Chloe Moriondo

Queer singer Chloe Moriondo is wise beyond her 22 years of age. The Detroit, Michigan native has grown up in the music business while cultivating a captivating career.

She self-released Rabbit Hearted. and then hopped over to Blood Bunny as her first studio record. Suckerpunch was her breakup project and Oyster was released in March of this year.

Opening act on The Oyster Tour, Sex Week described her set as “incredible,” and a rainbow of fans agree after catching her concerts across the globe.   

Moriondo talked backstage at the Bottom Lounge about following her “Dreams.”

JN: (Jerry Nunn) Let's start off with pronouns.

CM: (Chloe Moriondo) Girl/thing and she/they.

JN: You are from Michigan. Are you still based there?

CM: Yes, for now. I'm considering relocating to New York this year, because my drummer and my bassist both live there. I want to spread my wings a little bit, but I still love Michigan.

I have put in some roots there and have now experienced being an adult while becoming a musician at home first before leaving the nest.

JN: Did you always want to be a singer?

CM: Yes. There wasn’t anything else I ever truly pictured myself doing other than that.

Once people started asking me if I had a backup plan, I realized I might need one. I was at my sixth-grade job fair and I wasn’t allowed to pick being a musician as my job, so I had to choose something else. I love animals, so I thought about being a veterinarian or possibly working with kids, but in this lifetime, the only thing that was ever meant for me was music.

JN: You seem like someone who has never wanted to be put in a box.

CM: That’s true. I usually don’t stay in one place too long or have the same look for a long time. I just follow my gut and my heart in how I express myself.

JN: This is the second stop on The Oyster Tour?

CM: Yes, this is day two, which is very exciting for me.

JN: I noticed your fans waiting outside the venue are adorable.

CM: They are the most wonderful people I could ever ask to come to my shows and support me. They make it possible so that I can come here on tour.

We are very like-minded and most of them aren't even gay like me. We just all feel comfortable and happy to be celebrating music together in the same room.

I feel so grateful that I've been able to make something that has impacted their lives in any way, especially enough to buy a ticket and come see the show. It's something I don't take lightly.

JN: How did you approach Oyster? It seems a departure from your other records.

CM: I feel each album is a departure. I've been so many different people in my life since I started properly releasing music. The first album I released was made from writing songs when I was 13. It's been almost 10 years since I've been writing things to release, which is crazy!

I have definitely evolved and had many different eras, looks and styles.

I like different types of music, so my albums reflect that. With Rabbit Hearted. I was listening to softer music and acoustic cover artists back then. With an album like Suckerpunch, I was listening to a bunch of new age stuff and hyper-pop like 100 gecs. With Oyster, I unintentionally took little pieces of each album that were still resonating with me and mixed them all into one. It’s my beautiful, saltwater baby!

JN: I love a 100 gecs reference. They are one to see play live.

CM: They are insane and very creative.

JN: Have you played at Lollapalooza yet?

CM: No, but I would love to. We are going to push for festivals next year. Since I just released this album this year, I am focused on the tour. I miss playing festivals so much and I can't wait to get my claws back in the dirt!

JN: What is the sample you used at the beginning of your track “weak?”

CM: It’s a sample from an old public service video about puberty. The storyline in the video is a mother telling a teenage girl how love develops as she grows up. I thought it was sweet and topical, considering I am still learning about different types of love and my capacity for it.

My past heartbreak inspired this album and my personal feelings towards love are multifaceted.

I told the producer of that song, Jonah Summerfield, that I wanted to use a sample involving a hopeless crush, so we dove into YouTube.

JN: Your cover version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dream” is really special.

CM: Thank you. I hold my cover songs close to my heart because at the beginning of my career, most people found me through my cover songs.

When I first started making original music, I had some bitterness and resentment towards the cover songs because I wanted to be known for my own work. Now I love singing other people’s music and making it my own.

“Dreams” is one of my favorites for sure. I'm really glad that it did well. Both “Dreams” and “Dog Days Are Over” are significant covers to me that I enjoyed making.

JN: What does the month of June mean to you?

CM: Pride means celebration and safety. Even having one friend in the LGBTQ+ community can make you feel safe to be yourself.

There are so many different ways to feel comfortable as a queer person nowadays. To be frank, it's been getting so much scarier for people very close to me and for myself.

Pride, to me lately, has been about being able to freely express myself and be safe while doing it.

I will continue to cultivate small spaces at my shows where the community can come together and celebrate something without judgment. It’s just so elementary. How can anyone judge someone for being themselves? They taught us in school to be nice to other people, no matter how they are and it's not that hard to do.

JN: It's not hard to respect people and their pronouns.

CM: Exactly.

JN: You have created a safe space at the Bottom Lounge tonight.

CM: I like to keep things as light as possible with celebrating Pride because queer people deserve to be happy. We all need a real celebration where we don't have to think about the shitty stuff especially when the shitty stuff's getting shittier. We have to think about heavy things every day, so an escape is needed to survive.

JN: You are going to make me cry. You are very wise beyond your years.

CM: Thank you. That means a lot to me. I feel very passionate about it, especially when people are suffering out there.

JN: Maybe this is all meant to bring out bad people into the light. We are not hiding anymore.

CM: Not anymore, at least…

JN: Do you have a favorite queer singer?

CM: That will always be Lady Gaga. After I started listening to her on the radio, she was always my pop girl.

There are tons of queer artists I like and sometimes I won’t know they are queer so they become a little gem to me. I didn’t know Doechii was queer until she started rapping about it.

I love it when people are happy and celebratory about being bisexual, gay, trans or any form of being queer. It’s very cool to be loud about it!

I can’t imagine Chappell Roan blowing up so fast and being one of the most famous lesbians in the world. There’s an influx of out and proud lesbians talking about loving women and being excited about it. There are some people who are still uncomfortable with that and that needs to change.

JN: I couldn’t manage with Chappell’s crowd at Lolla to see Kesha play at the stage across from her. Kesha identifies as part of the LGBTQ+ community, too.

CM: I didn’t know that. She was another pop icon that I grew up on and was inspired by. I think almost every musician I listen to these days is queer.

JN: Happy Pride!