Chapel Hart

A spirited country music harmony group, Chapel Hart is steeped in tradition but has a smart, knowing modern sensibility — a blend captured on their breakthrough single “You Can Have Him Jolene,” a clever answer song to the Dolly Parton classic “Jolene.” “You Can Have Him Jolene” helped the trio attract fans on the 17th season of America’s Got Talent, which aired in the summer of 2022; they won the Golden Buzzer from all four of the show’s judges, which propelled the group into the finals. Their success on the show earned Chapel Hart an invitation to perform on the Grand Ole Opry in September 2022. Sisters Danica and Devynn Hart formed Chapel Hart with their cousin Trea Swindle in their hometown of Poplarville, Mississippi in 2014. At first, the trio busked in the streets of New Orleans. In 2016, Danica Hart and Swindle stepped away from Devynn to record the EP Made for Me, which they released under the name Hyperphlyy. They employed the same moniker for Out the Mud, a full-length album the pair recorded with Devynn in 2019. By 2020, the trio renamed themselves Chapel Hart and came to the attention of producer Jeff Glixman, who signed them to a management contract. The single “Jesus & Alcohol” was the first fruit of this partnership and, thanks to Glixman’s connections, it featured a cameo from Billy F. Gibbons on guitar. CMT named Chapel Hart as part of their “Next Women of Country” campaign in 2021, an endorsement that was followed by the trio’s second single, “I Will Follow.” Shortly afterward, Chapel Hart released “You Can Have Him Jolene” and it, along with its two predecessors, was featured on their 2021 album The Girls Are Back in Town, which was produced by Glixman. After the group’s plans to tour with the Indigo Girls fell through in 2022, Chapel Hart was recruited to appear on the 17th season of the televised talent competition America’s Got Talent. The trio played “You Can Have Him Jolene” on their audition episode, impressing the four judges enough to award Chapel Hart the “Golden Buzzer,” which gave them immediate entry into the finals. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine