Rachel Chinouriri facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rachel Chinouriri
Chinouriri in 2024
Background information
Born	(1998-11-01) 1 November 1998 (age 26) Kingston upon Thames, Greater London, England
Origin	London, England
Genres	Alternative pop indie pop pop rock indie rock Britpop revival
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2018–present
Labels	Parlophone

Rachel Chinouriri (born November 1, 1998; pronounced CHIN-ə-REE-ree) is an English singer and songwriter. She started sharing her music on SoundCloud, a website where people can upload and listen to songs. In 2018, she began releasing her music on bigger streaming platforms.

Her first collection of songs, called an extended play (EP), was Mama's Boy, released in 2019. It was very popular with music critics. One song from the EP, "So My Darling," became famous on TikTok. People used it a lot in their videos, making it a trending sound.

Rachel Chinouriri later signed with Parlophone, a record label. With them, she released her first mini-album, Four° In Winter, in 2021. A song from this album, "Give Me A Reason," was even nominated for a special award called the Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song. In 2022, she released her second EP, Better Off Without. Her first full album, What a Devastating Turn of Events, came out in May 2024.

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

Rachel Chinouriri was born in Kingston Hospital, Surrey, on November 1, 1998. When she was three, her family moved to Croydon, where she grew up. Her family had moved to the UK from Zimbabwe before she was born. Growing up, she was very interested in British culture, especially its music.

As a teenager, she was inspired by bands like Daughter and singer Lily Allen. When she was 17, Rachel started writing her own songs. She recorded them using a simple microphone and uploaded them to SoundCloud from her mother's laptop. This was how her musical journey began!

Rachel Chinouriri's Music Career

Rachel Chinouriri officially started releasing her songs on major music streaming platforms in 2018. This led to her signing with Parlophone records. Her first song with the label was "So My Darling," which she wrote when she was 17. This song was even played on BBC Radio 1.

In 2019, she was announced as a performer at the Field Day festival. After "So My Darling," she released another song called "Adrenaline" in April 2019. She also performed her own headline show in London in June 2019.

First EPs and Mini-Album

Rachel released her first EP, Mama's Boy, in August 2019. It received great reviews. After that, she released "Where Do I Go?", a song about her thoughts on the afterlife. She performed at the Dot to Dot Festival and Pitchfork Music Festival that year.

In July 2020, she released "Beautiful Disaster" with Sam Dotia. Critics said it was an honest song about feeling alone at night, showing Rachel's powerful voice. She then released several more songs, including "Give Me a Reason" and "Darker Place." "Through the Eye" was the main song from her first mini-album, Four° In Winter, which came out in September 2021. Later that year, she released a special version of the album with three new songs.

TikTok Fame and Recent Releases

In January 2022, her 2018 song "So My Darling" became very popular on TikTok. Because of this, Rachel released an acoustic (simpler, unplugged) version of the song. At that time, the song's audio was used in over 40,000 TikTok videos!

In March 2022, she released "All I Ever Asked." This song was chosen as the "Hottest Record in the World" by Clara Amfo on BBC Radio 1. Rachel then announced plans for a second EP, which would include this song, and a tour across the UK. That summer, she played at the Great Escape Festival and Boardmasters Festival. She also opened for singer Sam Fender at one of his concerts.

Rachel played at many summer festivals, including Latitude Festival and Truck Festival. Later that year, she was chosen to open for Louis Tomlinson on the European part of his tour.

Debut Album and Major Festivals

In January 2024, Rachel Chinouriri announced her first full album, What a Devastating Turn of Events, would be released on May 3. Before the album came out, she released four songs from it: "The Hills," "Never Need Me," the album's title track, and "It Is What It Is."

What a Devastating Turn of Events reached number 17 on the UK Albums Chart and number 5 on the Scottish Albums Chart in May 2024. Also in May, Rachel performed at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend festival in Luton. In June, she played on the Other Stage at Glastonbury Festival 2024, performing her own songs and a cover of Estelle's "American Boy." In July, it was announced that she would open for Sabrina Carpenter on her UK and European tour in 2025.

Musical Style and Influences

Rachel Chinouriri grew up listening to many different types of music. She enjoyed indie music, pop girl groups like Girls Aloud, and Britpop bands such as Oasis and Blur. She also listened to African a cappella music.

She has said that Daughter and Ladysmith Black Mambo are her main inspirations. Her favorite band is Coldplay. She also admires artists like Sampha and Kings of Leon. For her first album, Rachel was inspired by the look and sound of early 2000s Britpop culture and the music icons she loved as a child.

Personal Life and Values

In March 2024, Rachel Chinouriri decided not to perform at the South by Southwest music festival in Texas. She explained that the topic of war is very difficult for her, as her parents had experienced war in Zimbabwe before moving to the UK. She wanted to show support for all victims of war.

Discography

Studio albums

Mini-albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Tours

Headlining

• What a Devastating Turn of Events (2024)

Supporting

• Short n' Sweet Tour (2025)

Awards and Nominations