The Real Chelsea Collins Behind ‘Wish U Hell’

Chelsea Collins On Spotify

Los Angeles, CA — Chelsea Collins is not your typical Los Angeles-based rising popstar in the making. The self-taught singer, songwriter, and producer has made a name for herself delivering hit after hit fueled by unapologetic lyricism and insatiably addictive production all with a level of passion, authenticity, dedication, and consistency that is impossible to emulate. Today, the San Francisco born Chelsea Collins speaks to her latest bittersweet single “WISH U HELL,” her creative process as a multi-faceted artist, her thoughts on her own explosive rise in pop-stardom, and how others can learn from her experiences. 

In case Chelsea Collins is not already on your radar, she took center stage in 2019 with her debut hit single “Tobacco and Tears” which laid the foundation for future hit singles to come. 2020 was an unforgettable year for the rising artist releasing singles “Used to be (L.O.V.E.),” “07 Britney,” and “Water Run Dry” featuring fellow Bay Area native 24kGoldn. Chelsea defined her sound throughout 2020 with her hit singles spreading like wildfire across world of pop. Come 2021, Chelsea collaborated with 5 time GRAMMY-Award nominee Swae Lee on her single “Hotel Bed” followed two other singles “Open Your Mouth” and “Wake Up At Our Funeral” solidifying Collins as one of the most consistent hit makers and unique musical creatives in the city of angels.  

Behind the scenes of “WISH U HELL” music video shoot

Looking into 2022, Chelsea Collins has fans on the edge of their seats with anticipation is at an all time high with the release of her latest single “WISH U HELL” on January 21, 2022 alongside an edgy and ritualistic music video directed by Los Angeles based Ben Allen. The single’s grungy pop-rock production is brought to life by Chelsea Collins and Nicki Adamsson (Charli XCX, Trove Lo) combining elements of 2000s rock with Collins’ signature unapologetic guitar licks and deep-cutting lyricism. The single was co-written alongside brother Nico Collins, Lilian Caputo, and Skylar Mones (Dua Lipa, Kesha) depicting a story of a girl reclaiming her life and power from a toxic relationship. Chelsea Collins shares,

“I started to feel angst I haven’t felt since high school and wanted to gear [the single] towards everyone who has done me wrong the past two years,” explains Collins. “I can definitely be a pushover sometimes, and writing a petty song like “WISH U HELL” made me feel like I was taking my power back and using my voice.” 

The idea for “WISH U HELL” came to be when Chelsea Collins was listening to the song “Heathens” by Twenty One Pilots where she became infatuated with the dark melancholy vibe the group was able to create. From there, the artist pulled out her go-to white telecaster guitar and started playing chords that felt dark and bittersweet. As for the chorus, Chelsea shares, “it just kinda came out in one melody pass.” Seemingly effortlessly, Chelsea Collins yet again gracefully channels her personal experiences  into vivid, relatable, and catchy songs for herself and her fans. 

Chelsea Collins is not one to shy from owning her visual presentation for herself and her brand. When asked to describe her creative process behind putting together her signature style and visuals both personally and for her music, Chelsea shares, “Honestly, I try not to overthink anything. Surprisingly, I just come up with the first visual concept that comes to my head and hope that it works. Usually, your initial gut feeling is what is always going to turn out the best. I think every artist should have creative control with their visuals if it’s their music!”

Hitmaking and classic styles aside, Chelsea Collins is still a 23-year-old cat lover living in Los Angeles climbing the way to the top of the most competitive industry in the world. When she’s not in her home studio songwriting and jamming on her white Fender Telecaster guitar, she’s kicking it with her childhood BFF Jacky Zuzu, playing GTA or Sorry! with her brother/roommate/co-producer Nico Collins, or snuggling with her best non-human friend Max – the tabby bengal cat! Collins has a strong passion for all causes supporting animals in need going back way before she found her cat Max in a bush in Los Angeles and taking him home.  Chelsea’s favorite part of her home life living with her co-producer and brother Nico Collins is the enjoyment of being able to wake up and make music in addition to stealing Nico’s cat which is usually the highlight of her day. When asked what song of another artist and her own music inspires her the most, she responded with “Runaway” by Kanye West and her unreleased single “Safety Net” – release date unknown. And if you’re going to make a sign to hold up at a Chelsea Collins show, make it aqua, her favorite color. 

Behind the scenes of “WISH U HELL” music video shoot

Often listening to her favorite musicians Olivia Rodrigo or Dominic Fike, Chelsea finds inspirations in all corners of the music world. Chelsea describes her signature sound as somewhere in the middle between her two favorite artists Kanye West and Taylor Swift, or as she puts it “the toxic child of Taylor and Kanye.” Growing up loving alternative rock music, Collins finds most of her recent projects drawing production influences from alt rock’s glitchy fx, hip hop sounds, and Swedish pop. Yet, Chelsea looks to songwriting legend Max Martin as her biggest creative inspiration. When asked why Max Martin is a major inspiration for her, Chelsea shares, “I think the one main nucleus of all the artists and songs I grew up with that made me fall in love with music was Max Martin. His craftsmanship  is impeccable, and I've never seen anyone be able to be so consistent with that level of talent. He makes songs that scientifically give the human brain euphoria.” 

Those who follow Chelsea closely know she is very open about her experiences in the music industry. With recent industry trends of producers and songwriters gaining notoriety and recognition for their work instead of solely the performing artist, Chelsea has been vocal in pushing this movement forward. When asked why, in her opinion, the average music listener should care more about songwriters and producers in addition to their favorite performers, Collins responded…

“They [producers and songwriters] barely make money and have a gift that can use to change the world. The one thing that could bring together two humans who don’t get along is a good song. For songwriters, if they write a song with 100 million streams, that’s barely a couple thousand dollars - yet the labels and the artists profit off the masters and publishing. At least producers get master points/a producer fee. I'm really hoping the creative community can fight to change this, and that executives will hop on board to realize how much VALUE the people behind the scenes have. To me, the most vulnerable artists in the world were all generally songwriters, and vulnerability is the reason we need music. To undervalue the creatives behind it is truly heartbreaking.” 

Every artist has their own creative process that changes throughout their life depending how life influences them. Chelsea admits despite success in music, life still finds ways to pin her down but that only helps to fuel and inspire her passion to spread her message to those in similar situations. When asked what motivates her to wake up and songwrite, produce, create content, and be an artist every single day, Chelsea shares, “To be honest, just the idea of changing one person's life and giving them a safe place to go with your music is a powerful thing. I think I have probably been in the worst place of my life ever the past few months, but that only means creating more music, getting those feelings off your chest, and being able to help others going through similar situations with that creativity.” 

Despite facing internal struggles along her creative journey, Chelsea continues to adapt her creative process around her life. Recently, Collins has been mostly songwriting alone on her guitar or piano and then brings the ideas to the studio or better, produces them herself. In 2022, Collins has recently gone back to her production roots working solo as it reminds her of how much she enjoyed creating alone as a kid when she first started making music. When asked who would be part of Chelsea Collin’s dream collaboration, she would have Max Martin, Daft Punk, Kanye West, Butch Walker, Rick Rubin, and Shellback on production, Olivia Rodrigo, Max Martin, Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton, and Billy Walsh on songwriting, and sing alongside noneother than the popstar Britney Speaks.

Chelsea’s personal resilience and commitment to her craft were put to the test as she faced countless obstacles on her meteoric rise in the music scene. Staying motivated, finding like-minded collaborators, navigating the music business, building a business, networking, all the while creating original and high quality music are just a few of the never-ending challenges facing emerging artists today. Yet, countless emerging artists find new and innovative ways to adapt and grow. Chelsea Collins is no exception. Chelsea shares, “I think my biggest challenge overall is saying the word yes. Whether that means doing too many sessions, releasing songs that you intended pitching to another artist, wearing clothes and showing a lot of skin when you wouldn’t necessarily do that. I’ve come to realize the word no is very powerful and it’s ok to use it. To be honest, I think my advice to any emerging artist is to stay independent as long as you can and truly believe in your vision instead of signing right away. With social media and the internet you don’t have to sign a deal, and I think it’s amazing for creative freedom.” Social media and the internet enables Chelsea to reach and develop a fanbase bigger than she could imagine back in 2019 before her debut single ‘Tobacco and Tears.’ Reflecting back before she released her debut single, Chelsea’s advice to herself before that release is “[To] Release your entire project that you're passionate about before meeting any business executives.” Today, Chelsea continues to remind herself, her friends, and her fans to always trust your gut intuition. 

Singer, songwriter, producer, creator, cat lover, human being, best known as Chelsea Collins. The down to earth pop icon is months away from solidifying herself as one of the most influential artists in 2022. Chelsea Collins is the artist to watch in 2022. Looking for new music or artists to obsess over this year? Look no further to find an authentic, relatable, quirky, and immensely talented multi-instrumentalist and songwriter to dive into in 2022 – Chelsea Collins. 

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