to present my songs in a more dramatic way to leave a lasting impression and hopefully make people remember the show.”
Website – mynameisalice.com
Facebook – /himynameisalice
Twitter – @AliChater