Sherie is an esteemed Haitian American, Los Angeles based artist, songwriter, and master violinist. Her lyrics have seen the heights of a Billboard #1 chart topper with Ariana Grande’s “Positions” which stood as a career defining moment. Sherie’s ability to transform words into beautifully curated melodies ranges through several genres including but not limited to R&B, pop, soul, urban, classic and alternative sounds. Her latest single “Need Ya” performed with EDM artist Holow, reached over 300k streams worldwide and is still rising in the international market.

Hitswave got the chance to speak with Sherie about her new song.

Hey, stoked to have this interview with you! We’d love to know more about the story behind this song. 

“Ale” is a Haitian call to love. In Haitian Creole, it directly translates to “Let’s Go”, thus pushing us all deeper into a journey through love in all it’s facets. “Ale” is the story of a woman who has taken all of her experiences that gave her fear to love and decided to let it drive her into love taking the action to just go for it and not let anything stop her. 

Did you grow up in Haiti? What’s your relationship like with this beautiful country?

I’ve never physically set foot on the land but every time I’m with my family I’m in Haiti. We are a big bunch and everyone in the generation above me speaks creole and can cook the best soup joumou and grio outside of the island. 

Do you speak creole? 

My mom was born in Port Au Prince, Haiti and speaks creole fluently.  I understand it and can speak it but I am not fluent. My father is Jamaican so my brothers and I learned English In the house while learning creole from our mom and grandparents. 

What was your writing process when it came to Alé, did it come all at once or was it a long process? 

The creation of “Ale” was definitely a process. This was the type of song I revisited a few times until it was complete. It was initially called “Here We Go” and I intended it to be a song about jumping into an adventure of love. Then I thought to incorporate my culture into it and say “Ann Ale” meaning let’s go and wanted to make it a whole event Around expressing how I felt in the song with adding some creole to it. 

We’ve heard you opened up for Alicia Keys, that’s so cool! What was that experience like? 

Opening for Alicia keys was life changing, I’ve looked up to Alicia my whole life, so being able to open for her was a dream come true! The way the audience responded to my songs was just a beautiful gift and was rewarding. I’ll never forget the thousands of lights from the audience’s phones facing my direction as I sang and played violin. The magic of that moment is imprinted in my memory. It reminded me that we always have the option to spread light in dark places. 

Do you have any more touring planned that’s coming up? 

I have some performance dates coming up that I am excited about. The exchange of energy is a recharge and a reward, especially as an artist that creates from experience. After dropping this single, I’ll follow it up with an EP at the top of the year. But in the meantime I look forward to performing these songs and creating content that keeps telling my story. 

What has been your favorite city to travel to so far? 

One of my favorite cities to travel is Copenhagan, Denmark. The beauty of the city charmed me within a twelve hour visit. Before our show, I left the venue to explore and without traveling more than a block stumbled into a restaurant where the upright bassist took us all on a jazz walk. That night while we performed, the crowd smiled nearly the entire time. I never felt more appreciated as a musician. 

This is the first song off an upcoming EP, right? What’s your inspiration behind this album?

I believe the best art comes from an open place. I started this project without a set intention other than making honest music  driving from experiences, past failures , and successes in love. In doing so, I had a chance to push some creative boundaries musically and lyrically that make it an exciting listen.