Her.ie Chats To Upcoming Music Star Chanelle McGuinness

She is a 22-year-old from Ballyshannon, Donegal. She is also the star of the new television advert for GALAXY®, to launch their new GALAXY® Duet chocolate bar. We caught up with singer-songwriter Chanelle McGuinness to chat about how she got involved with the campaign and who her musical influences are. Here’s what she had to say…

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How she got involved with the ad Initially I got a message on my Cyclone account which is like a music social media platform. The message was very casual. It said about trying you out for something that we’re working on from Soundtree Music, a studio based in London which records adverts, television and film. At first I thought it could be a spam message. I clicked in and researched a little bit and then I knew right away. I saw big brands and big companies that work for them so I thought this is legit. I messaged saying I was very interested. They then said that they noticed I live in Donegal and said I would need to be in London in two days. The weirdest thing was that I was going to London that day, to say goodbye to a friend who was moving to Singapore. It worked out perfectly. I went over and I did the demo. I met some amazing people. It was a great group of musicians and producers. They all work in the music studio. Just lovely people to work with. From there it kind of just kept going. They called me back for a casting call. They found Benjamin, who raps on the track, so they were just trying to find the girl. I was up against a good few other ladies so it took them a while to decide. Before I knew it I was in London recording the ad. Moon River  I knew the song and I love it. It’s such a classic and it’s so iconic. I’m such a fan of that whole era. I love Audrey Hepburn. Our take on it is so different. It’s so modern and contemporary. It’s very different to her version of it. Obviously you’re going to worry a little bit but at the end of the day it’s our take on it. The classic is always going to be there. This is our twist on it. I think with anything you’re going to do with that, there will be people who don’t like our version but hopefully I’d like to think people will be open to it and think this is cool. Her original music  I’ve been writing songs since I was 13. I wrote my first song. I’ve just continued on and released my own original EP, five tracks of my own songs, at the end of July. A lot has happened since I released my original music. It’s just been go go go. I’m just continuing to write and I look forward to recording new music in the future. I’ve always loved writing and singing. It’s strange because nobody else in my family is really into music. How she got into music  I honestly don’t know. From as far back as I can remember, I used to put on little shows and cover Britney Spears. It started like that and then as I got older I started writing. Then I started playing guitar when I was about 11 and that really opened the door for me because I could form songs with an instrument. It was so natural. I’ve always been a music fan. I never had lessons or singing or anything like that and even in secondary school I studied music as one of my choice subjects. Then I did my Leaving Cert and instead of going to college, I went and did volunteer work for a music group. I taught children music and dance all over the world for three and a half years. It’s just always been a part of my life and thankfully it still is. Hopefully it’ll keep getting better. Her influences  Weirdly enough, I really do love Britney Spears. She was my first big concert that I went to. I was so far away and I couldn’t even see her but I think she has the most perfect pop persona and pop songs, especially back in the 90s. She was amazing. I have a very broad spectrum of the music I love. After the pop phase I got into this real grungy rock phase, when I was in my early teens, but it was good because I feel that that has influenced my writing. I don’t play rock either but it works its way into your lyrics. Right now, I really love Irish music like Glen Hansard and ethnic Irish mush is so strong. Seeing Gavin Hames, Hozier, Kodaline really going for it is great and they are really successful. It’s really inspiring to think these people are coming from the same place as me. My influences are just so broad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7tRVb4ylJU