Chloe Qisha: Rising pop star finding fame at just the right time

When Chloe Qisha was training to be a therapist, she wondered whether her dreams of being a pop star would ever come true.

Now, with one of the biggest artists in the US covering her songs and a spot on the BBC Radio 1 playlist, it's definitely happening for the singer even if, in her words, she's "a little bit late".

But, speaking to BBC Newsbeat, Chloe says "late" actually feels like the perfect time.

The London-based singer, who was born in Malaysia, has been breaking through with her track 21st Century Cool Girl, which she describes as "an ode to my teenage self", about the insecurities and drama of teen romance.

Chloe laughs when she says that success has come after her brain had time to "fully develop".

"I think if it happened any earlier in my life I would have messed it up for myself," she says.

"I'm looking back at my younger self, who was a bit of a trainwreck of a human being, and just being like, 'You've got this, it's gonna work out, it's going to be great'.

"It took a lot of finessing over the years but now this is my whole life and I'm just so excited.

"It feels like what Chloe Qisha was always meant to do."

Chloe released her first self-titled EP back in November and has been busy releasing new music since.

She confesses her route into music - doing a psychology degree first - was "a little bit backwards".

Chloe started writing songs at uni, after posting covers on YouTube inspired her to get deeper into the process.

"I realised I needed to learn how to write songs if I wanted to do this," she says.

However, she thinks having the extra time and experience helped to reassure her that music was "100% the right path" for her.

But Chloe says her degree in psychology has influenced a lot of her songs, which explore themes of wellbeing.

"It's like learning to accept yourself, learning to accept the insecurities and everything like that," she says.

"I'm here as my older self, feeling more set and confident in my mental health," she says.

Chloe might have left the textbooks behind as her career takes off, but the learning hasn't stopped, she says, admitting she's still finding out things about being a pop star.

She performed at BBC Introducing's Ones To Watch showcase in January and says being on stage means focusing on more than just the music and the songwriting.

It's also the live performances, filming music videos and adapting to professional choreography as someone better known for "really terrible dad dancing".

All that work is worthwhile though, she says, when crowds of fans sing along to her songs.

"It's moments like that you just can't replace.

"It's just so special."

Critics, as well as fans, are starting to notice with the likes of Rolling Stone and NME dubbing Chloe as an artist to watch.

She has more than 700k monthly listeners on Spotify and when she recently released tickets for her first headline show in London it sold out in four minutes.

And she's made a name on the other side of the world too, being spotted by US singer and chat show host Kelly Clarkson.

The American Idol winner's TV programme features a "Kellyoke" segment where she covers other artists.

Usually those songs are by high-profile singers such as Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Coldplay.

But in February she picked Chloe's song I Lied, I'm Sorry, just a couple of months after the track was featured as BBC Introducing's Track of the Week.

Chloe says her song being performed on the show is something she still hasn't processed.

"Kelly Clarkson. This almost, fantasy, beautiful, human being," says Chloe.

"It just feels surreal, I still think it's a prank.

"It's such an honour, I feel so blessed," she says.

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