Cheryline Ernestine Lim, known by her stage name Che'Nelle, is a Malaysian-

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

singer-songwriter. She gained popularity in Japan with the release of her debut studio album, '' Things Happen for a Reason'' (2007).

Early life

Cheryline Ernestine Lim was born to a Chinese father, and a mother of Indian and Dutch heritage. Born in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, Lim and her family moved to

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Australia when she was 10 years old. As a child she gained the attention of her father after singing in his karaoke lounge, seeing her talent. She later started writing and producing her own music in her home studio. Sir Charles Dixon discovered her talents, after she uploaded some of her music onto

Myspace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

. Dixon took her material to

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

and Virgin flew Che'nelle to New York City at the end of 2005 to meet with representatives from the label. The chairman of the label and longtime music business baron, Jason Flom, signed her immediately. Within two days, she had completed the deal and was marketed as a world-class artist. Che'nelle worked as a promotions assistant before moving to New York in January after signing a six-album deal with Virgin Records America. In Australia, she is represented by EMI.

Career

2006–2008: ''Things Happen for a Reason''

She performed as the opening act on American rapper

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

s Australian tour in March 2006. Her debut album '' Things Happen for a Reason'' was released on 25 September 2007 in Japan and 29 October 2007 in Australia. The first single from this album was " I Fell in Love with the DJ" featuring reggae artist Cham. The song was also produced in Bahasa Malaysia with the title of "DJ yang Ku Puja". She also co-wrote American singer and former Pussycat Dolls member Carmit Bachars song "Fierce", Australian singer

Ricki-Lee Coulter Ricki-Lee Dawn Coulter (born 10 November 1985) is an Australian singer-songwriter, television and radio presenter. She was born in Auckland, New Zealand, raised in Gold Coast, Queensland, and began performing at age 15. Coulter rose to fame in ...

s debut single " Hell No!" and English singer

Leona Lewis Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress, model, and activist. Born and raised in Islington, Inner London, she later attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieve ...

's song "Can't Breathe".

2009–present

Her second album was later confirmed and given the working title ''Feel Good'', named after the first single from the album. The first single "Feel Good" from this album is strongly influenced by reggae and dancehall music just like her first single "I Fell in Love with the DJ" from her debut album (''Things Happen for a Reason'', 2007) which features Jamaican dancehall artist "Cham". The music video for "Feel Good" premiered online on 11 January 2010. The album '' Feel Good'' was released on 10 February 2010 in Japan via EMI Japan. The album garnered the singles "Feel Good" and "Missing". Her third album and first

cover album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, called '' Luv Songs'' was released on 20 July 2011 in Japan only, which featured covers of songs by American R&B singers such as

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Regarded as a leading figure of Contemporary R&B#2000s, 2000s R&B music, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, includi ...

, Minnie Ripperton and

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

and also songs in Japanese. In 2015, Che'Nelle was invited to the touring ice show

Fantasy on Ice is an annual touring ice show in Japan produced by CIC Co., Ltd. The show emerged from the "Philippe Candeloro Japan Tour 2001", named after retired French figure skater Philippe Candeloro, and was held under the name "Fantasy on Ice" the followi ...

, where she performed live with

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

and two-time Olympic champion, Yuzuru Hanyu, to the song "Believe" amongst others. In 2017, Che’Nelle completed her contract with Universal Music Japan sublabel Virgin Music. In 2023, Che’Nelle announced she signed with

Avex Trax is a record label owned by Japanese entertainment conglomerate Avex Inc. The label was launched in September 1990, and was the first label by the Group. History Two years after Max Matsuura began a career distributing studio albums from othe ...

. Her first single under the label, "I Am", was released in December. In 2025, Che’Nelle was featured in the third version of New Zealand band Drax Project's song " Woke Up Late" as part of their promotion tour in Japan. To mark its release, several photos and video clips were uploaded on her Instagram account that depicted her in the studio recording her vocals and at the Sydney Park singing with the band. It marked her first

Trans-Tasman Trans-Tasman is an adjective used primarily to signify the relationship between Australia and New Zealand. The term refers to the Tasman Sea, which lies between the two countries. For example, ''trans-Tasman commerce'' refers to commerce betwee ...

release since relocating in Japan.

Discography

* '' Things Happen for a Reason'' (2007) * '' Feel Good'' (2009) * ''Believe'' (2011) * ''Aishiteru'' (2013) * ''@Chenelleworld'' (2015) * ''Destiny'' (2017) * ''Metamorphosis'' (2017)

Early life

Career

2006–2008: ''Things Happen for a Reason''

2009–present

Discography

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links