Chloe Bailey is proving how powerful her voice really is.
Sister duo Chloe x Halle started posting on each of their independent Instagram accounts on Jan. 19, with Chloe raking up 1.4 million followers and Halle earning 810,000 so far.
It allowed the singers to show off their individual identities and come into their own. However, social media users soon jumped on Chloe for posting steamy videos celebrating her body and dance moves.
The 22 year old addressed the backlash during an Instagram Live session on Jan. 31, making it clear her videos are less about being risqué and more about embracing body acceptance and demonstrating self-love.
She told fans she wanted them to meet "the real me," which is not so "clean cut" and "completely different" from her younger sister Halle Bailey, 20, the star of Disney's upcoming live-action Little Mermaid.
"I feel so confident when I get to tap into the sexier side of me," Chloe said. "It's taken a lot for me to show the world for who I really am inside... I've been really insecure for a long time, and I'm finally at that place where I have self-confidence."
Through tears, she continued, "I'm really happy that I get to share that with you all. And I think it's so important and so special when a Black woman can be strong and stand in her power in every single way. I do it musically. With my songwriting and my producing, I feel so badass. And I get the same feeling when I dance in my room, when I just own who I am and my body."
The musician then opened up about her own self-acceptance journey and the struggles she's overcome.
"For so long, I used to think I was like fat, and I used to hate my stretch marks and my cellulite. I'm not gonna cry. But it's like now, I really love who I am," Chloe shared. "There's been so many times when I felt I wasn't pretty enough, where I have a lot of issues with my weight, so it's really a pivotal time for me. I'm just now learning at like 22, almost 23, that it's okay to be all that you are and to stand in that power."
Two days ago, the "Do It" singer shared an old clip of herself in her underwear and a T-shirt as she danced around a bedroom and lit sage, writing, "good vibes onlyyyy." Five days ago, she revealed a video of herself dancing, with blue light accentuating her silhouette. She called it, "a special performance for all of you."
Her friends loved it. Storm Reid commented, "My mouth is on the floor." Kehlani wrote, "i want this to play on my wall everytime i walk in the house." And Justine Skye gushed, "OH! GO OFF THEN!"
However, Chloe was adamant that she didn't post the sexy videos for anyone but herself. As she put it, "I don't post what I post for validation from anybody, or even male attention. It's just me."
She went on, "That's why I'm so appreciative of all of you who've been supporting me. And I'm not going to change who I am. If I did, I would be a catfish and you all wouldn't see the real me that my family sees, that Halle knows. It's not a shock to her 'cause she knows I'm like this all the time."
She believes Chloe x Halle has experienced a "beautiful transition" from their younger days, ever since they were first discovered by Beyoncé and won Radio Disney's Next Big Thing competition in 2012.
The sisters released their EP Sugar Symphony in 2016 and their most recent album, Ungodly Hour, in 2020.