​​The Bonfyre Is Back and Brighter

The music industry isn’t for the faint of heart, and few know that better than The Bonfyre. Once riding high with two No. 1 records and a deal with legendary music executive L.A. Reid, the rising R&B star stepped away from the spotlight to regain clarity. In an industry built on momentum, stepping back can feel like disappearing. But for The Bonfyre, that space became a lifeline. Now, after a five-year hiatus marked by heartbreak, healing, and deep personal growth, she’s back, refocused, recharged, and reintroducing herself as The Bonfyre 2.0.

“I was almost erased by my silence. But now I feel like I’m louder than ever. This comeback isn’t just about music, it’s about reclaiming my story,” she tells Bleu Magazine in this exclusive interview. That story includes moments of doubt, disillusionment, and pressure to present an image far more perfect than the reality behind the scenes. With this chapter behind her, she looks forward not just to picking up where she left off, but to moving forward as an artist fully in control of her own path.

With her latest single No Sleep, produced by WORLDFAMOUSKP, The Bonfyre celebrates a new beginning. The track has a silky early 2000s R&B groove, but its weight comes from lived experiences. “It’s about the kind of heartbreak that keeps you up at night,” she says. “The kind where your mind won’t rest, even when your body is tired.” Written from a deeply personal place, No Sleep reflects the kind of pain she says she used to hide — the red flags ignored, the emotional weight of staying too long, and the moment she finally realized that leaving was the only way to start healing.

No Sleep marks a shift, both in sound and in intent. This time, The Bonfyre is adamant about not writing from the outside looking in. She’s writing from the center, more grounded than ever. “Every lyric came from the rawest parts of me,” she says. “It’s not just a song. It’s my truth. It’s what I was living and what I’m still living,” she explains.

But this transparency didn’t always feel safe to The Bonfyre, whose real name is Chelsey LaRue. During her initial rise and while charting records and working with major names, a growing disconnect emerged between how things appeared and how they actually felt. “I had two No. 1 records. I was signed. Everything looked perfect. But behind the scenes, I was breaking down. Nobody could see it. I didn’t want them to,” she says. Now, she speaks openly about the importance of reclaiming her voice, both in and outside of her career.

The Bonfyre is honest about how much she’s learned since her breakout moment. At the start, she was wide-eyed and green to the business. Backed by heavy-hitters like Raphael Saadiq and L.A. Reid, she had support, but things were still far from easy. Being a woman in the music industry, she says, is a challenge in itself. It’s a space filled with high expectations and even higher risks. That’s why her “foundation,” as she calls her team, means everything to her. Over time, she’s found her footing and is now more assertive, more aware of how things work behind the scenes. “There are sharks in this game. You have to protect your vision. I know the business better now, and I’m not afraid to say no to what doesn’t align with what I want,” she says.

When The Bonfyre first entered the music industry in 2018, mystery was still an integral part of the image. There was an unspoken expectation for artists to present as polished and pristine, to keep a sense of distance between their art and their inner world. Especially for women, vulnerability could be risky. “Back then, everyone was a unicorn,” she says. “You didn’t know what was going on in their lives. And I was scared to let people know what was going on in mine.” It was safer, she felt, to perform a version of herself that was untouchable, even if it meant hiding the truth.

This time around, transparency is non-negotiable. Through her new music, visuals, and the projects she’s preparing behind the scenes, The Bonfyre is committed to showing people who she really is, not just as a performer but as a person. More than anything, she hopes that honesty will resonate with others and encourage them to speak their truth without shame or fear. “You can walk away from something that hurt you, even if you loved it deeply. You can still rise,” she says. It’s about reclaiming and embracing the parts of herself that once felt too messy or too complicated to show.

Throughout the highs and lows, there was always one thing that kept her grounded: her why. It’s the anchor that grounded her when the path forward felt murky. “I’ve always wanted to sing,” she says. “Since I was a little girl, that’s what I told everyone — I was going to be a singer. That’s my why.” That conviction has never wavered, even when the path blurred her vision. If anything, it’s become sharper, more urgent. Now, more than ever, she’s making music with purpose.

Born and raised in a multicultural household, music has always been a part of The Bonfyre’s life. She credits her stepfather, who is Samoan, with introducing her to music as a communal force. In Polynesian culture, music is intertwined with gathering, storytelling, and emotional release, she explains. To her, music is something you feel together. “Growing up, we’d sit around bonfires, play ukulele, sing together. It didn’t matter if you were strangers or family. That’s where the name ‘Bonfyre’ comes from.”

The Bonfyre describes her comeback to music as a creative reawakening shaped by self-reflection, independence, and the decision to write from the center of her own experience. “There’s growth here,” she says. “I’m not trying to be someone else. But I’m also not the same woman I was five years ago. The way I hear things, the way I write — it’s all changed.” With No Sleep as the first release in this chapter, she’s holding back nothing. “They’re locked and loaded,” she says with a grin, referring to the four full projects she’s already finished.

The new music undeniably carries echoes of her earlier work, but she’s quick to point out that this is the start of something else. The Bonfyre draws from different inspirations now, and that openness is part of what excites her most about this next era. Most of her lyrics are pulled directly from journal entries, and even when working with collaborators, she insists the core of the songs stays personal. “I’m really just getting started,” she says. “No Sleep is the first chapter.”

In today’s digital age, five years away from the spotlight can set you back what feels like millennia, as social media continues to evolve at a pace that is hard to keep up with. As she looks ahead, The Bonfyre isn’t chasing trends or timelines, and social media for her isn’t a place to curate perfection, but rather a space to extend the honesty that defines her music. “I’m not just trying to release songs. I’m building something that lives,” she says. She’s focused on longevity, on making art that resonates and lingers with her fans. Though the focus is on the music, The Bonfyre wants the online space to reflect the same depth and intention as her records.

With multiple new projects in the pipeline, both released and unreleased, The Bonfyre is excited to expand her creative vision beyond music. The vision is clear, and so is the message: The Bonfyre could not be put out. Currently in production on a multi-part documentary that chronicles her journey, she is grateful to her support system and to her inner strength for getting her through the tough times and emerging stronger on the other side. “The healing isn't pretty, but it's powerful,” she says. With new music and projects on the way, this is the first in a while, but definitely not the last. The Bonfyre is back and brighter than ever.