Chayla Hope is pop’s next great voice. Making a name for herself in Cleveland’s music scene pressing vinyl at Gotta Groove Records, opening for acts like The Maras and collaborating with up-and-coming producer Jesty Beatz (aka Holy Mattress Money), her sophisticated take on the sounds of the ’80s and ’90s recalls the influence of Kate Bush, Lady Gaga, Annie Lennox and Robyn, marrying inventive arrangements with an impressive range and infectious spirit.

After years spent fronting and singing in alternative rock bands, including Emmy and multiple ADDY award-winning local favorites Seafair, pop is where Chayla was meant to be. “Pop is the music that raised me, the music my mom used to listen to while cleaning the house,” she says on planting her musical flag in the genre. “It’s always been there for me as an anchoring and joyful force. It is me.”

Throughout her life, Chayla has had to overcome obstacles like heartbreak and trauma by dressing up, performing, and powering through by sheer force of her artistic and creative vision. She has long been fascinated by the juxtaposition of happy music masking sad lyrics, exploring the complicated nature of human experience through its most common facet: feelings. Singles “Love in Lo-Fi,” “Falling,” “Forget Me Not” and “High”all mixed by 10-time GRAMMY award winner Josh Gudwin (Bad Bunny, Justin Bieber, Dua Lipa)are early tastes of her debut album Damn, Feelings, out October 28, 2022.

A proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community who found her performance identity doing drag, it’s no surprise Chayla was selected to sing the theme song for Care Bears: Unlock The Magic and has numerous features in the show’s soundtrack and merchandise, embodying its core themes of empowerment, inclusion, and self-understanding through her music.