Cheryl Hole is the drag pop diva of our dreams in her brand new music for Need the Power.
The infectious pop anthem, inspired by classic divas such as Britney Spears, Girls Aloud and the Spice Girls, serves as the Drag Race UK star’s official debut solo single. Chezza memorably entered her pop star era on Canada winner Priyanka’s debut EP, Taste Test, for the gloriously gay track Snatch.
Speaking with GAY TIMES earlier this week, the star described Need the Power as a “pop girly bop” that fans will want to hear at G-A-Y Late while “twirling on the dance floor with a voddy red bull in hand.” (We can’t wait to do exactly this.)
In the Jono Hart-directed video, Cheryl serves full-blown choreo in a club with multiple dancers, before she’s joined by the following divalinas: Baby, Dosa Cat, Elektra Fence, Herr The Queen, Lady Lloyd, Me the Drag Queen, Ophelia Love, Richard Energy, Rilesa Slaves, River Medway and Vanity Milan.
Discussing the video’s concept, Cheryl says it was inspired by the latest episode of Drag Race UK vs the World, which – SPOILER ALERT! – sadly saw her get the chop after designing a dress for RuPaul to… less than favourable reviews.
“When I was coming up with the concept for the music video, I was still very much in my feelings about my time on Drag Race,” explains Cheryl. “I definitely wanted it to be the end of one chapter and the start of the next, so I wanted the first shot of the music video to be me holding the infamous terrible hour-and-a-half dress!
“Initially I wanted to burn it, but it’s not the best and most practical thing to do! I thought I need to symbolically end this chapter, then I was thinking about the five stages of grief and how you need to overcome things to move forward with your life. You go through depression, denial, anger, all the way through it until you get out the other side at acceptance.”
Cheryl says the reaction to Need to Power, which is now available on iTunes and streaming services, has been “beyond” anything she could have ever anticipated.
“To be honest, I put my heart and soul into everything, then I put it out there and just let it sit with everybody,” she says. “Just to see the love and support, people playing it in their cars… It’s weirding me out, but only in the best possible way. I am so overwhelmed and so emotional, but so grateful right now.”
Of course, we had to ask Cheryl if she plans to release a remix with her new best friend, Adele, the rising singer-songwriter who recently made headlines with her “iconic” appearance at London’s Heaven Nightclub.
“Honestly, we’re going to do the acoustic version of Meet the Power featuring Adele,” she teases, “but we know Adele is a rapstress after her Carpool Karaoke.
“And honestly, I think she could do a rap feature on this. We had a camp old time at Heaven last night. Let’s pick up the party, let’s go to the studio. We could have a surprise party in Vegas, who knows? Darling, I’ll be there for you.”
Need the Power is out now. Watch the fabulous music video here or below.
You can listen to Cheryl’s full interview with GAY TIMES about her Drag Race UK vs the World elimination on the latest episode of Snatched! – our podcast dedicated to all-things Drag Race – which is now available on all streaming services including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
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