Off the Record Podcast with Maliah AguilarEpisode #005 – Guest: CLEO“This is Off the Record — I’m Maliah Aguilar. Here, we go beyond the music. I sit down with artists and personalities you know — and some you’re about to — to talk about the moments that don’t make the liner notes. From heartbreak to healing, tour life to late-night doubts — it’s raw, real, and completely off the record.”
We’ve taken a couple of months off, but I’m so excited to be back with you guys and bring you a brand new episode of Off the Record. Previously I’ve been given the opportunity to delve into conversations with artists that have been around the industry for a long timeframe. But today, it’s a little different as I’m delighted to welcome the newest girls on the block ‘CLEO’ for a conversation. They’re started their debut year strong with two wonderful singles already and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for these young ladies. I’m also super excited to get to know them a little better today and see the personality behind the bops!
Leilani, Tiana, Olivia, Chloe and Oriana, welcome to the podcast! I’m so excited to be the person that gets to do your first interview as a group.Tiana: Maliah, thank YOU so much for having us on the podcast! I’ve literally watched all of the previous ones like five or six times, so it’s totally crazy to even think about being part of an episode ourselves.
Chloe: Just take it easy on us, okay?
Olivia: Hell no! I want this to be fun. Let’s all try to make Chloe squirm.
It’s been a crazy journey already. You girls were selected from an initial pool of thousands via online auditions and live auditions. With the top 50 being selected to take part in the RVV Talent Search Programme. What was going through your minds when you initially applied to take part, were you all taking it seriously from the very beginning or was it just something to do and see what happens?Leilani: For me, personally, it’s been an obsession for the longest time to get into the industry. I’ve done so many auditions, demos and literally anything to get signed to do my passion. Initially I didn’t have the highest expectations because I’ve been through the audition phase before and nothings ever came from it. But once I made it into the top 50 and we were being put through our paces, I took it as seriously as anyone there.
Tiana: Yeah, we auditioned live initially. Leilani went in first and I was in just afterwards. I think the twin thing definitely gave us a little extra grace because it’s sort of a unique thing to have in a group. But we definitely had to work our asses off to prove ourselves. Luckily we were both selected, it would have been tough if one of us missed out.
Chloe: I actually auditioned online, it was pretty low-key. I just played an original song and thought they might like the idea of having a songwriter in the group but I’d been posting those sorts of videos on my socials for a couple of years, so it was pretty unserious. I kind of went in with a negative attitude to begin with, a sort of feeling that those types of talent searches don’t really go for my vibe. I was surprised to even make it into the top 50 but super grateful. The whole process was an eye-opener though, way more mentally challenge than I had anticipated, for sure.
Oriana: I was with a bunch of friends when we found out about the whole thing and we all decided to send in our own online audition video. I knew I had a better chance of being selected than my friends cause those bitches can’t sing. But I didn’t think I’d be selected, mostly because I’m not a natural fit for a traditional girl group, like that ain’t my vibe at all. But the people running the programme made it pretty clear that they were looking for something different.
Olivia: Oh it was just for fun for me. I did the online audition and I treated it like I was just doing a TikTok video for my friends. I tried to make it fun, show a little of my personality but I wasn’t expecting to be selected and have to work so freaking hard to be part of the group.
What was going through your mind when you found out you’d made the final five?Olivia: I was actually pretty terrified. I was thinking, ‘oh shit, now I’ve gotta take this seriously’!
Chloe: Yeah, it was a real pinch me moment. Like now you’ve got a seat at the table, it just got very real, very fast.
Oriana: I didn’t have a fear though, it was definitely more excitement for me.
Leilani: At first it felt like a deep exhale of breath. Like, let me just take a moment to really take it all in. And then after a couple of days, I was like determined to really put everything into making this work, for myself and for all of us.
Tiana: We had already made bonds with each other and some of the other girls. There’s a lot of sadness and guilt that you carry in those moments, but after a short while, to me, it sort of felt like holy shit, are we actually doing this? Didn’t feel real.
During the bootcamp assessment stages in Los Angeles, you were tested on everything from vocals to personality and even songwriting. Which challenge pushed you the hardest personally?Chloe: I loved the songwriting part of it and the creative workshops we did. But we did a little on the movement and dance side of things and I hated those days. I managed to get by, but wow. Thankfully, they made a point in letting us know that they wanted us to be primarily focused as a vocal group rather than a performance heavy girl group.
Tiana: I think most of us didn’t enjoy the dance and movement parts of it. It’s truly brutal.
Leilani: I feel like every moment was a chance to show why I deserved to be there. I feel like I was totally locked in. Probably wasn’t the most fun to be around at the time. But I was so determined not to let up.
Olivia: I enjoyed the dance and movement assessments. I honestly just hated getting feedback, I never liked teachers anyway!
Orianna: I found vocal assessments were tough at times, because you’d be pushing yourself and losing your voice and just physically not being able to hit the range or tone you wanted to hit. It’s a lot to go through, I think it was a little too much if I’m honest. There were some days I was ready to either cry or scratch somebody’s eyes out, legit!
Olivia: And THAT is why I avoided you so much! Love you now though, babydoll!
The group name CLEO, you girls actually chose that yourselves, right? What was the thinking behind it?Tiana: We were actually given a list of like twenty possible names for the group. So they were all pre-approved, I think it’s just the one name that we were all either okay with or just didn’t hate.
Chloe: Yeah, there were a couple of really bad ones on that list. I still think we could have had a better name, it feels a little basic to me personally. But it’s the one name we all agreed on that we’d be happy with using. I like to think of it as a shortened variation of Cleopatra. To me, it gave like a female empowerment sort of vibe, at least that’s the way I choose to look at it.
When the judges started experimenting with different group combinations, did you feel the chemistry instantly between the five of you?Oriana: I think we all liked each other and there’s definitely a chemistry and bond between us already. But I don’t think any of us could have written down who they thought the five would be and ended up writing down this combination. There were some arguments between girls throughout the process, but to me that just showed how much they wanted it. But I don’t remember any real drama from any of ya … right?
Chloe: Nah, I think we all ran in different circles during the early stages. But once things were down to like the final fifteen or twelve, we sort of had no choice but to hang out with everybody. I think once it was over and we were selected, it was pretty much just like, ‘okay, we’re all going to hang out with each other’ and a chemistry just came natural from there.
Now that you’ve spent time as a group in the recording studio, who in the group is most likely to take charge during sessions, and who’s the one keeping the mood light and the energy up?Leilani: Yeah, I ain’t even gonna let these girls throw me under the bus. I definitely try to take charge during studio time. I’m always trying to make sure we’re constantly giving ourselves the best chance to succeed. I don’t think I go overboard, but I’m always looking for those extra takes. Olivia lightens the mood, for sure.
Chloe: Oh my god, Liv. So unserious.
Olivia: Well … shit.
Oriana: You make sure we don’t lose sight of this being fun. We all fucking love you for that, Livvy!
Your debut singles Forever, Stronger, Together and Wildest Dreams both charted high right out of the gate. Did that success surprise you or did it feel like validation after lots of preparation?Tiana: We’re not innocent, we know the group is pretty much set up to succeed when a label backs a project like they have. But it’s so competitive in that girl group scene right now that nothing is guaranteed. We’re so happy with those two singles and how they’ve been received. We know we’re gonna have people that love us and people that hate us, but right now we’re just sort of trying to build a nice little fandom, a community of people that support us and enjoy what we can offer them. We’re not guaranteed any kind of success, we still have to write these songs and record them and hope that they find and audience just like any new artist or group.
Leilani: To me, it’s such a perfect start to our career and we just hope to keep building moment with each track we release. Right now, the fun is in creating and recording our songs and seeing them come to life. Hearing our song on the radio is still just a crazy experience.
You touched on how stacked the girl group scene is at the moment and it already feels like it’s gonna be a girl group heavy year. What’s your opinions on the girl groups that are currently out there at the moment?Chloe: I’m really excited to see what SIXTHSENSE do this year. We’re on the same label but we’ve not met them yet, but I just think they’re gonna bring something really special to the girl group scene when they debut. There’s already such a strong identity and vibe with their image and I think they’re gonna just totally blow up in a great way.
Leilani: I think they all bring something different but BabyCrush for me are the bar right now. Those vocal harmonies, they’re a true vocal group and I think they’ve already established themselves as a force in the industry.
Tiana: Crescendo, without hesitation for me. I already know that DAME will be my album of the year. Those girls are awesome. Just sort of makes you appreciate the fact that anybody is streaming our songs because they have so many alternatives to listen to.
Those are the some of the girl groups that you’re currently enjoying, but what are the artists you’re currently steaming right now. I just know you girls’ tastes will be so varied from each others. Which artists are you hyping right now? Leilani: Girly, I’mma have to put Kara Romero and BabyCrush as two artists I’ve been listening to a lot recently. But I gotta say, where the fuck are my RnB dudes at right now? I need a little Dominic Brown and Drew Westbrook type of dudes coming through cause it’s been weak in that lane recently.
Chloe: I’m really loving this current era of Ryan Ross Hernandez, the whole “Definition of Home” project has been building perfectly, so I can’t wait for that album to drop. I’ve been loving the stuff that Mercedes and Jack Dunn have done over the past year also. I’m literally locked in with tickets for like three shows on Hernandez’ world tour, so I get to see Mercedes and Jack open and then Ryan headline. Literally my top three artists right now, it’s so perfect!
Oriana: I’ve been vibing out to the new Murda Bling track, I love the attitude and swagger. Last few years, Jadyn Ghalen and Keshia Love have been in my rotation a lot. Crazy that we’re signed to a label that he runs. And Keshia drops fire with every release.
Tiana: Tika Mays is definitely a fave of mine. But the output from Layla these last few years has been insane. She’s definitely THE pop girly of this era.
Olivia: Andrea is literally ICON. I love that she finally dropped “Southern Belle” last year. I was too young to be listening to her when that era began, but it felt like I was being brought into this whole other world when I did finally discover that music. You literally could not find me a better recent bop than “WET AMERICAN DREAM”.
I can’t even imagine the fights that you get into over who controls the playlists in the studio. You have all clearly bonded over a short period of time, I just know that your group chat must go crazy. What’s the most chaotic group chat conversation CLEO has had recently?Chloe: Are you trying to break us up already?!
Tiana: Oh my god, it’s so freaking messy on that group chat. Let’s see … we’ve got like celebrity crushes in there, couple of recent dating disaster stories. Some selfies that are not for public consumption and just the absolute worst dating advice ever from Oriana.
Oriana: Uh … that’s definitely a lie!
Leilani: Some of ya’ll’s celebrity crushes though, yikes!
Olivia: Yeah, I don’t think we should be discussing our group chat, girls.
Chloe: Can you guess who puts the most chaotic shit in there? *laughs*
Alright, I’ll not push the question any further. We’ll end on a nice one. Providing everything goes the way you dream it will, where do you see CLEO in five years?Olivia: Honestly, I’m just happy when company’s send us free shit.
Chloe: THAT is definitely a perk! … But seriously, like maybe we’ve got a few albums under our belt and a bunch of songs that people love.
Leilani: Five years is a long time, we gotta be headlining world tours and hopefully a couple of number one singles to our name by that point. I just think you can’t really control everything, so any amazing opportunities that fall in our lap, we gotta just take it and try to make this experience as fun and as successful as we possibly can.
I love that ambition and that seems like such a perfect way to end this conversation. It’s been a joy getting to chat with you girls today and getting to know you all a little more. You’ve already made waves and started your career strong, I’m sure it’ll continue and we’ll have you back here anytime. Thanks for being my first guests of 2026!