Pop/R&B Artist Chelsea Jordan Delves Inside Her Debut EP “BETTER WHEN I’M LONELY”

BEN: Where are you from/based now and what’s your background in music like?

CHELSEA: I’m from Baltimore, MD but I live in LA now. I went to USC to play lacrosse and study business but half way through my college experience I realized that neither were for me. I remember being in an econ class watching how passionate my professor was about what she was teaching and thinking “I’m literally not passionate about anything that I do.” That’s when I just started to kind of have this breakdown and I just wanted to immediately quit everything I was doing at school. Thankfully my advisor told me to just drop the econ class and take up a songwriting class and that class alone completely changed the trajectory of my life. The people in that class actually pushed me to apply to the music school called Thornton. I ended up getting in and attending. Coming out with this EP (BETTER WHEN I’M LONELY) has been a very full circle moment because it’s a project I made with two people (my producer Ryan Baer and co-writer Jamie Gelman) who I’ve been working with since that class (in 2019). 

BEN: That’s so inspiring how you crossed over from a completely different path that included sports as the focus and switching to the arts and music. LA is the perfect place for that.  Who are some of your artistic inspirations or influences and how would you describe your style of music?

CHELSEA: My biggest inspiration is Amy Winehouse, I grew up listening to her a lot and studying her voice. My sound isn’t that similar to hers at all really, I strive to touch a fraction of what she did but I would never try to actually emulate that. Etta James is another inspiration of mine, I grew up listening to a lot of soul and jazz music like hers. Some modern day voices I get a lot of inspiration from are Daniel Caesar and SZA. Sonically, I would say I’m more alternative R&B and pop leaning. A lot of the production on my songs is alternative pop but I always want the foundation to be R&B/Soul.

BEN: What inspired your new ep “BETTER WHEN I'M LONELY?”

CHELSEA: For the past 6 years of my life I was extremely single, I spent so much time alone and I always had this thought that one day I would find someone but right now I’m in no rush. I was just really enjoying my alone time and I learned to just completely love myself. I don’t think I’ve ever spent that much time in my whole life just getting to know myself and I was really intentional about that. Then one day I was writing with my co-writer Jamie and we came up with the song “BETTER WHEN I’M LONELY” which is basically about how I’m most myself when I’m not with anyone else and really loving my aloneness. From that song came the idea for the entire project. It kind of ebbs and flows from “Am I better when I’m lonely? Or am I just numbing and closing myself off to the world?” 

From creating this project and getting comfortable with being alone it actually manifested a relationship for me I believe which has been easily the healthiest and most supportive relationship I’ve ever been in. I genuinely don’t think I would’ve gotten to this point had I not written this project. It was basically my journal throughout that time of my life and I look back on these songs and think wow this really created something so beautiful in my life. I hope that now this project can do that for other people who struggle with their loneliness because I think self love is the foundation for any healthy relationship.

BEN: That’s a beautiful sentiment about kind of wrestling and eventually finding solace in being alone with yourself and really waiting to find someone that you connect with on a deeper level. There’s a lot of people who always need to have a partner and will settle so I think it’s really mature how you took the time to explore what you wanted and got to know yourself in that lonely time. I think that’s a really strong core concept for a musical project. You released 2 songs before the full EP (“THE GOOD PARTS” & “TORONTO”) can you share the story behind those singles?

CHELSEA: “THE GOOD PARTS” was my debut single. When I wrote that song with Jamie (my co-writer) I knew immediately that I wanted it to be the single. It was so fun writing it and singing it. It was just a very uplifting song to create about just wanting to skip to the good parts of a relationship. A big part of this song was the production because I wanted big production and I wanted it to feel like a very full, organic, and a rich song which is why it’s also the last song on the project. It’s not my favorite from the project which is why I put it out first because I feel like you shouldn’t put out your best song first especially if it’s followed by a project, you want to be able to build up.

My second single was “TORONTO” which was one of my favorite songs when I wrote it. I wrote it in Toronto, it’s definitely a core song in the project because it’s about this concept of “if you knew you wouldn't live to see tomorrow what would you do differently today?” Why not just do those things now because life is really short. When I say the line “spend more time in Toronto” I’m talking about spending more time with my family because that’s where they're from. That line is really about spending time with the people who love you unconditionally. It’s about remembering what your core values are and living with those everyday as opposed to waiting for something bad to happen. I was also struggling with a lot of my friendships at the time when I wrote that song and trying to make them work when I just don’t think friendships need to be that difficult at all. There’s one line where I say “those friends who ain’t my friends.” When I wrote this I really thought “I need to prioritize family and my time and who I spend it with.” I think “TORONTO” is one of those songs a lot of people need to hear because time is only speeding up and it’s the most valuable thing we have in this world.

BEN: I like how you described the month of September as “she came and went”. That's a really creative way of personifying the passage of time. I listened to those songs first because they were the singles and I was immediately taken aback by your incredible vocals and just how personal the lyrics felt as well. “THE GOOD PARTS” is a really relatable track as well because a lot of people want to skip to that perfect part of a relationship but it really takes a while to build up to that point. What’s been your favorite song from the project & why?

CHELSEA: My favorite song is probably PARIS. It’s basically about  “Paris will wait for you” but Paris is actually love, love will wait for you there’s no rush for anything. I think it showcases my vocals the best because it’s very stripped. I love stripped music and strings, I think the production matches what I’m saying very accurately. I think the message behind this song is so powerful and it’s so me because I was really single, I had not been dating any people there was really no rush for me. I had no motivation to date anyone and my mindset was that the right person would come; it was just a matter of time. But there are also moments of struggle in that song because I knew love would wait for me but I also pictured myself with somebody who was perfect for me but maybe they won’t come but maybe they will. I’m very much battling my own thoughts in that song but by the end of the second verse I sing “champagne and roses french kiss in the morning. I know that I’ll get there someday. Paris waits for me,” Love waits for me. I think even if you’re feeling down about being lonely or not having the relationship you always dreamed of having, it's really exciting knowing you're gonna have that first date with somebody or you're gonna fall in love with somebody new. There's so much to look forward to in relationships whether you're in one or not. That’s kind of what that song represents for me.

BEN: I like how you have two songs that are each titled a different city name like “PARIS” representing love and “TORONTO” representing your family. I love that symbolism. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview and share the story behind your new EP “BETTER WHEN I’M LONELY” out now!

CHELSEA: Thank you!