When we sat down to chat with CG5, the first thing that caught our eye was his T-shirt—a vibrant, abstract, and colourful depiction of himself, gifted to him by a fan.
“They did the art themselves,” he told us with a smile.
“They told me that they were thinking of giving it to me on a canvas, and their mom said they should make a shirt instead. Here it is.”
It was a small but telling moment of an artist who deeply values his community. That same passion and creativity shine through in his latest project.
From viral hits to gaming anthems, Charlie Green a.k.a. CG5 has built his career blending infectious melodies with pop culture’s biggest moments. Now, the TikTok/YouTube star and multi-talented musician is stepping into darker territory with Project U Move—a three-part horror series designed to accompany his upcoming EP of the same name. The first instalment, released on January 24, 2025, introduces a haunting tale where music is an unsettling force that manipulates reality.
With Project U Move, CG5 is pushing his creative limits, directing and starring in the series while crafting an EP soundtrack that elevates its eerie atmosphere. From collaborating with Five Nights at Freddy’s star Piper Rubio to producing a feature-length finale, this project marks a bold new chapter in his career.
The Indiependent caught up with CG5 to discuss his vision for Project U Move, the challenges of blending music and storytelling, and what fans can expect as the series unfolds.
The Indiependent: Project U Move is your new upcoming album. Just last week, you released the single ‘U Move’. Can you tell me how these came about?
CG5: “I decided to create this horror short film project called Project U Move. It wasn’t originally going to be a short film, but it became that way—kind of like K-12 with Melanie Martinez. The first part of the film released a couple of weeks ago, then this song, ‘U Move,’ the title track of the whole thing, released a week later.
“I didn’t know what I was going to do with this particular song at all. I actually had it on hold for about five years. I knew it had potential, but I felt in my soul that I had to sit on it for as long as I did—or just forget about it and come back later. Eventually, I realised, “Oh, this is a hit.” I thought this song would fit my project perfectly since I’m going for an ’80s retro style.”
Let’s touch on that. What kind of vibe were you going for with Project U Move?
“The music is very much inspired by Michael Jackson, the Bee Gees, Earth, Wind & Fire—you know? Bringing all of those inspirations together for one song was really important to me. Then I decided to make this a whole thing where I released an EP alongside a horror short film. I thought it would be a very ambitious way to promote my music, and so far, it’s working. It’s been a very hard project—making a horror film. I’m just grateful for the team I had making it with me.”
You said you’ve had this idea on your mind for a long time. Which came first, the horror film idea or the songs?
“The songs came first. I had come up with a couple of them on the EP before. I thought of this whole horror film concept as a unique way of promoting new music. That idea definitely came much later, once I had most of the music ready to go.”
A core theme of Project U Move is the idea that music can alter consciousness and perception. Do you think music has real-world psychological power—the power to change people’s thinking?
“Absolutely. Music makes the world go round. This is kind of corny, but if you watch Trolls World Tour—when they have all the music taken out of them in the audience, they’re all just depressed. I think this world would be just like Trolls World Tour if all the music was gone. We would be nothing without music.
“If it’s a perfect song, you can play it over and over again. I listen to a lot of Michael Jackson. Yeah, it’s the same songs I listen to again and again, but they just carry so much power. I would be nothing without the musical inspirations that I have today, and I wouldn’t have my career whatsoever.”
Most of your music blends electronic and pop. Is that the case here? How would you describe Project U Move in five words?
“Retro… Pop, Rock, Electronic… Different.
“The whole sound of it is very different because I usually release songs about video games. That’s what people know me for, but I’d like to be more known for making songs that are mostly just about my stories or stories that I create without the IP behind them. It’s the whole YouTube thing—that’s what I do. It’s still working out for me, and I’m going to continue doing it as long as I need to. But making a breakthrough in the mainstream industry is very difficult, even in the position that I’m in. There’s a lot I have to do to make that happen. It’s going to take a lot of work to show people what I’m made of outside of the video game realm.”
Your fanbase has played a huge role in your success. Do you often find yourself catering to your audience? How do they influence your creative decisions?
“I absolutely have been catering to them since the beginning, making songs about what’s popular. That’s what people have come to expect on my YouTube channel especially. The growth of the channel is all based on songs about video games. I attribute my career to them—my audience—for sure. I would be nothing without them. It’s still really fun though, to have that avenue. I can just make a song about something people really like, or is popular, and it will get streamed and get views.
“That said, it’s really ambitious going from that to releasing an entire EP that is original and has no pop culture reference behind it. It’s a big shift, but I love the challenge.”
Even so, with your latest single ‘U Move’, you paid tribute to the Robotnik dance from the new Sonic the Hedgehog movie in promoting the song.
“I actually noticed the similarities to that AFTER we filmed the video. That wasn’t even the purpose behind the look of it with the red suit. We were going for more of a Rock With You, Michael Jackson aesthetic, where he just performs a song with the lights. Then it somehow turned into lasers upon lasers. I’m actually glad it turned out that way because people can make that silly little connection. It made a good marketing move connecting my work to the video game realm in some way because that’s what people are familiar with. I’ve got to put together a formula to get people to hear my music.”
You directed Project U Move. Do you find an overlap between filmmaking and music production?
“I directed it alongside my friend William Bradford, who I’ve worked with and known for about ten years. We’ve created this work relationship where we can collaborate closely on projects like this. I’m really grateful to him.
“I’ve been making music for about 20 years—since I was five. It’s all I’ve ever known. I like to be at the head of things. I know what I want, but I can’t always communicate it. That’s why I really like singing, songwriting, and music production—because I’m in complete control.”
You’re on tour now, is that right?
“Yeah. It’s been a long tour. I started last year in late July and performed almost every weekend until November. Then I took a break, and now I’m back on tour. We just finished up in Ohio and Michigan. We’re heading to Texas this weekend, then next weekend to Australia—which I’ve never been to. That’s gonna be jetlaggy as heck, so I’ll be exhausted the whole time. But I do it for the fans. The show is very unique and has some characters and character development, lasts about an hour and isn’t the sort of show fans would expect unless they’ve seen me live before.”
Your songs do great on TikTok, but live music is different. Did you expect your songs to translate well to a live experience?
“I worry about everything. I worry about the growth of my channel, whether I’m doing something wrong or I’m doing something right. I’ve been wanting to be able to perform the songs that I’ve made for people – they’re not just numbers on a screen. You get to see these people sing with you the songs that they’ve been listening to over and over again.
“Recently I performed ‘Let Me In’, one of my top songs on Spotify, and the singing along went crazy. I did an acoustic version of the song and everybody was down with it. It was so fun and so cool to hear so many people sing my lyrics back at me. You don’t expect something like that to happen, but you want it to.
“I don’t think you should ever expect anything to happen because if you do, it can make or break you, mostly break you, at least mentally or emotionally even if you do make it. You’ve gotta keep your ego in control. That’s kind of what I’m going through right now, trying to stay humble through every experience, every fan interaction.”
On Project U-Move, you worked with Piper Rubio. How did that come about?
“She was a fan of mine. She came to my show in LA at the El Rey Theatre last year. We got to meet and from there, we just created a working relationship. My management and hers came together. I never knew this horror project would be what it is now, but circumstances led to Piper being in it. I know it’s because of God and the blessings I’ve received through Him. I can always thank Him at the end of the day.”
If you could choose anyone in the world to feature on one of your projects, who would it be?
“Maybe Josh Hutcherson. That would be cool. Of course, I’m about a foot taller than him, so that might be awkward. I look up to him—even though he looks up to me—literally.”
What’s one thing fans would be surprised to hear about you?
“I think the fact that I’ve spent as much time as I have on my craft is pretty crazy to hear about – that I started when I was five. I think that everything comes with time, you have to spend a lot of time on something to really get good at it and be patient. Be so so so patient. You have your whole life ahead of you, you’re so young! Even if you’re fifty, you’re still young. If you’re still on the earth, you can go be the best golfer in the world or something. You can be whatever you want, as long as you work on it.”
Following the release of Part 1 of CG5’s Project U Move, the next chapter – Part 2 – will be out 21 February, along with the music video for the next single ‘LA LA LOVE’, dropping on 28 February 2025.
Words by Kieran Webb
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