Hanging out backstage in the Hard Rock Artist Lounge ahead of his performance at Audacy’s We Can Survive 2024, Khalid chatted with Bru about his new music, feeling accomplished, as well as the importance of kindness, friendship, mental health, and more.
LISTEN NOW: Backstage with Khalid at We Can Survive 2024
Five years since his last LP release, Free Spirit, Khalid’s latest studio album Sincere is here. Now, nearly two months since its release, Khalid discussed his evolution, both musical and personal since, between the 2019 album and now.
“It's crazy to think about getting old, it’s something that we all have to do. We all have to get older, but I'm happy to acknowledge that my sound has matured over the past few years. I've given myself grace too, given myself time to be patient, and I'm just happy to be able to still do what I do for the people that I love at this capacity. It's just really incredible to be back after all these years.”
Sharing his We Can Survive set would feature some of that new material, like his “new favorite” song “Heat Stroke,” Khalid also talked about the new music he’s currently working on, some of which he recently shared on TikTok, explaining it was inspired by a phone call.
Sharing more about the story behind the song, Khalid said, “There goes the woman of the hour right there,” pointing offstage, “she was the phone call. She's always calling me, somebody tell her to stop,” he joked.
Going on to note, “she’s on my management team,” Khalid added, “shout out to the managers, they help get everything done." Continuing to explain, “I just like doing things like that, that’s the fun thing about being creative. You can turn anything to a song if you love it.”
Previously sharing how his latest album is “rooted in my core,” and sincerely him, Khalid opened up about which song standouts as a favorite, and the meaning behind it. “I love the song ‘Please Don't Fall in Love with Me,’ as sad as it is. I feel like it's the center focus of the album and I'm just happy that I was able to write a song like that, and for it to be received the way that it does.”
With We Can Survive continuing Audacy’s mission to support mental health via I’m Listening and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) -- the conversation made its way to the importance of kindness, friendship, and prioritizing mental health.
As a kind hearted soul himself, Khalid finds that kindness in collaboration is really important. “Luckily I've only met kind people who have wanted to work with me and collaborate and they give me so much love and respect and I give them the same mutually.”
“I think that's the best part of this industry… meeting other people and knowing that you're not alone going through this process. So I really value friendship… it’s just really important to me,” Khalid added.
When it comes to maintaining his mental health, it’s those friendships, and kindness towards himself that Khalid finds as helpful tools. “I really gotta give my thanks to my core friend group… I’ve kept the same friends since I've started my career and they've been able to see me in different stages of my life. So really valuing the importance of the relationships that I have around me. And also like I said, giving myself grace and taking myself less seriously and always having fun with life. This is the only life we got.”
Check out our full conversation with Khalid from We Can Survive above.