Months after the release of Chloe X Halle’s excellent Ungodly Hour project, Chloe Bailey sought to uproot her solo career, while reassuring fans that Chloe X Halle would return in the future. For Chloe, things began with solo covers of records by Silk Sonic, Rihanna, Nina Simone, Drake, and more. Months later, she released her debut single “Have Mercy” which she performed on the AMAs, The Tonight Show, and the MTV VMAs. She followed that record up with the provocative “Treat Me,” which made Uproxx’s Best Songs Of 2022 So Far list, and now she’s back with her third solo record.
Chloe returns with “Surprise,” a song that features a slower tempo compared to her previous releases while keeping the sultry qualities that have appeared throughout her solo releases. The record sees Chloe tease her partner with the gift of a lifetime, so long as they treat her well and do all that’s needed to further their relationship. The track arrives with a video that shows intimate moments between Chloe and a man, all for it to be a product of the man’s imagination.
Prior to the song’s release, Chloe reached out to fans for help in picking her next single as she asked them to choose between “For The Night,” “Surprise,” and “Cheat Back.” Despite this request, it would be Beyonce that would help her select “Surprise” as the next single, which Chloe revealed in a video she posted on Instagram. “When the Queen speaks, the Queen speaks, and that’s all I’m gonna say and that’s all that matters to me,” she said.
You can listen to “Surprise” in the video above.