2CHÉ – Strood’s Singing sensation

The duo are renowned for their high energy, fun injected, vibrant performances that have had audiences stomping along with them all over Kent, Essex and have even shared a stage with none other than Chico of ‘Chico-time’ fame. CommunityAd had the pleasure of a chat with Gemma and Karina about returning to gigs in their hometown of Medway.

The name 2CHÉ is a curious one, what’s the origin behind that name?

We wanted a name that included the number 2 in some way because we were a duo and something that was a bit sassy like us. We were thinking of words or sentences that started with “To” and that’s when we came up with 2CHÉ. It’s a play on words for the French word Touché. We love it. Sometimes we like to have a laugh with the audience and pretend we’re French; we’re definitely not. 

You’ve had quite the career as a duo, what are the highlights that stand out?

We are 2 girls that just love to sing and our aim is to make sure everyone in the room enjoys themselves. We love every single performance we do but there are a few that do stand out. We have supported a couple of great tribute bands over the years, one being Take That and the other Jersey Boys. It is always great to share the stage with other fantastic artists and support each other and both were truly amazing evenings. We also had a great performance at The Upchurch River Valley Golf club helping them bring in the 2019 New Year. What a beautiful setting that was. We sung on a bridge over a gorgeous indoor pond surrounded by lots of sparkly lights and the audience were fantastic. Another that stands out is the Christmas party we did at a holiday park in JULY!! Every year the park has a wacky Christmas party in the summer. Everyone in the room wore Christmas jumpers and we wore Santa’s hats and sang Christmas songs.

That was a little crazy but definitely fun. We have also had the privilege of performing for 2 gorgeous wedding couples which was pretty special helping them celebrate their day.

Do you recall your first gig together as a duet?

Absolutely, we will never forget it. We started to rehearse together around 4 months before and started to build up our repertoire. We realised we needed a date in the diary to work towards. We organised an event with Karina’s sister in law to raise money for her nephews’ school which had unfortunately burnt down a few months before. It was an amazing night had by all and we raised £500 for the school which was great.

How long have you lived in Medway and what makes it such a lovely community to be a part of?

We are both Medway girls born and bred and have lived in Medway all our lives (so only 18 years, we wish) in this time we have both spent many years away working on cruise ships as singers and dancers and have had the privilege of travelling the world. We are both trained in musical theatre and have a strong singing and dancing background with over 15 years working in many aspects of the industry from cruise ships and casinos to hotel and holiday parks. Performing with acts such as “The Supremes”, Clem Curtis from “the Foundations”, “Chico” from the XFACTOR and ITVs magician/ presenter Stephen Mulhern but there really is no place like home and we love performing in the local area.

If you were ever to go from duet to a three-piece band and could have anyone else join the 2CHÉ (maybe 3CHÉ) who would you recruit (dead or alive) and why?

We actually like to joke with the audience about being 3CHÉ. If someone is wearing something similar to us, we’ll get them up and pretend we’re a trio. It would have to be someone sassy like us, who doesn’t take themselves too seriously and a passionate performer. Someone like Beyoncé, she’s fierce!

Desert Island discs time, if you could pick three singles to take with you on a desert island?

Karina’s favourite song is ‘September’ by Earth Wind and Fire. She says it doesn’t matter where she is it makes her want to dance. Gemma says she would take Bette Midler’s ‘Wind Beneath My Wings’ as she is her idol. Together we would take The Killers – ‘Mr Brightside’, because it’s an absolute “Tune” and we love singing that song.

Are there any local venues you’ll be playing soon? (Medway area)

We are very lucky to be able to play at many pubs, social clubs in Medway and we are making our debut at Palm Cottage Social Club on 29th Feb. We are returning to the Gillingham Sturdee Social Club 15th February. As well as these gigs we perform regularly at the Cricketers Rainham, Rainham Mark Social Club, Hoo Institute, Strood and Frindsbury Working Men’s Club, but all of our local events can be found on our Facebook page:

www.facebook.com/2che.duo

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