Chxrry22 is somebody you’re going to want to keep in your peripheral because she is “Poppin Out” in a big way. That happens to be the title of her newest single, or you can refer to it as “(Mistakes)”. The 27-year-old R&B singer is a XO Records signee and if you weren’t aware, that is The Weeknd’s label. He has been championing her work since 2022 when she put out her first EP/project, The Other Side. On that offering, Chxrry22 was looking to convey a “duality” that we all share. “The Other Side is about coming to terms with duality – we all have two sides. We can be both the villain and the victim in some story, and this is me owning that”.
However, in the case of “Poppin Out (Mistakes)”, Chxrry22 is certainly being portrayed as the victim. On this record, she’s going through a breakup. However, she gives herself a pep talk on the pre-chorus. “Cryin’ over n****s ain’t allowed / Being a heart broke b**** is outta style“. She then comes up with the perfect idea, and that’s to have a reckless night out. “You know my city ain’t seen me in a while / Ain’t hate me then, you gon’ really hate me now“. The melodies and chorus are true winners and the catch you attention right away. It’s already becoming a trend on social media, and it feels like Chxrry22 is going to be in the ears of a lot more people moving forward. Check out “Poppin Out (Mistakes)” with the audio link below.
Déjà vu, I can tell you how this ends I’ma turn you out but you ain’t seein me again Ain’t no wedding bands, these is rocks on my hands Throwin’ all your ones and then I’m leaving with friends On the 401 doing 105 Black card Barbies outside
If Chxrry22 (pronounced Cherry-22) established her artistry in 2022 with her debut EP The Other Side, then she strengthened and elevated it to impressive standards with her second EP Siren, released at the end of 2023. The Toronto-based singer, the first female singer signed to The Weeknd’s XO Records label, exudes a level of self-awareness, vulnerability, and honesty (for better or worse) that many of us could only dream of fearlessly having.
Chxrry22’s The Other Side presented all of this under a gloomy cloud of realization and acceptance that she played both the villain and victim in the realm of love. “Do It Again” craves the return of an expired love and “Call Me” hopes to re-spark a toxic flame. In the end, “Wasteland” is Chxrry22’s moment of recovery as she dusts herself off and takes a step forward with a newfound commitment to herself and peace within.
That very commitment is the launching pad into the dominating Siren that Chxrry22 presents herself as on her 2023 EP. The gloom of The Other Side is no more, and instead, we’re hit with the fiery passion that blares as loud as the warning signal that shares the name of her most recent project. Chxrry22 dares a partner to be as passionate as she is on “Ride 4 Me” and goes even further with a sultry request to put their words into action on “Never Had This.” For seven songs on Siren, Chxrry22 asserts he dominance and captivates with her euphoric energy.
Months removed from Siren, Uproxx spoke with Chxrry22 to learn more about her start in music, the one artist from whom she needs a feature, and the advice she’d give her 18-year-old self.
What is your earliest memory of music?
I feel like music was a part of me before I was even born. Both of my parents could sing and they were in a choir, so they would make my brothers and I sing Ethiopian songs and record us. I’m not even kidding when I say that in every single home video I have from my childhood, I’m singing. I don’t think they thought that one of their children would actually grow up to be a musician, but I think it was their love language and also a way to teach us our language.
Who inspired you to take music seriously?
My mom. She used to make me perform everywhere growing up. Birthdays, weddings, you name it — I’d do it. She would pass around a hat for people to put money in. When I saw people actually giving a child money to sing my brain went off like, oh this is lit.
Do you know how to play an instrument? If so, which one? If not, which instrument do you want to learn how to play?
I’ve actually tried learning how to play the guitar and keys multiple times but my schedule gets hectic and I never have a chance to see it through. I actually just ordered a keyboard on Amazon to my LA apartment so we’ll see how long it lasts this time. But I do wish I could, it’s one of my goals.
What was your first job?
A hostess at a restaurant. I’ve had a million jobs and I’ve been fired a million times.
What is your most prized possession?
My voice. My health. My ideas.
What is your biggest fear?
I actually have two. Having a painful death but also just having regrets in life.
Who is on your R&B Mt. Rushmore?
Whitney, Marvin Gaye, Anita Baker, D’Angelo, Keyshia Cole. I think that’s a few too many, but you get the point.
You are throwing a music festival. Give us the dream lineup of 5 artists that will perform with you and the location where it would be held.
Dead or alive? Kali Uchis, Lana Del Rey, Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse and Nina Simone. Held in my hometown, Toronto, of course.
You get 24 hours to yourself to do anything you want, with unlimited resources: What are you doing? And spare no details!
Donate to every cause imaginable and use whatever’s left to buy every vintage bag in sight.
What are your three most used emojis?
. Classic.
What’s a feature you need to secure before you die?
Which celebrity do you admire or respect for their personality and why?
I don’t know, I don’t really pay attention.
Share your opinion on something no one could ever change your mind about.
That celery is disgusting. It actually makes me gag.
What is the best song you’ve ever heard in your life and what do you love about it?
Omg, I love this question. Also so hard to answer but for sentimental reasons I’ll say “Unforgettable” by Nat King Cole. It’s so simple but heartfelt. It’s the soundtrack to my life.
What’s your favorite city in the world to perform, and what’s a city you’re excited to perform in for the first time?
My favorite is always Toronto because I get the most love and it’s for me, duh! No, but in all seriousness it’s always so special looking into the crowd and seeing your friends and family. But, I have so many fans in London and Atlanta so I can’t wait to perform there. Atlanta actually holds a very special place in my heart because it’s where I really found myself as an artist. I lived there for a few years when I first got signed, and it’s actually where I wrote “The Falls” and the majority of my first project.
What would you be doing now if it weren’t for music?
I’d love to be a creative director and help other artists in some capacity! Or a hairdresser. I’m shockingly good at hair. Anything that lets me create freely would be a dream.
If you could see five years into the future or go five years into the past, which one would you pick and why?
The past was too traumatizing, so I’ll say the future haha. Also, I’m really nosey so I want to be ahead of the curb.
What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?
Don’t date him. Don’t date anyone until you’re 25 honestly.
It’s 2050. The world hasn’t ended, and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?
I think like every other artist, I hope people can still connect and feel something when they listen to my music years down the line. I want to be remembered as someone who represented my city and my culture, and if I’m lucky, I’ll have said and done enough of the right thing that they know my heart.
Siren is out now via XO Records/Republic Records. Find out more information here.
SXSW will return to Austin next March. Throughout the Texas city, SXSW attendees can look forward to attending a multitude of conferences, film screenings, and musical showcases and performances.
Today, performers from various cities and countries were announced to take the stages within Austin’s iconic and off-beat venues. These performers hail from within the US, as well as Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Scotland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, and Wales.
Among the performers are Afro-fusion singer Äyanna, Canadian R&B up-and-comer Chxrry22, Germany’s Malugi, and more.
What is the SXSW 2024 lineup?
You can see the full line-up of artists and the cities they’re representing below.
250 (Seoul, South Korea)
Afternoon Bike Ride (Montreal, Canada)
Akira Galaxy (Los Angeles, CA)
Ako（a子） (Himeji City, Japan)
Alexander Biggs (Melbourne, Australia)
Alex Nicol (Montreal, Canada)
Amis du Teche (Breaux Bridge, LA)
Angelo Moore and the Brand New Step (Austin, TX)
Anna Smyrk (Melbourne, Australia)
Anna Vaverková (Prague, Czechia)
Another Sky (London, UK-England)
Arches (Hong Kong, Hong Kong)
Askew (London, UK-England)
Axel Flóvent (Reykjavik, Iceland)
Äyanna (London, UK-England)
The Ayoub Sisters (London, UK-England)
Bad Bad Hats (Minneapolis, MN)
The Beatbox Collective (London, UK-England)
beccs (Warehan, MA)
Bee Bee Sea (Castel Goffredo, Italy)
Being Dead (Austin, TX)
Benjamin Walker (Chile, Mexico)
Bess Atwell (Brighton, UK-England)
Bleach Lab (London, UK-England)
BLK JKS (Johannesburg, South Africa)
Bloomsday (Brooklyn, NY)
Blue Lake (Copenhagen, Denmark)
Boy With Apple (Gothenburg Sweden)
BROTHER DEGE (Lafayette, LA)
Buffalo Nichols (Milwaukee, WI)
Caleb Landry Jones (Garland, TX)
Camidoh (Accra, Ghana)
Carla Geneve (Perth, Australia)
Certainly So (Nashville, TN)
Cha’keeta B (Austin, TX)
Chalk (Belfast, UK-N. Ireland)
Chartreuse (The Black Country, UK-England)
Chelsea Carmichael (London, UK-England)
Chiaki Mayumura (Setagya, Japan)
Chief Cleopatra (Austin, TX)
China Bears (Bridgwater, UK-England)
Chxrry22 (Toronto, Canada)
CLT DRP (Brighton, UK-England)
Conchur White (Portadown, UK-N. Ireland)
CURRLS (Brighton, UK-England)
Danny Bonilla (Dallas, TX)
Dasom Baek (Seoul, South Korea)
Daydream Twins (Austin, TX)
Dead Tooth (Brooklyn, NY)
Delights (Manchester UK-England)
DICE (Perth, Australia)
Dirt Buyer (Brooklyn, NY)
Discovery Zone (New York, NY)
Divorce (Nottingham, UK-England)
Dobrawa Czocher (Warsaw, Poland)
DOMICO (Tokyo, Japan)
Do Nothing (Nottingham UK-England)
Dream Nails (London, UK-England)
Dumb Buoys Fishing Club (London, UK-England)
dust (Newcastle, Australian)
Earth Tongue (Wellington, New Zealand)
Eleni Drake (London, UK-England)
Elisapie (Salluit, Canada)
Elle Shimada (Melbourne Australia)
Ellie Bleach (London, UK-England)
Emily Barker (Perth, Australia)
Emily Frembgen (Brooklyn, NY)
Emma Aibara (Yokohama, Japan)
Enola Gay (Belfast UK-N. Ireland)
Etta Bond (London, UK-England)
Fantasy Of A Broken Heart (Brooklyn, NY)
Fat Dog (London, UK-Englan)
FAZI 法兹 (Xi’an, China)
Field Guide (Winnipeg, Canada)
Folk Bitch Trio (Melbourne, Australia)
FONTINE (Winnipeg, Canada)
Forest Claudette (Melbourne, Australia)
Friedberg (Berlin, Germany)
Fust (Durham, NC)
Gavin James (Dublin, Ireland)
Glasser (New York, NY)
Glixen (Phoenix, AZ)
Good Looks (Austin, TX)
Grandbrothers (Berlin, Germany)
GRÓA (Reykjavik, Iceland)
Gruff Rhys (Cardiff, UK-Wales)
Gurriers (Dublin, Ireland)
HALLEY (Waseda, Japan)
Harvest Thieves (Austin, TX)
Hause Plants (Lisbon, Portugal)
The HawtThorns (Nashville, TN)
HIEN (Budapest, Hungary)
HighSchool (Melbourne, Australia)
Hinako Omori (London, UK-England)
HMS Morris (Cardiff, UK-Wales)
Ho99o9 (Newark, NJ)
Holly Macve (Brighton, UK-England)
Hooks & The Huckleberries (Albuquerque, NM)
Hour (Philadelphia, PA)
The Howdies (Athens, GA)
Humour (Glasgow UK-Scotland)
HYPNOSIS THERAPY (Seoul, South Korea)
IFE (New Orleans, LA)
Iona Zajac (Glasgow, UK-Scotland)
Iris Jean (Alkmaar, Netherlands)
Izo FitzRoy (London, UK-England)
Jack Barksdale (Fort Worth, TX)
Jack Harris (Cleveland, OH)
JADA (London, UK-England)
Jad Fair and the Placebos (Manor, TX)
Jaimee Harris (Nashville, TN)
JÁNA (Stockholm, Sweden)
Jazz re:freshed DJs (London, UK-England)
Jeannel (Berlin, Germany)
Jeshi (London, UK-England)
JFDR (Reykjavík, Iceland)
JM Stevens (Austin, TX)
Jon Muq (Austin, TX)
Jon Vinyl (Toronto, Canada)
Juani Mustard (Viña Del Mar, Chile)
JUANPALITOSCHINOS (Mexico City, Mexico)
Justin Webb (Nashville, TN)
Kali Claire (London UK-England)
Ken Yates (London, Canada)
Kikuo (Tokyo, Japan)
Kroi (Tokyo, Japan)
LAIR (Jatiwangi, Indonesia)
Laney Tripp (New Smyrna Beach, CA)
Larry Seaman (Austin, TX)
Laura-Mary Carter (Brighton, UK-ENGLAND)
Laura Misch (London, UK-ENGLAND)
Lauren Housley & The Northern Cowboys (Sheffield, UK-England)
Lauren Lakis (Austin, TX)
L E M F R E C K (Newport, UK-Wales)
Library Card (Rotterdam, Netherlands)
Lindsay Beaver & Brad Stivers (Austin, TX)
Lisa Morales (Austin, TX)
Logan Crosby (Milledgeville, GA)
Logan Halstead (Powell County, KY)
Los Cogelones (Mexico, Mexico)
Lottery Winners (Leigh, UK-England)
Madam Radar (Austin, TX)
Malugi (Berlin, Germany)
Mama Terra (Glasgow, UK-Scotland)
The Manatees (Southampton, UK-England)
maxime. (Montreal, Canada)
May Rio (Brooklyn, NY)
Meagre Martin (Berlin, Germany)
Mia June (Perth, Australia)
Mick Flannery (Cork, Ireland)
Minas (Cardiff, UK-Wales)
Miranda and the Beat (Brooklyn, NY)
Miranda del Sol (New York, NY)
MØAA (Seattle, WA)
Moody Bank$ (Austin, TX)
Nagasaki Swim (Rotterdam, Netherlands)
Natalie Jane Hill (Asheville, NC)
Native Harrow (Brighton, UK-England)
néomí (Den Haag, Netherlands)
NeOne Wonderer (Wolverhampton UK-England)
Neon Waltz (John O’groats, UK-Scotland)
Night Lunch (Montreal, Canada)
NOBRO (Montreal, Canada)
O. (London, UK-England)
Omni (Atlanta, GA)
OSKA (Vienna, Austria)
PAPISA (São Paulo, Brazil)
Pelvis Wrestley (Austin, TX)
Perennial (Amherst, MA)
Pink Pablo (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
Planet Giza (Montreal, Canada)
Plastic Palms (Turin, Italy)
poolblood (Toronto, Canada)
Population II (Montreal, Canada)
Presence (Camarillo, CA)
The Psychotic Monks (Saint-Ouen, France)
PVA (London, UK-England)
Pylon Reenactment Society (Athens, GA)
Rainbow Girls (Bodega, CA)
Ralphie Choo (Madrid, Spain)
The Rare Occasions (Los Angeles, CA)
Redbud (Austin, TX)
rEDOLENT (Edinburgh UK-Scotland)
Robby Hecht (Nashville, TN)
Rodeo Boys (Lansing, MI)
Rory James (Edinburgh, UK-Scotland)
RUBIO (Mexico City, Mexico)
Sam Williams (Paris, TN)
San Gabriel (Austin, TX)
San Saba County (Austin, TX)
Seafoam Walls (Miami, FL)
Selfish Sons (Brisbane, Australia)
She’s In Parties (Colchester, UK-England)
Sinkane (Brooklyn, NY)
Skateland (Austin, TX)
SNACKTIME (Philadelphia, PA)
Soda Blonde (Dublin, Ireland)
Sofia Kourtesis (Berlin, Germany)
Sofi Paez (Berlin, Germany)
Softee (Moorhead, MN)
South Summit (Perth, Australia)
SPRINTS (Dublin, Ireland)
Stuck in the Sound (Paris, France)
Styrofoam Winos (Nashville, TN)
Sui Zhen (Melbourne, Australia)
The Sully Band (San Diego, CA)
Sultan Stevenson (London, UK-England)
Swallow the Rat (Auckland, New Zealand)
Sycco (Brisbane, Australia)
Talia Goddess (Brooklyn, NY)
Tamera (London, UK-England)
Teenage Sequence (Fort Worth, TX)
Telehealth (Seattle, WA)
TENGGER (Seoul, South Korea)
testpress (Glasgow, UK-Scotland)
Texas String Assembly (Austin, TX)
TFD (Total F*cking Darkness) (Vancouver, Canada)
This Is Lorelei (New York, NY)
THUS LOVE (Brattleboro, VT)
The Tiarras (Austin, TX)
Tokyo Syoki Syodo (Shimokitazawa, Japan)
TRACY DE SA (Sevres, France)
Tufan Derince (Diyarbakir, Turkey)
twst (Barry, UK-Wales)
Venus Twins (Brooklyn, NY)
Vera Sola (Los Angeles, CA)
The Vices (Groningen, Netherlands)
The View (Dundee, UK-Scotland)
VLURE (Glasgow, UK-Scotland)
Vulva Voce (Manchester, UK-England)
Water Damage (Austin, TX)
William The Conqueror (Newquay, UK-England)
Wyldest (London, UK-England)
The XCERTS (Aberdeen, UK-Scotland)
Yb. (Brisbane, Australia)
YHWH Nailgun (New York, NY)
Yo Diablo (Valencia, Spain)
Yogetsu Akasaka (Tokyo, Japan)
YU-KA (Tokyo, Japan)
Zheani (Brisbane, Australia)
Zoon (Winnipeg, Canada)
ZÓRA (Budapest, Hungary)
zouz (Montréal, Canada)
Some of the artists mentioned here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
. Classic.