Chrystal

Chrystal Jade Ruby Opal Orchard (born 1988–1989), known professionally as Chrystal, is a British singer, songwriter and record producer from Farnworth in Greater Manchester.

Her 2017 single "Waves" attracted attention from BBC Radio 1Xtra and The Sunday Times and garnered comparison to Lily Allen and Katy B. She then released the tracks "New Shoes", "2 Real", and "Vibe". In January 2025, her song "The Days" charted on several singles charts, while in July 2025, her collaboration with MK on "Dior" charted at number-one on the UK singles chart.

Life and career Chrystal Jade Ruby Opal Orchard is from Farnworth in Greater Manchester and was born in 1988 or 1989. Growing up, she was an ardent fan of R&B, hip hop, UK garage, and the Vengaboys. and had a daughter in her late teens. but dropped out and transferred to Manchester Creative And Media Academy, at which she read music and music production. She began uploading Bolton-based videos, which brought her to the attention of the independent label 37 Records, who signed her. She was originally going to release the track the year before but its release was delayed after 37 signed her. Matthew Whitehouse of i-D magazine described the track as "a bold and funny debut about not giving a fuck" that "bounds out the blocks with stacks of attitude and contains the best opening line we've heard all year ("I'm from B-O-L-T-O-N, I write a million lines and go through bare biro pens")". followed by "2 Real" in February 2018, a track mastered by Mandy Parnell. The latter track was accompanied by a video co-produced by Harry Lindley of SB.TV, That November, she released "Vibe", which featured a verse from Virginia-based rapper Rozwell Fitzroy.

" Disclosure's] music was just so fresh [in 2013], when I first heard White Noise, I felt like I'd never heard anything like that before. I loved Timbaland as a producer growing up, I was obsessed with his choice of sounds and samples & artists like Missy Elliott, Aaliyah. All the 90s/00s RnB & producers really. UK garage & bassline too and being from Bolton I was very heavily influenced by bounce music as a teenager, CDs of live sets always got passed around and copied from clubs like Wigan Pier, Cricketers, Maximes. And Max Martin is probably one of if not my favourite producer and songwriter of all time." — Chrystal in January 2025 peaking at number 4 in January 2025; around the same time, the track entered the Canadian Hot 100 at No. 95, bolstered by its use in a video by Jaxon's Journey and by a remix by Bristol-based producer Notion, and that remix charted at No. 7 on the ARIA Singles Chart. The remix was certified 5× Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) in 2026. A dance music track, the second of three Unarchived albums she released that year.

By January, she had signed to Chaos Recordings. and has since been certified platinum in the United Kingdom by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and gold in Australia by ARIA. A further feature, on Sonny Fodera's "My Loving", followed in February 2026.

Discography

Albums Dance Again (2023)

Singles "Silver Moonlight" (2015) "Waves" (2017) "If You Know" (2023) "Artumi" (2023) "On a Regular" (2023) "The Days" (2024) "Dior" (with MK) (2025) "My Loving" (with Sonny Fodera) (2026) "Outta My Mind (Touch)" (2026)

Artistry Many of her early tracks including "Waves", and "Vibe" were produced by John Calvert. while Whitehouse opined that her music contained "bouncy shades" of Blackout Crew and wrote that she was "garnering comparisons to Lily Allen, Katy B and Ray BLK", artists who he described as "document[ing] their worlds with varying shades of inbuilt London bullshit detectors". Reviewing "2 Real", Anna Cafolla of The Quietus wrote that Chrystal sung with a "distinctly Northern, very cool delivery" and that the track was in "the vein of attitude-packed pop like contemporaries Mabel and Ray BLK and assertive sunny R&B by way of TLC". George Griffiths of The Official Charts Company wrote that he could hear Disclosure's Settle as an influence.