By Liz Hammond Contributing writer
Looking for new music to obsess over? Then check out Khalid’s debut album, “American Teen.” Khalid is an 18-year-old from El Paso, Texas, and his album truly is an inside look to what it’s like to be “Young Dumb & Broke.” Khalid released the album’s lead single, “Location,” earlier this year.
In the single, Khalid touched on what it’s like to be in love in the 21st century, singing, “I don’t want to fall in love off of subtweets.” The song shows that he wants to change the connection between devices and relationships today. In an interview with music annotation website Genius, Khalid said, “When you talk to someone face to face, it’s almost like there’s not a lot of emotion as there was a couple years back because everything is based off of emojis and text messages.” Khalid’s voice is the definition of smooth R&B, and the song contains 80s synth beats.
When Khalid released the album, I don’t think anyone would have expected it to flow so well. Often, a freshman album can sound all over the place, but Khalid’s voice flows seamlessly from one song to the next.
One thing about the album that shocked listeners is that it has no featured artists. It’s just Khalid, the way he wanted.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Khalid said: “It’s just me. No features. I’m throwing it out there and if you guys like it, you like it. If you don’t, you don’t.” But Khalid does not even need a popular feature to get people to listen to his album. He can do it all on his own.
Several titles on the track are notable, including “Young Dumb & Broke,” a song that talks about what it’s like to be in high school and get caught up in drama. Another is “Shot Down,” a track that discusses an all-in relationship that ends badly. “8TEEN” is a track that talks about how things are different when you are no longer 18, and “Let’s Go” is a song that discusses growing up but still throwing caution to the wind.
The music scene has not seen a breakout debut like this since Lorde in 2013. If Khalid keeps moving at this pace, he could be the next Kid Cudi.