In Conversation x Chelcee Grimes
Let’s start with some quick fire questions….
Original Magazine: Favourite song and artist you are listening to right now?
Chelcee Grimes: A lot of Sabrina Carpenter. She’s been on repeat!
Dogs or Cats?
Dogs all day! My child is a chihuahua called Santiago.
Three things you cannot live without as a musician?
Voice notes app, heartbreak, and my notebook.
If there was one festival you could play, which one would it be?
Glastonbury.
Your favourite go to food?
Sweet potato fries. Dangerous but worth it.
Does Chelcee Grimes have any guilty pleasures?
Reality TV. It’s my kryptonite.
We would love to start at the beginning. Born in Liverpool, a rich footballing and historic music city; were you surrounded by both these growing up? Which one of football and music came to you first?
Yeah, growing up in Liverpool, you can’t escape football or music - it’s in the blood. My house was footy-mad; I was kicking a ball about before I could sing that’s for sure! But we also had music playing constantly – a bit of The Beatles, A lot of Dance/Pop music by my mother. I’d say football came first, but music was running close behind. It was like having two best mates as a teenager - I just couldn’t really pick between them. So I done both.
Did you have any inspirational figures you looked up to or people in your life that inspired you to pursue a career in football and music?
My mum, first and foremost. She worked so hard and always backed me whether it was on the pitch or at a show. She was my pick up/ drop off/ and roadie carrying my piano from show to show. Football-wise, I was obsessed with Steven Gerrard. And musically? Lady GaGa. I remember seeing her for the first time and thinking - WOW. Not only was she so refreshing in a generation of female pop stars but she stood for something which i was still figuring out in my sexuality and i felt seen. Her first album, “The Fame” was like a bible to me. It’s how i learned how to write a killer pop song.
How did sports and the football game influence your interest in music; if at all? Were you creating music whilst performing at the highest level as a footballer?
Being an athlete teaches you discipline and that’s helped me a lot in the music industry. I was writing songs in hotel rooms after training, sneaking into studios on my days off. When I was playing for Liverpool Ladies, Fulham, Tottenham I was still scribbling lyrics or singing melodies when I’d score a goal and run back to the halfway line.
How was your transition from playing football and then going into not just the music industry but also being on the other side of the camera as a presenter and working on TV shows?
It was wild! I never planned any of it, things just kept evolving. One day I was in boots and shin pads, the next I’m interviewing footballers at the Euros or playing buckaroo against the Ballon D’or winner. But I love a challenge, and I think when you’re authentic, people saw that it wasn’t a check box. I had played football for ZERO money all my life, so to be honest i felt like the world was finally working in my favour and i was making a living from football for once.. even though it wasn’t from actually playing the game. I’ve learned to back myself, whether I’m on the pitch, behind the mic, or in front of a camera. If I’m myself, fully myself, i find opportunities find me.
Being blessed to be able to create music and be a footballer sounds incredible from the outside, but at any point did this become a challenge for you at all? Were there any stages in your life where you felt you had to choose between the two? Or the two collided with one another?
Oh 100%. There were times where I had to make really tough choices. I remember turning down a football opportunity because I had sessions in LA. Or not being able to make a big game because i was in the studio with Dua Lipa, but I knew I had to give music my all at some point as that had a bigger chance of me being financially stable. It was like playing the lottery a lot of the time in hopes that it would pay off, and thankfully, it did. Balancing both was tough - early flights, training, gigs etc but I wouldn’t change a thing. Both taught me resilience in different ways.
Breaking away from football briefly; at what point in your career did you realise that music was going to take you places? Was there that one song or opportunity that catapulted you and your passion for music?
I think when I got the call saying Kylie Minogue wanted to record a track I’d written that was when i was like “ok, I’m actually a real songwriter”. “Okay… this is real now.” But it wasn’t just one song, it was the hustle behind the scenes, writing hundreds of tracks, being knocked back, and still showing up. That’s what built the foundation and my success to where i am today. I don’t think i would have succeeded if i hadn’t of played sports early on in life.
What has it been like writing songs and collaborating with artists such as Kylie Minogue, Kesha, Dua Lipa?
Honestly? A dream. It’s what i always dreamed of doing when i was in my bedroom in Liverpool listening to that First Lady gaga album. I now travel the world and work with my favourite artists and get to write songs, it’s actually kind of emotional if i let myself think about what it’s taken to get here but also such a feeling of fulfilment after the journey I’ve been on, and it feels like it’s only just begun somehow. I still have soooo many more songs to write. I’m still playing the lottery!!
You have recently worked with Badger on a new release ‘Sweet’. How was that working with Badger? Could you tell us a little more about the song and how this opportunity came about?
Working with Badger was unreal… He’s one of my favourite new artists. I was listening to his song “In my room” on repeat for a week straight before ‘Sweet’ came together. It was one of those lightning bolt moments. I’d had this lyric idea for a while, and I sat in my studio and come up with the hook instantly. I knew it had something and i was sending it around to anyone i knew who could get it to Badger, i just wanted one of his famous bass lines on the song. Somehow it landed with him and the day after he heard the song he flipped the whole record and sent it back. With his production, boom, it just clicked. It felt like a summer banger. It never usually works out that easily. Sometimes if I have an artist in mind for a song - it ends up being somebody completely different but i think this one was meant to be.
What can fans of Chelcee Grimes expect for the rest of 2025-2026. Anything you can tell us that you are quietly working on and working towards?
There’s loads bubbling behind the scenes! More music for sure - some collaborations that I’m buzzing to share soon. I’ve also been writing for some big artists with release dates just around the corner. I’ve been filming a new tv show which drops at the beginning of the new football season. I’m always working on something… I get sick if I sit still for too long!
Finally, you have become such an influential figure creating your own multifaceted career; what would your advice be for young and upcoming entrepreneurs?
Don’t put yourself in a box. You can be into music and sport and fashion and business. Do it all. Be bold, be kind, and never wait for permission. If one door closes, kick the next one open and ALWAYS follow your gut.