Hidden Tunes: Chloe Qisha & Debbii Dawson

By Han,

As a music lover, I am often seeking new artists to listen to. And as a listener, I value the amount of passion an artist has and the quality of work they put out as it brings me a sense of motivation in life.

I discovered Chloe Qisha a few months ago with her song '21st Century Cool Girl', a bittersweet ballad about a young girl who's asking to be loved by someone despite her imperfections and insecurities. I really admire Chloe's songwriting style as everything is written very poetically as if she's writing a diary instead of a song. Her songwriting style is very reminiscent of Olivia Rodrigo. My favorite line is "Now this could be hyperbole, but I'm afraid I might die if you're not holding me tight", the way the line is sung showcases vulnerability, the writer herself being confused if she's being literal or exaggerating about her longing for love. Chloe has yet to come out with a debut album so now is the perfect time to catch up with her music. Fun fact: Chloe was born in Malaysia and is now residing in London!

I discovered Debbii Dawson quite recently with her song 'You Killed The Music'. It's an empowering synth pop disco ballad that talks about leaving behind a toxic partner and standing tall while doing so. The highlight of the song is definitely the song's production, a pop synth instrumental that is reminiscent of classic acts like ABBA and Cyndi Lauper. Although the songwriting is straightforward, the lyrics are filled with various music lingos to describe different actions. "Now I'm playing all the songs that I know you wouldn't like, the day that you left, I came alive" is a line I really relate to. I have never really came across another person that had the same interest in music as I do as I preferred underrated music as opposed to radio hits. I never really play my music around other people as they never like what I play. But there is a sense of freedom in listening to lesser known artists because I am choosing to listen to what I want, and not what other people want me to.