FEATURE: Spotlight: Chanel Yates — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

Chanel Yates

__________

I really love…

Chanel Yates, though I am fairly new to her music. I am spotlighting her now, as this year is going to be a huge one for Yates. Last year, she put out singles such as Colourblind and Big Girl Boots. In January, BBC Introducing named their Yorkshire artists to look out for. Chanel Yates was among a glittering array of artists who are going to make a big impression on the music industry:

“This Country Pop Queen ticked off some bucket list-level accomplishments throughout 2025, including topping the bill on our very own BBC Introducing stage at Reading and Leeds.

But, knowing Chanel, there will be no signs of slowing down, with a sold-out headline show already booked for February.

Just being in her presence for a short time can lead to a marked improvement in your mood as she embodies the sort of kindness and positivity I have only ever seen in correspondence with the great Dolly Parton.

Currently based in London, but hailing from Sheffield, she lists Alanis Morrisette, Kacey Musgraves, Kelsea Ballerini, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift and Megan Moroney among her many influences”.

There is so much to admire about Chanel Yates. Her music is filled with personality and nuance. You are immedietyl hit by it but, with every new listen, you get some different. I have never seen her live, though I can imagine she is a remarkable and hugely engaging performer. After such a busy 2025, this year is one where a whole host of new people have connected with her work and will spread the word. Once, Country music was seen as quite niche or uncool. However, with huge artists releasing Country albums, it shines a spotlight on the whole genre.

There are a couple of interviews from last year that I want to come to. I am going to move first to some further biography of the tremendous Chanel Yates. If you have not connected with her yet, then I would strongly urge you to and listen to her music. This is someone who is going to stand alongside our best and most popular artists very soon. There are few in music that are as instantly awe-inspiring as her:

“Chanel Yates is the pocket sized cowgirl everyone’s talking about. With a fast growing global fanbase and support from BBC Introducing and BBC Radio 1’s Future Pop, Chanel’s honest, no filter songwriting has made her one of the most exciting new voices to watch in country music.

Rooted in real life moments, heartbreak and humour, Chanel’s girl power anthems have resonated with fans around the world, gaining millions of streams and landing on top editorial playlists across Spotify and Apple Music. Chanel is creating a huge buzz in the UK and overseas with her relatable lyrics paired with a viral line dance for one of her latest records “Big Girl Boots.”

On stage, she brings her signature style and infectious energy to life, lighting up festivals like C2C, Tramlines, Reading and Leeds Festival, and most recently hitting the road across the UK and Europe on tour with Alexandra Kay. Whether she is playing sold out headline shows or writing in Nashville, Chanel continues to break genre boundaries.

After a breakout year of sold out shows, major festivals, and with new music on the way this year, Chanel Yates is THE one to watch. She’s the sister you call after a breakup, and your new bestie in country music”.

Country in the UK sat down with Chanel Yates last year. Talking about her then-new single, Colourblind, and reflecting on a year where she played some huge and important festivals, it was clear that a very special artist was in our midst. One that I can see dominating some massive U.S. stages and festivals very soon. It will be really exciting seeing where Chanel Yates will go from here:

“2025 has been a huge year for Chanel Yates where she has cemented her place as one of the hottest emerging acts in country music on this side of the Atlantic with her infectious and catchy melodies along with charming and fun on-stage performances. Through the course of the year, she made her debut at C2C: Country to Country, opened for Alexandra Kay on her extensive UK tour, has had mainstream radio airplay on both BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2, had viral success with her hit “Big Girl Boots” along with playing Reading and Leeds festivals which are two of the UK’s largest multi-genre events.
As the year draws to a close, Chanel has just released her latest track “Colourblind” and also announced her first headline show for February at The Grace in London so we had plenty to catchup on and look forward to when we hung out with her on Zoom.
How you doing girl?

“I'm good, I'm really good. My tickets went up for sale for my show today and we've sold out the pre-sale already which is very fun so have just been working on that this morning.”

Yay! Well done you, it’s main sale tomorrow isn’t it and it’s at The Grace in Highbury. It’s a cool venue, with a bit of WWE style steel cage like structure around the bar where you think it could be chaos if things get too rowdy. Selling out in the pre-sale is amazing but getting to do your first headline show somewhere like there is a really big thing and one of those things that really shows you how things are progressing.

“Yeah for sure, it's a good one, I'm very excited.”

I know I've seen you about a bunch at various things, but since we last like spoke properly, which was like in March, I guess, you've been super, super busy, so let's start with the one that really stands out to me. Reading and Leeds, which obviously is huge, it's probably the biggest festival here outside of Glastonbury and although it's multi-genre, it's typically not somewhere that country, Americana and even commercial pop artists tend to feature too much. How was that in terms of playing and also, how was that as a crowd for an artist like you compared to what you're normally used to at country events?

“Yeah, it was really, really cool. I got to represent country music at a festival that, like you say is not really known for that. It was a very special moment and I got to play with a band with my new music which was amazing because I have the most talented friends. My friend Caleb on the drums, Tom on guitar and Ollie was on my playback for one of the shows. It was just crazy, it was really fun and Chappell Roan was headlining the big stage and it was a great crossover because her fans, I'd say are very similar to my fans so there's a really cool crossover there with people wearing cowboy hats, boots and everything. So, they stopped and saw me wearing a cowboy hat and boots where they were like, oh, this is my kind of music. It was really fun to be able to own the stage in that sense and headline on my first time playing Reading and Leeds, It was really fun.”

You mentioned you played with a band there, is that something that we're going to see at the show at The Grace?

“Yeah, I would say I'd expect a band. It's very fun to just have my boys on stage with me or the girls if I end up getting girls in the band. It’s too fun so definitely looking out for a band.”

Another cool thing this year, was going out on the road with Alexandra Kay and I thought you were great when I saw you at Shepherd’s Bush. We also love you neon sign and it looks so cool! I love AK, I got to chat with her in Berlin last year and she’s so much fun but what’s she like to tour with?

“She's really great, her team are amazing and I’m thankful for having the opportunity to be on the road with them and make really good friends with them. It's lovely to be in that environment and we played some really epic venues, like O2 Shepherd’s Bush has been on the bucket list for a while and we got to tick that off, which was so fun. It was me and Ollie, he controls all my playback and everything runs smooth. He's always watching and it was great, it was really fun time.”

As well as the headline show being announced, we’ve had some new music, so give us the backstory being “Colourblind” and where the idea came from.

“Yeah it came at a point of me just trying to write a lot of new music. I spent a lot of time in Nashville, then when I came back, we got in the studio and we were like, okay, well, I need a new record to put out, what could it be? We started writing “Colourblind” and I was kind of in a place where I'd released like a revenge anthem with “Shotgun Seat” and “Big Girl Boots” are very powerful anthems, and I thought, we need another. “Colourblind” is that don't get bitter, get better, kind of mindset. It's just like, I don't need to prove anything to you that I'm doing better than you, because clearly, I'm just doing better than you. I think it's just fun to be like the nonchalant big sister of all of the three songs that I've released this year. I love it because in the chorus, there is very playful lyricism with colour theory in there, so like, I saw red when you walked out then I was down and blue when I was crying on the couch. It just uses colour of a lot, I love colour and every corset was a different colour in my show so I just love incorporating colour and I think I got to do that with “Colourblind” so it's very fun.”

You'd said that this was the third of three songs this year, are we building towards something bigger and more extended with them?

“I'm not too sure yet. I'm working on a lot of stuff and I'm kind of compiling as it goes along, where whatever happens next year, happens next year, but I think there's a lot of new music that I will be putting out next year because I just love it. I think that “Big Girl Boots” and “Shotgun Seat” have set a really fun wave for my sound and I think it's just been so cool to be able to see them connect with my fans in a different way. So, yeah, I expect lots of new music next year. I'm not sure what it will look like but I have plans in my head and I'm very excited so we'll see where it goes”.

I am going to end with Headliner and their interview from last year. Focusing on a British Country-Pop artist making waves in a genre dominated by U.S. artists, there were so many reasons to be proud of Chanel Yates. As they say, she is a “fast-growing global fanbase and support from BBC Introducing and BBC Radio 1’s Future Pop, Yates’ honest, no-filter, girl-power songwriting has made her one of the most exciting new voices in country music”:

“Where did your love of country music come from?

My parents never listened to country music. It wasn’t a thing in our household. They loved pop; my mum’s a massive Take That fan, and so was my dad. The first albums that I got for Christmas were Black Eyed Peas and JLS. It was all very pop-related. Avril Lavigne, too – I had her on repeat. Let Go is one of the best albums ever.

Then I found Alanis Morissette, who was set in the pop space and completely dominated the songwriting from that perspective, and then I discovered Kacey Musgraves. That’s when I realised I wanted to be a songwriter. Jon Bellion is one of my favourite artists of all time, and I was the biggest die-hard One Direction fan. I’ve carried that into my music now. It’s pop-country. Country music is the core of it, but there are a lot of very poppy hooks that I include and try to blend.

Country music is having a huge resurgence in the mainstream UK charts thanks to artists like Beyoncé, Morgan Wallen, and Post Malone. How has it been to see that rise in mainstream popularity over here?

It’s the best thing in the world, because there are just so many country artists coming to the UK now. I got to tour with Alexandra Kay, and that was the biggest dream ever – being able to do that with a US country artist. It’s so cool to see it all happening. Jessie Murph, Megan Moroney coming over here, and Zach Bryan at Hyde Park – it’s amazing.

Your songwriting is based on your real experiences. Do you get used to revealing personal things about yourself through your music, especially if people you know can guess who the songs are written about?

I see music as therapy. All my songs are about something I’ve been through. People in my life go, “Oh, that’s about this person,” or “I know exactly who this song’s about.” People who don’t know you personally won’t know who it’s about, but they’ll know it’s about someone.

It’s great to be able to write about real things and to write what you’re going through. People relate to it because your experience isn’t unique. Somebody else has experienced it. Somebody else has been cheated on. Somebody else has been lied to. Somebody else has had a really toxic partner, or a really great partner, or been so in love. Those experiences are so universal. Songwriting ties it all together, especially in this genre. Storytelling is the core of it.

Colourblind is a post-breakup anthem celebrating confidence, self-worth, and growth. What were you thinking about when you wrote this song?

I just got back from Nashville, and I did a lot of sessions out there. I came back feeling really inspired and needed a song to follow Shotgun Seat. I wanted it to be a big anthem. We wrote this in the studio, and we all got goosebumps listening to it.

When you get that feeling, it’s very rare, so I just ran with it and created Colourblind. To me, the lyrics – “If you’re thinking that the grass is greener on the other side, baby, you’re colourblind – just made sense. The grass isn’t actually greener; it just looks different from what it is.

Big Girl Boots was a rage girl anthem; walking away from someone, putting on your big girl boots. Shotgun Seat was about setting fire to a car.

With Colourblind, I wanted something a bit more nonchalant. I wanted it to be like, “Yeah, well, you left me – joke’s on you, I’m the better person.” So to me, it’s that sassy, nonchalant big-sister energy in the song. It’s about someone thinking they’re better off without you, but really, they’re wrong.

What can you reveal about any upcoming new music?

What I can tell you is there’s a lot of new music on the way. 2026 is definitely going to be full of new stuff, and I’m really excited to put it out. Hopefully it connects – fingers crossed.

Away from music, what do you like to do?

My life is completely consumed by music; I don’t even know what I do outside of it. I play golf. It’s a nice time because you’re off your phone, just hitting balls. It’s really good for getting anger out, too. Honestly, if you’re angry, go to the golf course, smash some balls, and probably get even more frustrated because they don’t go where you want them to [laughs]. But I love that.

The gym is super important to me as well. I love to be strong. When you’re on the road, you need to be able to carry stuff, and of course, you need to be fit to run around on stage for an hour. So yeah, the gym and golf are my two little pastimes”.

You just know Chanel Yates is going to be a massive artist. We will see many albums and some headline shows for sure. I am writing this before the first taste of new music in 2026. Caputing so much attention and love right now, here is an immensely talented musician who should be…