She was born into a musical family. OutKast, Jill Scott, and Musiq Soulchild rang throughout their Atlanta home, and were drawn to jazz artists like Nina Simone and Billie Holiday. Haley and Chloe Bailey, now 24, sang all over town for anyone who would listen. They were persistent – “Can we sing for you?” She remembered asking Jermaine Dupri, So So Def’s director, to executive – and soon the local producers knew their names. Online, they posted their covers of classic R&B titles, and when Beyoncé’s “Best Thing I Never Had” went viral, it led to them being discovered by the star herself, who later signed her to Parkwood Entertainment.

As prodigies under Beyoncé’s wing, the sisters have released their own albums, amassing five Grammy Award nominations each. They opened for the singer during her Formation world tour in Europe in 2016 and performed during her On the Run II Tour two years later. From international teen concerts to starring in “black-ish” movies “maturity” Together, they were rarely apart. It wasn’t until filming “The Little Mermaid” in 2020 that Haley found herself separated from her sister. Despite this, Chloe’s support flooded in.

“It was really encouraging in more ways than one, as she was trying to say, ‘You have these beautiful wings, and here, go fly,’” Haley said. “So, it’s really nice to have my best friend telling me these things.”

Although they have their own apartments, they live in the same complex. When Haley got the call with the news that she had landed the starring role, Chloe was next to her sister and the two burst into tears.

Director Rob Marshall and another “Little Mermaid” producer, John DeLuca, had been eyeing the role of Billy since the moment they watched Chloe x Hal pay tribute to Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack with Where’s the Love at the 2019 Grammy Awards?.

“I saw this beautiful young girl with such an angelic voice, and I just thought, Oh my God, who is that?” Marshall told me on a video call.