Halle Bailey looks at her career and appreciates her journey

Halle Bailey, an actress and singer-songwriter, recently expressed gratitude for her journey in the music and film industry. Starting as a musical partnership with her sister, the duo gained popularity through their YouTube covers.

In 2015, Beyoncé discovered the R&B group Chloe x Halle and signed them to her label. Later, Halle directed one of the biggest films of the previous year and launched her solo music career. At the Grammy U Masterclass, chaired by Muni Long, Halle discussed her artistic journey.

“I don’t think I would be able to be in this industry or start this way without her, you know, because she was the one that was pulling us both forward to be like, ‘Come on, we can do this,’” she said of her sister, adding that she’s “so grateful” to have her as an “anchor.”

Bailey, who was part of a musical duo, earned five Grammy nominations. This year, as a solo artist, she received her first Grammy nod for her single “Angel” in the Best R&B Song category. Bailey admits that becoming a solo artist was a gradual transition, as she considers her sister her “safety blanket” despite her recent successes, including her role as Ariel in The Little Mermaid.

“I think what started the slow transition was really Mermaid [as it] was like the first project that I had gotten and been like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m gonna have to do this alone. And I am scared, like, what the heck. I never done anything alone by myself,’” she told Long.

Thanks to the music, Bailey found comfort and peace in her new journey in film.

“I just felt so immensely grateful because I felt so true in my love for what I was doing in my music,” she said. “And the fact that I got to sing songs in the film I think is the only thing that made me comfortable because I have loved those songs since I was a little girl. I mean, we’d play it on repeat, ‘Part of your world.’ … So this was a very surreal moment for me.”