If Chloe Qisha has a mission statement, it might be best summed up by her recent single “Sex, Drugs & Existential Dread”, a barbed anthem punctuated with a demented saxophone solo and lyrics that dance between sardonic humour and apocalyptic anxiety. A product of our golden age of smart, self-aware pop, it’s less a “tears-in-the-club” banger than a cackle into the void. The Lillie Eiger-directed video doubles down on the chaos, featuring Qisha seducing a paramour in a smart hotel room – a lover who, in a surreal twist, is also played by Qisha.

Born in Malaysia, the singer moved to London at the age of 16, and she describes the transition as intense and formative: “It taught me to grow up a lot faster. I’m fiercely independent, almost to a fault sometimes, and I think it instilled a confidence in me that’s become an invaluable trait in what I do now.”

That self-assuredness reverberates throughout her self-titled EP, which dropped in late 2024. It’s a record steeped in vintage sonics, warped through a distinctly Gen Z lens. “I grew up listening to a lot of 1980s music. It was whatever my parents put on at the time, and they would only ever play disco or Motown. Then in my preteens, I was knee-deep in the 2010s pop queen world of Katy Perry and Lady Gaga.” You can hear the fusion of influences in the squelching synthpop of “Sexy Goodbye”, a post-break-up kiss-off delivered with the brisk economy of a text message, or “Evelyn”, power-pop by way of Paramore, replete with a glorious key change in its final chorus.

As with many artists of her generation – including her personal hero Troye Sivan – Qisha got her start in music by posting covers on YouTube. Before long, notable figures came knocking, yet navigating a notoriously fickle industry has come with its challenges. “At times it’s felt a touch overwhelming, simply because so many amazing things are firing off at once, so it’s almost hard to take a breath and take it all in sometimes. I count myself so lucky to have my team help me navigate this crazy industry as things change rapidly.” 

It is Qisha’s philosophy of remixing classic styles with clever contemporary twists that makes her such a natural fit for Chanel. “Timelessness in creative output is extremely important to me. Chanel holds such history, and I think they’re incredibly good at pushing the envelope and reinventing themselves without losing the magic of who they are at their core. They inspire me in that way.”

Matteo Pini