Artist Spotlight: Chloe x Halle

Alt-pop/R&B duo Chloe x Halle, ages 17 and 16, respectively, spent the night of April 23 like many other music fanatics: freaking out over the HBO premiere of Beyoncé's innovative visual album, Lemonade. "We had a little watching party with our friends, and it was so much fun," says Chloe. "We were like every other Beyhive member: 'Yas, Bey, yas!' " But the Atlanta-born Bailey sisters had extra reason to cheer: The singer-instrumentalists signed with Beyoncé's Parkwood Entertainment in 2015 for a reported $1 million after their YouTube cover of her "Pretty Hurts" went viral, and appear in one of Lemonade's most memorable scenes. Today (April 29), just six days after Lemonade's conversation-dominating premiere, Chloe x Halle are partnering with Billboard to exclusively premiere their five-song EP Sugar Symphony (Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia), which features contributions from Hit-Boy (Drake, Jay Z) and is led by the shockingly mature, self-produced and -written single "Drop."

"After Bey heard it," recalls Halle, "she said: 'Girls, I'm so proud of you! This is exactly what I wanted: for you to keep being you.' "

- David Jeffries, Rovi (of Billboard.com)