Making History: Sydney-born Artist The Kid Laroi Tops US Charts

The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s hit single ‘Stay’ has topped the US Charts, featured on his ever-growing album F*CK LOVE 3.

Photo Credit: Billboard

Australia’s young treasure, The Kid LAROI a.k.a Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard, has topped the US Charts with his hit single ‘STAY’, made alongside Justin Bieber.

Reaching No.1 in its fourth week on the chart, The Kid LAROI has become the first-ever Indigenous Australian artist to top the US Billboard charts. He’s also the youngest-ever Australian artist to have a No. 1 US single.

And like that wasn’t enough, a week before that LAROI sent his ever-growing 2020 debut album F*ck Love to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200, just over a year after its release.

As one of Australia’s most successful artists, the teen has been compared to the likes of Drake and Bieber. Now he’s one of music’s biggest names in the world.

Topping the Charts

Photo Credit: The New York Times

Coming from humble beginnings, The Kid LAROI has made his dreams come true in the biggest ways possible. Since breaking through as a 2018 finalist of triple j’s Unearthed High, the LA-based artist has reached astronomical success.

Ever since his 2020 single ‘WITHOUT YOU’ and his songs going TikTok viral, LAROI’s rise to international stardom has only grown. And at 17, he got a No. 1 US single and album.

The teen said in a heartwarming Instagram post,

“If someone told me that I’d have a number one ANYTHING let alone an album three years ago when I was in Australia I’d say that’s bloody ridiculous.”

Over the last year, The Kid Laroi’s album F*CK LOVE has remained in the charts. This is by releasing “deluxe” versions of it with additional tracks each release. In his second release F*CK LOVE (SAVAGE), he added 7 tracks to the original 15 pushing the album to No. 3.

And last month two more reissues came out back to back. F*CK Love 3: OVER YOU which added another 7 songs, including hit ‘STAY’ with Bieber. And then F*CK LOVE 3+: OVER YOU which had 6 more tracks added. The album now has 35 tracks total.

The chart-topper also expressed his gratitude for his fans in his Instagram post following news of his No.1 single.

“Seriously I know I say this a lot, but thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am nothing without you guys and it makes me so mf happy that this project has connected with y’all in the way that it has.”

Paying it Forward

But after his SNL performance and working with huge names like Juice Wrld, Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus, The Kid Laroi vows to use his platform to pay it forward.

The Kamilaroi man continues to pay respect to his Aussie roots. He recently collaborated with Western Sydney’s drill rap group ONEFOUR on “My City”. He’s also teased about linking up with Australian EDM trio PNAU.

The young kid with a dream is now the Next Best Thing. And he’s determined to put Australian music and Sydney’s local rap scene on the map. He told Triple J, “I don’t think America is completely switched on to how big [and] great the Australian music scene and culture is, but I think that’s kind of my job to shed light.”

“I really want people to recognise Australia is the fucking future of music, in my opinion.”

After being mentored himself, the famous teen aims to take on mentoring local talent and younger rappers himself. “Everybody’s different, everybody has different things they do. There’s no f*cking blueprint to success” he told Triple J.

“I just know what I’ve experienced so far and if anyone wants to reach out, you can always DM me, I’ll respond back.”

Big Things Ahead

Photo Credit: Instagram // @justinbieber

It’s clear that The Kid Laroi has slipped comfortably into LA life and A-list status. He has just celebrated his 18th birthday this past week, following news of his chart success.

It’s safe to say that he’s also drawing in industry people and other famed celebs. Prior to ‘STAY’, he had also worked with Justin Bieber on a song in Bieber’s Justice album. And with his songs all over tik-tok and billions of streams, The Kid has cemented himself as a Gen-Z obsession and music phenomenon.

Plus hanging out with the likes Justin, Miley and Instagram model girlfriend Katarina Deme has further solidified his socialite and celebrity status.

The Kid LAROI has also hinted at a new album dropping soon:

“My real album, I would like to say, is [coming] maybe start of next year, maybe end of this year…I’m about to go full lock-in next month and go crazy.”

The 18-year-old’s growing status, chart-topping music, LA lifestyle and famous friends only adds to his success and reputation as one of the biggest names in music right now. And we have no doubt that this is still just the beginning for the young Sydney-born rapper.

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