Daisy Bertenshaw (born 2 December 1996), also known as Chinchilla (stylised in

all caps In typography, text or font in all caps (short for "all capitals") contains capital letters without any lowercase letters. For example: All-caps text can be seen in legal documents, advertisements, newspaper headlines, and the titles on book co ...

), is a British singer and rapper.

Early life

Born and raised in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, both her parents worked as actors. While she was at school, she played in a band with six of her friends. She enrolled in a creative artistry course at Metropolis Studios, run by the music college ACM, she graduated in 2018 with a degree in Music Industry Practice.

Career

Chinchilla independently released her debut single "Elements" in 2019, and her debut EP ''Awakening'' in 2020, receiving positive coverage with '' Clashs Robin Murray describing it as "remarkable introduction" and "an empowering document from the pop polymath". Released on August 13, 2021 Bertenshaw's second EP ''Moon Maintenance for Dummies'' was met with positive reviews from music critics. "ASBO" magazine's Connor Fogarty wrote that "true to her eclectic, one-of-a-kind style, each track delivers a generous handful of different genre influences and bravado, ranging all the way from country to nineties R&B." Bertenshaw auditioned for the twelve series of ''

The Voice UK ''The Voice UK'' is a British singing reality competition television series. Created by John de Mol and Roel van Velzen, it premiered on BBC One on 24 March 2012. Based on the original Dutch singing competition '' The Voice of Holland'', and ...

'', and at the blind auditions she performed "

I Put a Spell on You "I Put a Spell on You" is a 1956 song recorded by "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins and co-written with Herb Slotkin. The selection became a classic cult song, covered by a variety of artists. It was Hawkins's greatest commercial success, reportedly su ...

". Judges

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "will I am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he ...

, Anne-Marie and

Olly Murs Oliver Stanley Murs (born 14 May 1984) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence after participating on the sixth series of the television talent show ''The X Factor'' in 2009, where he finished as runn ...

turned around for her. She opted to join Anne-Marie. In the callbacks she competed against Lil Shakz, Ryan Barton and Nia Ekanem performing the song "

Virtual Insanity "Virtual Insanity" is a song by British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai, released on 19 August 1996 by Sony Soho Square as the second single from their third studio album, ''Travelling Without Moving'' (1996). The song was written by Jay Kay ...

" where she was eliminated. In April 2023, Bertenshaw released her most successful single to date "Little Girl Gone". The track managed to peak at number 91 on UK's 'update' chart as well as it helped her to become the first female soloist in the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' 's

Emerging Artists The Emerging Artists is a music chart released weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine listing the most popular developing musician, music artists. The chart uses the same formula as the all-encompassing Artist 100, ''Billboard'' Art ...

chart's six-year history to debut at number 1. The track also serves as the lead single for her third extended play. On March 19, 2024, Bertenshaw released "MF Diamond". When speaking about the track's music video, Chinchilla stated "I wanted to make something inclusive without being corny or cliché. Something about elderly/older women makes me think of diamonds." Her third extended play ''Flytrap'' was announced in May 2024, and subsequently released in June that year.

Artistry

Bertenshaw's music touches on

alternative pop Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

and R&B, but she herself described her music as "feisty-pop". She also stated that "the biggest word that ties together my whole sound and project is empowerment." Bertenshaw cited

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Little Mix Little Mix are an English girl group that formed on the eighth series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor.'' They are the first group and the only girl group to win the original UK series. The lineup consisted of Leigh-Anne Pin ...

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and

Anne Marie Anne-Marie Rose Nicholson (born 7 April 1991) is an English singer and songwriter. She has attained various charting singles on the UK Singles Chart, including Clean Bandit's " Rockabye", which peaked at number one, as well as "Alarm", "Ciao ...

as her influences. She also stated that her "biggest" influences are Beyonce,

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Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...

and

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

Discography

EPs

Singles

References

External links

* {{Authority control __FORCETOC__ 1996 births Living people English pop singers English women songwriters Musicians from London 21st-century English singers 21st-century English women singers