Rachel Chinouriri is one to watch. And thousands are every night.
The London-born indie-pop singer-songwriter signed to Parlophone Records in 2018 after releasing a slew of singles independently to streaming platforms. Her first release under the label, the heartwarming “So My Darling,” gained traction in 2022 after becoming a popular sound on TikTok. Her output since has been met with both critical acclaim and slow-burn success – see 2022’s breezy “All I Ever Asked,” currently enjoying a resurgence online and vying to be one of the songs of the summer; it just cracked 50 million streams on Spotify. She boosted her profile further in 2023 through her opening slots for Lewis Capaldi and Louis Tomlinson on their respective tours.
2024 saw new heights for the indie-pop darling. In January, she dropped the Florence Pugh-starring music video for “Never Need Me” (which recursively goes viral every month on X). February gifted her with a shoutout from Adele. The infectious “It Is What It Is” was released in April, and her debut studio album, ‘What A Devastating Turn of Events,’ followed in May. A stunning record spanning love, identity, and trauma, it was lauded by critics and fans alike, and landed at #17 on the Official UK Albums Chart. She toured the album in the UK – a beautiful show lined with excellent musicality and sincere audience connection.
And yet, 2025 is poised to be an even bigger year for Chinouriri. She kicked off the year with two BRIT nominations (Best New Artist and Artist of the Year) and is now touring with none other than Sabrina Carpenter on the forever trending ‘Short n’ Sweet’ tour. Her latest single, “Can we talk about Isaac?” is a giddy open love letter about her boyfriend that sees her hone in on her craft even more. Taken from her forthcoming EP ‘Little House’ – out April 4th – the track has seen her biggest start on streaming yet, raking in a million Spotify plays in just over a week.
Pop Crave caught up with Rachel before her opening set in Manchester to discuss all things ‘WADTOE,’ touring with Sabrina, new music, and plans for the future (and to make her rank her own songs).
It’s coming up to the one-year anniversary of ‘What A Devastating Turn of Events’. How has your life changed since putting out the album?
My life as a musician has definitely changed. I think for the last 8/9 years I know what to expect, but it increases every year. This year, things like the BRIT Awards, Sabrina Carpenter, so many exciting things that have been happening – Graham Norton – I feel like I’m at the next level of my career and I feel quite ready for it. I can feel quite a big shift – or maybe it feels really new, which is really different, but I’m loving learning how to deal with it.
How do you feel about the album now compared to a year ago?
By the time I released the album, I think I was mentally ready for a different one, even though I don’t know how to mentally write a different one currently. But I think that because it takes so long to even release, by the time releases come, the fact that they’re brand new songs to people is weird to me because they’re so old to me. I’m glad I stood my ground on my creative choices, musical choices – I didn’t cut any songs, didn’t change too much of the music – and I think it really perfectly encapsulates who I am as a person at the time of my life that I wrote it. So I feel very proud of it, it’s like a tie capsule.
“All I Ever Asked” was originally put out in 2022 and has seen a resurgence recently. How do you feel about a song growing slowly over time, and are you past that song now?
I don’t think I’m past the song, I think I’m very excited that people are discovering it now. I think that it makes me feel happy because I want to be someone who makes timeless music that no matter what year you hear it, it either feels nostalgic or it feels new, which I really like. I think ‘All I Ever Asked’ – not gonna lie, I thought she was a little vibe – and I’m glad everyone is starting to vibe with her now, so I’m like, ‘OK, she’s getting her moment,’ and it’s really fun and cutesy. It’s things like when I see Chappell Roan getting a number one six years after she’s released a song, I’m like, ‘OK, these things sometimes take a bit of time.’ I’m glad it’s a song that I really love and cherish, I think she deserves her time.
It wasn’t originally intended to be on the album. Are you glad that it’s on there now?
Well, my manager’s looking at me so I’m gonna say yes. But I did fight it very, very, very hard but I understand why it was put onto the album and I think it marries well with how it’s been put onto the album with hindsight, at the time I didn’t really understand. I agree with it now, but at the time I was being a little bit – I don’t wanna say w*nky musician – I was definitely being like, ‘For the art it doesn’t make sense with the timescale and the aesthetic!’ But now I’m like, for the story of what it is and what it’s currently doing, and the discovery to my album, I agree with my team. I trusted my team and I agree with them.
How did the remix with sombr come about?
Sombr is from LA, he’s really cool and has a lot of stuff which I’d seen on TikTok. I think his aesthetic, it’s quite dark and moody. I really like his tone, his writing, and at first someone was like, ‘Do you think sombr would be a good fit for the song?’ I was like, ‘OK, let’s try.’ Once we got his verse back, it felt like the song had always had that verse. I think before, maybe, I was worried about it being too detached. But he added so many beautiful harmonies and his perspective of where he wrote it from in comparison to how I was feeling in the song, I think it married so well. It makes me feel like I’m in a car in LA singing along. And I think he’s adding to that element, an extra little pizazz of fun to the song which I really, really liked.
Are there any other artists that you’d like to work with on a song or a remix?
I said Sabrina Carpenter at the BRITs, so I’m gonna say Sabrina again. I’m sticking to my guns. I think it’s cause she fits this cutesy, fun vibe and I think I can match the vibe. Then I’m gonna say Fontaines DC. Cause one, I think they’re really f**king cool, and two, I love the whole boyband, indie band sort of thing, and I think they’re smashing it. Maybe I’ll be inspired by their world and I think I could bring quite a nice vibe and aesthetic to their world.
The album touches on a lot of heavy subjects and you’ve said you often write from a place of trauma. But with “Can we talk about Isaac?”, you said it came from a place of love. Is that a place that you’ve written the whole ‘Little House’ EP from?
Yep. The entire EP is about him and how much I love him. God! It sounds awful! This is bad. I love him very, very dearly. People are like, ‘This is risky’, but I’m like, ‘No, I love him and that’s all that matters!’ And I think that is all that matters and makes my quote-unquote job fun is the fact that I can encapsulate what I feel at certain points in my life. No matter what happens in the future, people will be like, ‘Oh, this is when she met that boy that made her feel like this’ and stuff like that. I think I’m just in a very positive place and I needed to get that out because I don’t want that on the next album so I needed to get it out now.
Do you think the sound of this EP is tied in any way to future music and a new album, or is it something completely separate?
It’s fifty-fifty. I made it with a guy called apob, who I really love. I’m quite close with him and work with him quite a bit. I think the last album, we really made it super cohesive with Rich Turvey but apob is very experimental and I’m kind of like, ‘OK, is the next album kind of the same as the first but more experimental?’ I think I’m in a bit more of an experimental phase and while writing the EP I made some quite experimental songs separately. I think I’m trying to figure out which sound I want to teeter on. But I think it gives a hint to the new world I’m trying to enter.
As your career grows, are you feeling any increased pressure when making music?
Funnily enough, I feel less pressure with music in the sense of my identity because I think the identity I have is quite clear and luckily I’ve not changed my identity to try to flick back to anything. I think the pressure comes from trying to keep up with everything around. When I write music, I want to be able to have time to explore and live my life, and then write about what I’ve been inspired by. But then you also don’t want to miss out on opportunities, and this album has given me a lot of opportunities. So it’s trying to find that work-life balance, because without life I can’t work because I can’t write the songs, but if I don’t work, I can’t then go and do all of the stuff I need to do. It’s finding that balance between the two.
Do you feel nervous putting out a song now with a bigger audience waiting?
I don’t know. The Darlings, my fanbase, have now hit the point of anything I put out, they’re like, ‘Oh my God!’ So now, I’m quite excited to put out stuff because whenever I release something, they’re like, ‘OK, so when’s the next one?’ Which is great is one way, but “Can we talk about Isaac?” has done mental on streaming. It’s probably blown what I thought it was gonna do to begin with at all. So, I think being able to know that now what I put out, the Darlings are like, ‘OK, that’s what she’s doing. Let’s see what’s going on.’ I’m loving it, it makes me excited to put out stuff for them because I love seeing how relatable it is for them.
How did opening for Sabrina Carpenter come about? Did you send her a DM?
I did send her a DM, but, actually, it’s this leading lady [my manager] who has a friend. He loves my music, and Sabrina’s management knew about my music but I think he definitely made it – he was like, ‘This is the girl.’ But when I spoke to Sabrina she said that she got shown my music by her friends as well. So I think it all perfectly aligned because they all started discovering my music around the same time. They were planning the European tour, and found out I was from Europe, and then they were like, ‘OK, so how do we get this girl on the tour?’ The universe definitely aligned. Hope, my day-to-day manager, she be sending my music out to as many people as possible! It was that, and then also I was like, ‘Let me send her a DM being like, ‘Heyyyy, can I come on the tour?’ She did not open it before I was confirmed. But you never know, she might have seen it.
What was your first reaction when you found out you were opening for her?
Gagged. Gagged and gooped. Can I say that? I’m saying it. I was gagged and gooped. I was shocked. But also, I felt that I had the chance to prove myself. And with how the tour has gone and the amount of prep that has gone in before, it’s quite surreal. I think I’ve mentally prepared because I’m like, ‘I’m ready for this. And I’m ready to get more Darlings,’ and she’s been super supportive as well. So yeah, gagged and gooped, but grateful. The three Gs.
Did you have to be more selective when planning the setlist than you did for your own tour?
100%. My MD Mike is amazing. We have a general setlist but it’s always like, ‘What’s the right vibe for the girls?’ We want the girls to be excited, we don’t want them to be bored cause you’ve gotta convince people. I have a lot of slow, sad songs, which are great, but I’m like, ‘These girls are here for fun and jokes and a kii-kii.’ It was a lot of planning. I’ve got the songs from my new EP – “Can we talk about Isaac?” and one called “23:42” which is not released. It was just trying to bring fun to the crowd and do songs that everyone can get involved in. For ‘It Is What It Is’ we’ve got a two-step going. My new song – I get everyone to wave and sing ‘La la la la.’ ‘All I Ever Asked’ – the whole crowd sings it. ‘Never Need Me’ – I get people to jump. It’s trying to find ways to – I would say warm them up – but I’m hoping that they’re quite tired by the end of my set.
Do you have a different pre-show ritual for an arena show compared to a more intimate one?
I think I have so far got quite a different routine. I think for my own fans, it sounds awful to say, but I know that they’re probably going to be singing louder than me so a couple of vocal warmups don’t happen for my own shows. Emma (my singing teacher) won’t like that, I’m sorry! But for this arena tour, I’m like, ‘No one’s going to be singing along with me,’ so I got Emma to get me a whole routine. I’ve got vocal steamers and the whole shebang. I’ve got to make sure I’m in the right headspace for an hour and a half before the show.
Do you feel more nervous before a bigger show?
I think a bigger show is actually a bit better to be honest. When it’s smaller, you can see everyone’s faces a lot closer and that is actually kind of scary because if someone’s talking, you’re looking at someone talking right in front of you. But the arenas, apart from the front row, it’s just like a wall of faces and you have no expectation because you’re like, ‘It might be the person at the front that’s listening, but if they’re not listening, there’s another 20,000 people at the back who might be listening.’ So it feels a lot better, to be honest. It’s quite fun.
You earned two nominations at this year’s BRITs – including Artist of the Year. What was your reaction when you found out?
I cried for four hours. I called [my photographer] Lauren and I cried to Lauren first after speaking to Hope. I said that it was traumatic because I was actually going through a lot – meaning crying a lot because I was in so much shock. It was very surreal. I kind of don’t really believe it happened – it feels like a fever dream. Funnily enough, on the day I was quite calm. But all the anxiety was hitting me in one way because my brain was like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I’ve worked enough to get nominated.’ Very, very grateful. Especially as a BRIT school student.
Did going to the show make it feel more real or had you come to terms with acknowledging it at that point?
I don’t think I acknowledged it until they started reading the names on the screen. When they were like, ‘Best New Artist!’, that’s when I was like, ‘Oh! This is not just a fun thing I’m just dabbling about doing, I’m actually in the mix of whatever’s going on.’ I’ve gone to a lot of red carpet things and events, and when you’re not nominated it’s not really that big of a deal, I guess you’re just there for vibes. But when I saw the nominations on the screen and when I saw myself, my brain was like, ‘Woah! That’s mental.’ It was a dream come true. And then we were on tour the next day. No rest.
Speaking of no rest, you’ve already had a busy year. Can you tease any exciting plans for the coming months?
My EP ‘Little House’ comes out on April 4th. After my US tour, my plan is to write a second album. That’s my plan. I can’t confirm if it will be done completely, but my plan is to get my head down and write the next album. I’m feeling very ready for it.
Have you got anything written already or are you starting completely from scratch?
From scratch. The pop girlies last year were just inspiring. The girls were girling. Even at the BRITs, seeing all the girls nominated, RAYE, Chappell Roan, Sabrina, Charli xcx. I was just like, ‘Oh my God. This is amazing.’ I think I’ve just been watching them all, not necessarily studying, but just being inspired by them and their campaigns and what they want to achieve and what I can do differently in my campaign. I have rough ideas and I’m very inspired by a lot of campaigns from last year.
Rachel Chinouriri’s new single “Can we talk about Isaac?’ is out now. Get tickets for her US tour here.
Photograph: Lauren Harris
