Virtual concerts during Covid: Chloe x Halle’s 2020

Following Chloe x Halle through 2020 was one of the main joys of the barren year. The amount that they performed almost felt like a tour in itself, without the people and the travelling. Each and every performance was completely different. Even though they did Do It sixteen(!) times (Spelman College IG Live; Genius IG Love; Class Of 2020; Today Show; BET Awards; Glaad Awards; Jimmy Kimmel; US Open; United Service Organizations; TikTok; Amazon Represent's Career Summit; Triller; BBC 1xtra; Tiny Desk; Verizon Up; NBC New Year’s Eve), the performances were all unique.

In March during the first quarantine, CxH did a mini-concert on IG Live where they performed songs off their first album, The Kids Are Alright. Hello Friend, The Kids Are Alright, Happy Without Me, and Cool People were the songs that they chose. Already they were giving us live renditions of their songs by adapting to the Covid world, albeit without the glamorous outfits and choreo that came after the release of the Ungodly Hour album. On this IG Live they didn’t perform but played a teaser of both Catch Up, and of Do It, which had only been heard once before, when they performed it at their show at the Fonda Theater in December 2019. In any case, fans knew that the album was coming, and this mini-concert was only the start. Beautifully performing four songs and teasing two new ones was a lot, but was actually only the beginning of the amount of live performances and musical entertainment the duo would consistently give us thought the year. They did some more of these livestream mini-concerts; one in April for Billboard in aid of the Downtown Women’s Center singing Down, The Kids Are Alright, Catch Up, and Cool People. In May, they did one for Spelman College Graduates who were not able to walk their graduation because of Covid-19 singing Grown and Do It. During May they also took over Genius’s IG account to go live and perform Down, Happy Without Me, Catch Up, Do It, and Cool People.

The first stop on their virtual tour was Catch Up in April for the BET COVID-19 Relief Effort Special with Swae Lee. Halle is on the guitar and Chloe is playing the sampler, but because the notes in the song are already so high, their live vocals end up stealing the show as arguably they sound better than they did on the original song. The performance uses green lighting like the visualiser for the song, and brings cohesiveness to the performance which will have been filmed in two different places (CxH’s parts and Swae Lee’s parts).

BET COVID-19 RELIEF EFFORT SPECIAL (APRIL 2020) - CATCH UP

The Class of 2020 Do It performance came next. When Chloe said “Class of 2020! We’re so proud of y’all”, I felt like she was proud of me too, despite me not being in the Class of 2020. They looked so expensive in those white and diamonté outfits, and proved that they can have such a huge stage presence and performing quality, whilst only being stood on a small circle, and always knowing exactly which camera to look at. I particularly liked how Halle sung the second pre-chorus, and how Chloe switches up the notes during the final chorus (“Know how to keep it cooooool”) in this version.

CLASS OF 2020 (JUNE 2020) - DO IT

The Today Show performance went viral for a reason. It had everything - and it was all given to us from their back yard! Incredible! The iconicity of this performance with the outfits, the choreo, drone shots, the water and cloud print fabric on the tennis court and Halle’s “Today Show!”, made this performance unforgettable. It is my personal favourite performance of the song, and really did embody the lyrics “that's how you do it, keep stuntin' on your enemies, Good vibes only”. The performance is such fun and good vibes, AND of course so beautifully sung.

TODAY SHOW (JUNE 2020) - DO IT

The performance of ROYL at the Global Goal Concert actually wasn’t the first time CxH sung the song live. They had also performed the song, as a teaser to their then unreleased album, in December 2019 at the Fonda Theater. The GGC performance of the song is one of the duo’s most underrated. It features Halle on the electric guitar, green lasers that are reminiscent of their Catch Up performance, tons of energy, and stunning vocals as always.

GLOBAL GOAL CONCERT (JUNE 2020) - ROYL

The BET awards saw a two-song performance - Do It and Forgive Me; and it was in fact two performances in one really inventive and interesting way. It starts off with Forgive Me in the black outfits, the on-point choreo and just a general intensity that the song calls for. Then we switch to Do It in the white outfits, and the performance of this song is just as sharp as the first, meaning that they complement each other. At the end of the performance, the breakdown in Do It sees a dance battle between the two versions of CxH, the ones in the black outfits versus the ones in the white outfits. Honestly, both versions win, as can there really be a loser? They also did their own make-up and choreo here which is just extra proof of their multi-talented excellence.

BET AWARDS (JUNE 2020) - DO IT/FORGIVE ME

At the Glaad Awards we saw them perform Do It dressed as the Spice Girls along with drag queens Naomi Smalls, Mayhem Miller and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo. Halle dressed as posh spice, Chloe as scary spice, Naomi as ginger spice, Mayhem as baby spice and Vanjie as sporty spice. Filmed in a Gay bar, The Chapel at The Abbey, the performance has a glowy filter on it that only adds to its dreamlike vibes. CxH really do excel at everything they do, and at that point in the year I was more than convinced of their superstar talents. They just know how to put on a show.

GLAAD AWARDS (JULY 2020) - DO IT

Forgive Me (Acoustic) was the switch up that the song deserved. The song itself is one of the best songs I’ve ever heard in my lifetime, and this acoustic version is a really great variation of the song which really shows off their passionate vocals.

FORGIVE ME ACOUSTIC VERSION (AUGUST 2020)

The perfect example of how they continue to change up their own songs is the Jimmy Kimmel Do It performance. It showed off their musical capabilities, with Chloe playing the sampler and Halle playing the guitar, and actually went viral for the exact reason that it was a switch-up of the song. The same cloud fabric as the Today Show performance is used, but that and the song itself are where the similarities between the two performances end. This time we see a vintage filter on the performance, and CxH in beautiful red costumes with long draping fabric. The mic stands, guitar and sampler are also matching in red.

JIMMY KIMMEL (AUGUST 2020) - DO IT

The US Open was the first of their performance sets (three or more songs), and was also the first time they performed Busy Boy. They opened with the song, surprising us all, and absolutely bringing it to life. Forgive Me and Do It came next. Vocally this is one of their best sets, and at the time I watched it over and over, as it was the first of their longer performances in this era. I guess it also shows how much they just love performing on that tennis court. Some of the comments on this performance on YouTube about the tennis court are particularly hilarious.

US OPEN (AUGUST 2020) - BUSY BOY, FORGIVE ME, DO IT

The performances that gave us in 2020 were, and are, of a standard that no one else is currently providing. The VMAs had all sorts of huge name celebrities performing, but it was CxH performing title track Ungodly Hour in the pre-show that stole the entire night. The silver metallic outfits, the dangling silver chains and jewellery, the old school microphones, the lighting - everything about this performance is set up so perfectly. To think that Chloe choreographed the entire thing a couple hours before is just a credit to how truly special and incredible their talent is. I think I was just absolutely shocked watching it live, and was thankful that they uploaded it to their YouTube channel straight away so I could watch it again. This is by far the best version of Ungodly Hour, and I believe it will remain a standout performance throughout their career.

VMAS (AUGUST 2020) - UNGODLY HOUR

An acoustic version of Do It also came along to an event for the United Service Organizations, with Halle on the guitar and Chloe giving us the most extra but such fun hand actions to match the song. I just love how much fun they seem to be having every time they perform this song. This casual event also saw CxH perform the most angelic cover of A Change Is Gonna Come, and Cool People from their debut studio album The Kids Are Alright - the same two songs that they had also performed for National Voter Registration Day.

UNITED SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS (SEPTEMBER 2020) - A CHANGE IS GONNA COME, DO IT, COOL PEOPLE

The TikTok set was one of the more fun ones, with them being green-screened into space, performing Tipsy and Lonely for the first time. These versions of Tipsy and Lonely had Halle playing the electric guitar, and were most definitely a surprise to everyone watching, as there was no indication that they were going to perform these songs. It was with the TikTok set that I realised it was actually very likely that we would get live renditions of every song on Ungodly Hour. Busy Boy came next, and of course Do It was the song that they chose to end the set with. Watching this weird but wonderful set makes you feel like you’re out in that galaxy with them.

TIKTOK (OCTOBER 2020) - TIPSY, LONELY, BUSY BOY, DO IT

Following the release of the Do It (Remix) featuring Doja Cat, City Girls and Mulatto, CxH started performing their new remix verses live, starting with the Triller set. Beginning with the album intro and then into Forgive Me should 100% be the way they open all their future concerts, because this set proved that really is the perfect way to open. The green and grunge aesthetic they used for both the Catch Up and Forgive Me videos is here, as they don black outfits with sharp silver jewellery, along with temporary tattoos. The energy they both give this song will always hit, and it especially does in this live version. The transition from the intensity at the end of the song to their smiling faces introducing themselves is funny. The background visuals for the Do It (Remix) are multi-coloured, and the fun they have performing the song matches. They perform their extra verses from the remix, and if I’m being honest I prefer this version of the song - with their extra verses, but without the other artists. I find myself singing their extra verses to myself all the time, and I always rewatch this very set to hear it. Next they go straight into Busy Boy, and the background is various images of them. There is a little choreo which is really nice, and their focus on this track is captivating. Ungodly Hour is the last song they perform, and the background is silver, like their VMA outfits for the song. This set is one of my favourites because they really perform each song so excellently that you can’t help but your eyes are glued to them.

TRILLER (OCTOBER 2020) - DO IT REMIX, FORGIVE ME, UNGODLY HOUR, BUSY BOY

In the BBC 1xtra set, CxH wore the gold versions of their VMA performance outfits. Personally, I find it hard to choose a favourite, but when I asked Twitter, most people seemed to like the silver better. Tipsy was the star of this set. Halle’s gold guitar to match the gold outfits is a lovely touch. The retro camcorder angled shots interwoven with the HD footage zooming in and out is a really cool effect that adds to the ‘tipsy’-ness of the performance. For the Do It (Remix) we receive a version similar to the one performed on Jimmy Kimmel, as we have Chloe on the sampler and Halle on the acoustic guitar. This time we get their extra verses, which sound just as good in this acoustic version. Forgive Me is no longer available to watch anywhere since the wonderful people who posted the set in the first place got their YouTube channel removed, and I think CXHNOW must’ve removed the version they uploaded for copyright reasons. However, someone has uploaded an audio only version of the set. It’s such a shame, because it was a really great performance to watch. It starts off acoustic, and actually included Halle saying a variation of the line from the album intro, and so instead we hear “Never ask for permission, ask for forgiveness”. There are also some really nice note changes in this version, especially the notes at the end of the song and I really hope we can watch it again soon. Ungodly Hour is the ending of the set, and this is the mirror image of the VMA performance, as they are in the gold versions of the outfits, and are doing the same choreography, except this time they are stood on the spot in a pool of water. The mountains and the trees on the set of this performance really fit in with the Ungodly Hour era aesthetic. I really love how although separate, all the performances and sets they do link together, as it really does make it more like a tour to me even though it isn’t. I used to re-watch this one often, and if the set was still available to watch as a whole, I would re-watch it a lot more, but sadly it is only available as individual songs currently. A behind-the-scenes video reveals that like most of their performances, this too was done from the tennis court in their back yard.

BBC 1XTRA (OCTOBER 2020) - TIPSY, DO IT REMIX, FORGIVE ME, UNGODLY HOUR

Amazon Represent's Career Summit was more like an actual concert in terms of its length, as it runs around 35 minutes long, and they performed 8 songs; 5 from Ungodly Hour and 3 from The Kids Are Alright. Their outfits are more casual this time, white shirts and jeans, which makes sense given the event, and even without the glitzy outfits they look stunning. All they need is their mics on mic stands and a mustard curtain as a backdrop, and their voices, performance abilities and stage presence make this performance just as valuable as the more aesthetically rich ones. Forgive Me is the opener, then after a little introduction talk about Amazon we have Tipsy, which they begin by saying “It’s really fun, I like it” “Me too” “It’s a little funny story too”. After some more talk about music, they sing Lonely, and it really is so great to hear their live voices sing this song together. Busy Boy comes next, and then in the talk after the song Chloe says that “We put our album out this year, and even though we can’t like tour it like we want to around audiences and hear them sing the songs back to us, I’m still having just as much fun because we can do it virtually, just like we’re kinda doing right now”. For me, even though we can’t be at one of their concerts right now, we can watch these multiple performances again and again. Instead of just our own precious live version that we attend, we instead get multiple different versions in HD that we can re-watch to our heart’s desire. Of course there is nothing like a live concert, but this alternate experience is “just as much fun” in its own way. One of my favourites of their songs, Down, is next and I hope they never stop performing it live. The way Chloe sings the word “lazy” on the second verse is a highlight, as well as both of their high notes at the end of the song. They then sing Happy Without Me, which again I could never get tired of hearing them singing. Of course they had to perform Do It, although not the remix version, which is perhaps due to timing. They end the set with Cool People, which Halle says they like ending with because it’s an uplifting song and a message that everyone needs to hear. Because they perform so many of their songs, from both of their albums, this set is really great to put on and re-watch all the time just to listen to and watch the live versions.

AMAZON REPRESENT’S CAREER SUMMIT (OCTOBER 2020) - FORGIVE ME, TIPSY, LONELY, BUSY BOY, DOWN, HAPPY WITHOUT ME, DO IT, COOL PEOPLE

The girls performed Life Every Voice by J. Rosamond Johnson and James Weldon Johnson, often called the Black national anthem, in a video posted after the murder of George Floyd. They also performed the song again, but this time in suits featuring recognisable Black people, such as Breonna Taylor, who was murdered by undercover police in her own home, and Janet Jackson, music icon and legend. This is a really important, beautiful and uplifting performance to watch.

LIFT EVERY VOICE (OCTOBER 2020)

Another one of their performances which went viral, the E! People’s Choice Awards performance of Ungodly Hour, is a true awards show performance. Whereas before their performances were more constructed and restricted due to how serious Covid was, this performance has full award show performance works minus the crowd - the stage, the lights, and the back up dancers. They are wearing black sequinned jump-suit outfits with large triangle shoulders. and their hair up in high ponytails. Back to back is how they start the performance, with a vocal intro to the song and a ticking noise almost counting the performance in, while the camera moves towards them. When they start singing, the camera rotates around them. The choreo is a re-vamped version of the old one, and the background dancers have their own choreo as well. The way they strut down the stage to the beat of the song is just perfection. The second verse gives us more of this new choreo, especially the now iconic parts where they’re standing in front of each other and move in opposite directions. There’s also a dance break in this performance of the song, which is new and exciting. Of course they really know how to end a performance, and their signing together on “won’t you love me” is wonderful.

E! PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS (NOVEMBER 2020) - UNGODLY HOUR

They were even part of the Disney Holiday Singalong in 2020, singing the Frozen track Do You Wanna Build a Snowman? As sisters, this song was the obvious and perfect choice for them to sing for the singalong. They look so pretty in their wintery outfits and on the Christmas tree snow set. Their beautifully melding vocals improve this song and the performance is just really cute.

DISNEY HOLIDAY SINGALONG (DECEMBER 2020) - DO YOU WANNA BUILD A SNOWMAN?

The first song CxH sing at their gorgeous Tiny Desk set is Don’t Make It Harder On Me, making it the first time that they perform the song. Is it really a Chloe x Halle performance without one of them saying “That was fun!” straight after they finish it? Seriously though, I need a compilation of every time they have said that. The set-up for this performances is really pretty, with there being pink/purple lighting, lots of flowers, plants and homely items like books and mugs, an all-female band, and the pair are sat on a wooden table in funky casual outfits. They sing Baby Girl next, making it the first time that perform the song as well. The Do It (Remix) comes next, because of course they had to sing this one, and will hear no complaints from me. Ungodly Hour is also brought along for this set, and like the other songs this Tiny Desk performance is a unique version of the song, with the ending of the song standing out. Grammy-Nominated track Wonder What She Thinks Of Me was featured for the first and only time in this set, and is actually the final song they perform. This set is well and truly the perfect place for the song to really shine. A heart-warming homely set that makes for great comfort watching; you know you can come back to this set over and over again when you feel down. Although it isn’t the Tiny Desk set we’re used to, with Covid forcing them to do the set from home, the duo really made it something special. The band is also a very fun touch, and the horns are particularly lovely addition to the songs.

TINY DESK (DECEMBER 2020) - WONDER WHAT SHE THINKS OF ME, DO IT REMIX, UNGODLY HOUR, DON’T MAKE IT HARDER ON ME, BABY GIRL

For Billboard Women in Music, they performed Baby Girl. The background and their costumes for this performance are particularly striking and Afro-futurist. They are in purple clothes, and their hair and make-up are interwoven with chains and gems. The backdrop is a blue sky with clouds - a better version of the one they used for the Today Show performance, and there are colourful plants around them. Chloe is on the keyboard and Halle is on the electric guitar. They begin by speaking the words “Passionate. Beautiful. Elegant. Intelligent. Capable. Loving. Majestic. Powerful. Do it for the girls.” It’s nice that you can really hear the guitar in this performance at the beginning. They are on a rotating circle, and the camera covers the performance from all different angles. During the second pre-chorus, I love the way Chloe sings the line “try to listen to the radio”, and tend to sing it like that now when I listen to song. A comment on the video for this performance says that “THEY REALLY PERFORMED EVERY SONG ON THEIR ALBUM! NOT A LOT OF ARTISTS CAN DO THAT!”, which is very true. Every song on Ungodly Hour was given a truly hearty performance, and this is Baby Girl’s moment.

BILLBOARD WOMEN IN MUSIC (DECEMBER 2020) - BABY GIRL

Also for Billboard, they performed Don’t Make It Harder On Me, and again all they need is curtains behind them and mics with mic stands. This time they are PVC curtains, and the pair wear these really gorgeous PVC green outfits with diamonté jewellery. The echoey way their voices sound here is so pretty, and in general this is one of their best performances. There’s a bit of mist added, which also complements the echoing of their voices. The simple choreography they have is perfect. This performance is both so visually and sonically complementary to the song that it’s crazy. I love this performance so so so much.

BILLBOARD HONDA STAGE (DECEMBER 2020) - DON’T MAKE IT HARDER ON ME

If you’re like me, throughout 2020 you were thinking, when will Overwhelmed get her moment? FINALLY we got to hear Overwhelmed live at the Verizon Up virtual concert, just before the end of the year. This was almost definitely on purpose, as the duo opened up the concert with Overwhelmed which was the last puzzle piece to them performing the entirety of their sophomore album. CxH performed live from The Wiltern in LA but there was no in-person crowd, and instead it was streamed courtesy of Verizon Up. They already gave us so many live performances, and the live concert was a culmination of the whole year. During the performance, the background lights are constantly changing colours: blue, pink; pink, red, orange, white, and purple. Their matching red, orange, yellow and black camo PVC outfits are definitely concert material looks. Even their make-up and jewellery is stunning and very much fit for the occasion. This entire concert was the final form of what they had given us a taste of during their smaller sets.

Directly after performing the song they hadn’t performed from the album, Overwhelmed, they performed Do It - the song they had performed the most from the album. It was the remix version and the ad libs and note changes, which are always my favourite part, are in full force in this performance. As always, but somehow even more so than usual, the energy, the performance, and the vocals are on a hundred throughout the concert. The song transitions seamlessly into Baby Girl, and in contrast to the other performances of the song, this version feels more powerful - they really went for it. Again the end of song transitions into the next, which is Busy Boy, and they sure have fun singing this one. They then say hello to the virtual crowd, and introduce the next song which is Ungodly Hour, asking the crowd to sing along from their computer screens. After that they take a moment to introduce Tipsy, and again this version of the song is somehow even more fun than the other live version. When Chloe sings “Don’t you f**k up, you’re playing with the wrong one don’t you f**k up, hah”, it honestly gets me every single time I watch this performance. The end of Tipsy transitions into Intro and by extension into Forgive Me - the best song transition of the lot. Now I may be bias because Forgive Me is my favourite CxH song, but this performance is the standout one in the concert. Halle takes a moment to ask what the next song is because they got emotionally into Forgive Me and forgot, and Don’t Make It Harder On Me is the next track they sing. The last song they sing is Cool People, which they dedicate to the fans watching, and is the perfect ending to this perfect virtual concert. I have watched this concert so many times that I’ve genuinely started singing the note changes from these versions and the movements that they did when they sang various parts of songs. At the end of the performance, I always find the solo clapping of the presenter very awkward and funny, but she read some comments before doing a Q&A with CxH.

To me, the Verizon Up concert is the perfect concert, and I will never get bored of watching it. In fact, I feel like I need to watch it at least once a week. Watching it provides me with happiness and energy every single time. It also proves to me that all you need for a good concert is stage presence, the right energy and talent. There may not be any fancy production or elaborate dance routine, but there really doesn’t need to be.

VERIZON UP CONCERT (DECEMBER 2020) - OVERWHELMED, DO IT REMIX, BABY GIRL, BUSY BOY, UNGODLY HOUR, TIPSY, FORGIVE ME, DON’T MAKE IT HARDER ON ME, COOL PEOPLE

The NBC New Year’s Eve performance of Do It (Remix) was a fitting end to the year and beginning of the new year - because why not end the year with the song that they performed the most throughout it? Hearing them reassure us saying “Happy New Year! We did it y’all!” “2021 here we come!” “And we gon’ do it again!” really is the best way transition between the years. Their outfits are full-on glitz with them being diamonté body suits with the strings of jewels hanging off, with matching headdresses, heels, jewellery, and make-up to go with them. The blue lighting and snow adds to the magic and shine of this performance.

NBC NEW YEAR’S EVE (DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021) - DO IT

In addition to their performances, the duo were very active throughout the year in other ways, such as their Instagram Live Ungodly Tea Times, and their covers. During the year they particularly enjoyed doing mash-up/medley covers, such as their Savage Remix/Say So/Juicy/Yikes medley, their The Scotts/P2/XO Tour Lif3/Silly Watch/Catch Up/The Box medley and their Ex-factor/More Than A Woman/Creep/Do It medley. Basically, during the year of 2020, and it seems the year of 2021, but in a different way, Chloe and Halle did not, and have not stoped working hard. It was very exciting virtually following their concerts during Covid in 2020, and it has even been exciting following their journeys this year without the concerts. The duo never seem to disappoint; they always deliver and then some, and I really can’t wait to see whatever they do next, and hopefully see them in person at a live concert in the next few years.