Xilinnayi Gao (; Uyghur: ôÃÂñÃÂàçàïçæàShirinay Gaw; born July 31, 1998), professionally known by her stage name Curley G or Curley Gao, is a Chinese singer-songwriter. She first gained attention in 2017 on the Chinese singing competition show Sing! China. In 2020, she participated in the survival show Produce Camp 2020, finishing first and debuting as the center of the girl group BonBon Girls 303. She was selected as the leader of BonBon Girls 303. In July 2022, she released her first EP to mark the beginning of her solo career.
Curley Gao was born on July 31, 1998, in Beijing, China. She is the only daughter of a Han Chinese father from Beijing and a Uighur mother from Xinjiang; her surname Gao is a common Han Chinese surname, while her parents decided to give her an Uighur first name, Shirinay, which is transcribed in Pinyin as "Xilinnayi".
She was raised in Beijing until the age of 9 and later moved to Singapore with her parents. In Singapore, she attended MacPherson Primary School and Dunman High School. In the United States, attending Berklee School of Music, she took on the English name "Curley". She started learning piano as a child and has passed ABRSM Grade 8 piano. In 2012, she finished as a finalist in the songwriting competition Eco Music Challenge with her song This Is Our Paradise. She also wrote a few songs and released them on her SoundCloud when she was in middle and high school .
Curley Gao auditioned for Sing! China season 1 in 2016 but did not make it through the blind audition. She auditioned again for Sing! China season 2 in 2017 and eventually finished as runner-up of the team mentored by Na Ying.
After the show, she signed with 梦åÂÂ强é³. On December 18, 2017, she released her first song æ¹åÂÂèª己 which was included in 梦æ³å¨æÂÂ, the compilation album of fellow Sing! China contestants. She released several singles with 梦åÂÂ强é³ later, including é¢Âç²Âå£, the first single written by herself.
In January 2019, she moved to Boston and began her study in Berklee College of Music. While in college, she collaborated with different producers and released several songs independently.
In early 2020, Curley Gao returned to China and appeared on Tencent's girl group survival show Produce Camp 2020. On July 4, She finished in first place and debuted as the center of BonBon Girls 303. Before the debut, her first EP Ã¥ÂÂä¸Âä¸ÂæÂÂ¥ was released when she was still on the show.
On August 11, 2020, it was announced that Curley Gao was elected as the team leader of BonBon Girls 303.
On August 12, her single 2030ï¼ÂæÂÂæ³对你说 (2030, I want to tell you) was released as the theme song of the United Nations 2020 International Youth Day Dialogue. She gave a speech titled ç¨å Âå¶çÂÂæ´»æ¢æ´好çÂÂæªæÂÂ¥ (Self-control for a better future) and performed the theme song live as one of the Chinese Youth Advocates for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals at the event. On August 25, she released two special versions of the theme song for the 9th Fight Night of League of Legends, titled Fight of your life (English version) and æÂÂæÂÂçÂÂä¹Âç« (Chinese version). She appeared on The Coming One: SUPER BAND on August 30 and collaborated with the band æ°´æÂÂæÂÂç on an original song Stay With Me.
On September 26, she performed as a guest of Xiaoshenyang in the finale of Crossover Singer season 5. From October to December, she teamed up with Joey Yung in Dragon Television's singing competition show Our Song season 2, and the duo stayed for 6 episodes.
On December 16, the original soundtrack of TV drama Legend of Fei, which includes a song 红å°Âè«欺æÂÂå¹´å° performed by Curley Gao, was released. Which later on January 19, 2021, Curley Gao won The Most Popular Film and TV OST Female Singer with 红å°Âè«欺æÂÂå¹´å° on QQ Music Film and TV OST Popularity Awards 2020.
In January 2021, Curley Gao appeared on Tencent Video's variety show 令人å¿Âå¨çÂÂoffer and Hunan Television's Happy Camp as a guest. In September 2021, Curley Gao participated on Masked Dancing King as "Naughty Boss (顽ç®èÂÂæ¿)". She proceeded to go to the final and won The Most Promising awards.
On January 4, 2022 Kappa China Official announced that Curley along with INTO1's Mika will be their Youth Ambassador. In March 2022, Curley joined The Treasured Voice 3rd Season as a participant. Curley Gao is also Coach Watch Brand Spokesperson. On July 4, 2022 BonBon Girls 303 had officially disbanded due to their contract. Curley wrote their final song as a bonus.
On midnight July 5, 2022, Curley Gao Studio announced her first EP ãÂÂå¾ãÂÂwill be released on July 12.
On July 18, 2022, Curley Gao was appointed as Maybelline New York Brand Ambassador.
In 2024, she was featured as the singer for "Emberfire" for the Genshin Impact animated short "The Song Burning in the Embers", which was recorded by HOYO-MiX.