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Chesapeake teen addresses COVID-19 pandemic, racism with new song 'Pray'

Posted at 1:01 PM, Jul 23, 2020
and last updated 2020-07-23 20:06:21-04

CHESAPEAKE, Va - "Trying to make sense like what the problem is, trying to figure out if I'm going to be jobless."

Those are just a few lyrics from Chloe Carpenter's new song, "Pray."

"I said, 'I have to put this song out.' [It was] all the emotions I was feeling and the uncertainty of what would happen in 2020," the 19-year-old said.

Carpenter, also known as Baby Don, is a rising sophomore at Old Dominion University. She said she felt uneasy as she sat at her keyboard over the past five months.

"Just a lot of emotions bubbled up about the coronavirus, unemployment and the death of George Floyd," she said. "The song has a lot of lines in it you can relate to."

Like this one she sang for News 3, describing the virus: "Can't look it in the eye, can't look it in the face, can't see it anywhere, but it's all over the place."

"My mom helped me with that bar," she said.

The teen artist has been performing, dancing, writing music, singing and playing the drums since she was 11, and has dozens of singles to her name.

"I tried out for Shaggfest and performed before Pharrell Williams," she said.

Related: Virginia Beach indie rock band 'OK MAYDAY' produces music video portraying life during pandemic

Carpenter hopes her latest song will help heal, address the fight for racial equality and soften the heartaches of so many enduring the pandemic.

"Music makes me happy, music makes a hard time a bit more enjoyable," she said.

You can find Carpenter's songs on iTunes or hear the full version of "Pray" here.