Halle Bailey is gearing up for a busy schedule in the upcoming months. The 23-year-old is starring in the much-anticipated live-action reboot of The Little Mermaid and the December 2023 release of The Color Purple.

Bailey also revealed she is currently working on her debut solo album. The singer and actor opened up about the upcoming project in a cover story for the May issue of British Vogue. She told the outlet she has been spending her evenings working on her album in a small production room at Westlake Recording Studios in West Hollywood, California.

Bailey — who is musically known for being paired up with her sister, Chloe Bailey, as the Grammy-nominated duo Chloe x Halle — shared independence is a central theme to the album. She also cited jazz and grunge as some of the main influences for the project.

Bailey told British Vogue she has been turning to Chloe, who recently released her solo debut album, for feedback. She has also been bouncing ideas off of Beyoncé, who has been the sisters’ mentor since early in their careers.

“I just played her a lot of my songs, and she was really overjoyed for me,” Bailey said about reaching out to Beyoncé for guidance. “It’s really cool to have somebody as established and talented as she is giving you confirmation that the art you’re creating matters.”

“She won’t outright be like, ‘This is what I think you should do.’ She’s very open that way. And to have that since we were 15 is something I do not take for granted,” she added.

Online, fans of Bailey quickly took notice of the announcement. Some expressed excitement at her finding inspiration in jazz and grunge music, while others were inspired to create their concept art for the album based on her photo shoot with Vogue.

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