Chinchilla (singer)

Born and raised in London, 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.^[1]

Chinchilla independently released her debut single "Elements" in 2019, and her debut EP Awakening in 2020, receiving positive coverage with Clash's Robin Murray describing it as "remarkable introduction" and "an empowering document from the pop polymath".^[2] 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."^[3]

Bertenshaw auditioned for the twelve series of The Voice UK, and at the blind auditions she performed "I Put a Spell on You". Judges will.i.am, Anne-Marie and Olly Murs 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" where she was eliminated.^{[citation needed]}

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^[4] as well as it helped her to become the first female soloist in the Billboard 's Emerging Artists chart's six-year history to debut at number 1.^[5] The track also serves as the lead single for her third extended play.^{[citation needed]} 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."^[6] Her third extended play Flytrap was announced in May 2024, and subsequently released in June that year.^[7]

Bertenshaw's music touches on alternative pop and R&B, but she herself described her music as "feisty-pop".^[8]

She also stated that "the biggest word that ties together my whole sound and project is empowerment."^[9] Bertenshaw cited Prince, Alabama Shakes, 070 Shake and Bon Iver as her influences. She also stated that her "biggest" influences are Beyonce, Rihanna, Janis Joplin and Aretha Franklin.^[10][11]