Khalid's Last Two Years Have Been All About Evolution

Khalid is out to re-define rhythm and blues music for the second time in two years – something that should be borderline impossible for someone who's only 21 years old. However his sophomore studio album Free Spirit comes out on Friday (April 5) and it'll surely exist at the intersections of nation, pop, funk, rhythm, blues, red, yellow — you get the gist. Khalid's a system, an artist with a booming baritone voice who creates on impulse and disregards genre or structure. The title of his latest effort is fitting, to mention the least.


It's been two years since Khalid's debut LP, American Teen, an album that captured the friction of youth, that state of confusion where you aren't quite congealed as a person, where everything feels right, even any time, in actuality, it's wrong. The passion you're feeling is fleeting, and weed solves all problems. However since the LP's release, the singer has been up a lot. It is time to trace that growth as we all prepare ourselves for his next project.

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  Dropping a pin with 'Location'
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=by3yRdlQvzs
  
  
  
  Khalid first began making music in the winter of 2015, still a high-school student just posting songs to his SoundCloud account. Although soon after meeting with a producer named Josh Scruggs, the pair got into a zone, cranking out a tune they knew could be special: "Location." Immediately after gaining traction online, the song's official music video was released in September of 2016 and has since registered hundreds of millions of views. The song became huge, peaking at No. 16 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on its way to becoming a multi-platinum hit.
  
  
  
  
  



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  American Teen paints a complete portrait
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=IPfJnp1guPc
  
  
  
  "Location" was only the tip of Khalid's iceberg; the singer's debut album, American Teen, came just months later, in March of 2017. It featured the nearly-as-big follow-up single, "Young Foolish & Broke," that was brutally and painfully truthful about sub-18 life. The singer was cultivating a sound and image as an intensely charismatic individual whose powerful voice could bring a grizzled veteran's touch to a young man's perspective.
  
  
  
  
  



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  Joining with Logic and Alessia Cara for a survival anthem
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=Kb24RrHIbFk
  
  
  
  Logic's 2017 hit "1-800-273-8255" is a moving song about struggling with one's emotional health and suicidal ideation. The rapper does more than give numerous perspectives of the situation; he also enlists singers that bring smooth, relaxing melodies to the anxious atmosphere. One of those is Khalid, whose deep vocals complement Alessia Cara's lighter, feathery voice. Anchoring the song's outro, his message isn't lost in the melody: He's tired of crying and willing to feel alive.
  
  
  
  
  



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  Nominations on nominations
  
  
  https://www.Instagram.Com/p/BovWmNbA7k0/
  
  
  
  American Teen was a hit with both fans and critics. In October of 2017, the album went platinum, and at the VMAs that year, Khalid took house the moon person for Best New Artist. So it wasn't much of a surprise that, immediately after glowing sales and reviews, the singer was nominated for five Grammys at the 2018 ceremony: Best New Artist, Best Urban Contemporary Album, Best R&B Song for his breakout single, "Location," and Song of the Year and Best Music Videos nods for his contributions to "1-800-273-8255." He, unfortunately, left the ceremony empty-handed, although it was an indication of the begin of something special.
  
  
  
  
  



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  Expanding his sound
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=xYtsL9znopI
  
  
  
  For most of 2018, Khalid kept his personalized releases close to the chest. Yet as far as collaborations, they were everywhere. It was impossible to predict where he would appear next. In February, a teamwork of his with Swae Lee, "The Ways," appeared in the Marvel superhero film, Black Panther. Around that time, he partnered withNormani for her first solo release, "Love Lies," which eventually peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Khalid later linked up with Billie Eilish, his stylistic opposite, to drop "Lovely," a collab more mysterious than any of his softer anthems. And by working with Benny Blanco and Halsey on "East Side," it became clear that he was moving in a much broader direction.
  
  
  
  
  



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  Suncity and beyond
  
  
  https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=_NbuWqqc4Ww
  
  
  
  In October of 2018, Khalid returned to his own material with a new EP, Suncity, an appetizer for Free Spirit. At seven tracks, it’s much vaster in sound and scope than its span would indicate. Poppier and more lighthearted than American Teen, it gives us a wider perspective of Khalid's taste, which has become more and more expansive since his debut. As soon as it dropped in October of 2018, it debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200.
  
  
  
  
  



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  From American Teen to Free Spirit
  
  
  https://www.Instagram.Com/p/BvjT-LunpN2/
  
  
  
  In February 2019, the road was paved to Khalid's forthcoming album. He released his Disclosure group effort "Talk" because the album's first single. It shocked with its funk and prepared the world for the following two singles released in March, each vastly different from one another: "Self" and "My Bad." He also revealed specifics about the new album, chief among them the fact that there could be a short film of the same name released alongside it, co-created by the prolific music video director Emil Nava. A new era begins.