Alice Chater interview: Will.I.Am's protégé is ready for the spotlight

'Will.I.Am was like, "you're a star and I don't even know if you can sing"' 
Megan C. Hills23 January 2019

Within minutes of meeting musician Alice Chater you can see why she's already caught the attention of the Black Eyed Peas’ Will.I.Am, Swedish House Mafia and legendary American songwriter Mozella. Fizzling with energy and drive - she's a born performer. And boy, can she sing.

After growing up in a family of ballerinas who blasted opera music around the house, Chater threw herself into virtually every performing art she could think of, training in ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, flamenco, hoop and aerial acrobatics, as well as singing.

(Alice Chater)

As a child she found her singing voice belting out Celine Dion hits - until her parents begged her to stop - and she even sketched out plans for a high concept music video. Later she was asked to leave the prestigious stage school Italia Conti when her wide roster of extra-curricular activities ran against the rules.

But it was music which won through in the end, and along with having a pretty impressive list of high profile collaborations under her belt, Chater has also supported Jessie J and Professor Green.

With her latest song Thief out this month, we caught up with the star in London to talk performance, inspirations and family.

You grew up in a family of classical music lovers and professional ballet dancers, how did you find your own voice in the middle of all that?

I think I used to imitate the opera singers that my mum played around the house and [she] was like, “Whoa, she can sing!” and I'd do My Heart Will Go On and All By Myself by Celine Dion. That one note in [All By Myself] where it’s ridiculously high, I’d always be singing that and my neighbour hated it. I started getting into pop and as I got older, I discovered Gwen Stefani and The Pussycat Dolls, The Black Eyed Peas...

(Alice Chater) 

It sounds like you had a busy childhood...

Yeah, it was kind of busy! Every single day after school, my mum would pick me up and take me to rehearsals for a show or my singing lesson or dancing. I never did my homework because I was just doing singing, dancing, acting, so I was always in trouble at school.

What do your family think of what you're doing now?

They love it! It's very interesting because one side of my family are very conservative. My uncle is a vicar so the type of sexual dancing I do is maybe a bit inappropriate to him. But I don’t think he’s seen all of the music videos, I don’t think my family has shown him!

Has there been a moment in particular that's been really surreal for you?

When I first did my music video, seeing the big set and seeing playback for the first time, I actually cried. It has always been my dream to make a high concept music video, so seeing that all come together, and the whole crew, there was a "pinch me" moment.

You've opened for a lot of really cool people in the past - Jessie J, Professor Green - is there anybody you still really want to work with?

I love Lady Gaga - her Vegas tour looks insane. I’ve always loved Katy Perry, the Little Mix girls, I think they’re an amazing band. I absolutely adore Camila Cabello. I would love to do a collaboration with her.

I understand Will.I.Am was one of the first people to discover you. How did that happen?

I met him at an event and he thought he knew me. And I said, “You definitely don’t know me, Will.I.Am.” We had actually a mutual friend that I’d been working with called Printz Board who’s one of the [Black Eyed Peas] producers. And [Will.I.Am] put his number in my phone and he was like, “Can you ring me tomorrow? At this point, he hadn’t heard me sing but said, “I like your vibe, you’re a star but I don’t know if you can sing.” I think I then sent him a Justin Bieber video of me singing a cover and the next day he was like, “Whoa, okay, you’re really dope."

Kee Ingrosso and Will.I.Am. have been very instrumental to your career, have they given you any great advice?

Yeah, just with your heart and go with what you feel is good. Don’t look at what other people are doing, what else is streaming well, it’s easy to just write songs that are currently propping that kind of vibe that is doing well.

In previous interviews you've talked about looking towards "real entertainers". What do you mean by that?

Um well, I wouldn’t say ‘real’ entertainers. I think every artist is different and amazing in their own way. Personally I really like triple threat artists who can sing, dance and act - like Michael Jackson. [Also] when you watch Beyonce you’re mesmerized because she’s singing, dancing and acting and putting on an amazing show. Those are the kind of artist that I really admire and look up to.

What's the inspiration for your new song Thief?

I was in Sweden and I was writing with Rami [Yacoub] and Karl [Falk] and Mozella, who wrote the song Wrecking Ball for Miley Cyrus, which is one of my favourite songs. Rami did Hit Me Baby One More Time with Britney. We were just sitting around and I was going through some weird stuff with my boyfriend - we were on and we were off. And I was explaining to them how I was feeling at the time and I was saying to Mozella like, “I feel like this person has kind of ripped my heart out and he has stolen my heart. I feel like I can’t feel anything anymore because he’s taken it, like a thief.”

And she said, “Like a thief!! That would be an awesome title. He stole your heart like a thief.” And I was like, “Yep, fire!”

So something positive came out of the heartbreak?

I know. All my songs are about one person. Even though I’ve been through awful stuff with him, it’s enabled me to write a fire album about it and turn some of the negatives into positives. So I really do get when other artists say “writing my album is like therapy.” When you’re writing about one thing that’s hurt you so much, it’s really good to get it out through song. And if it’s a banger, even better.

Lady Gaga - style file

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