When first hearing about a nineteen year old boy who is rising on the charts with multiple hit singles, I couldn’t help but feel like crap seeing as how I spend my time stuffing my face with pizza and binge watching Netflix shows. Fresh out of high school, Khalid dropped his very first album called American Teen. Throughout his years in school, Khalid was very passionate about music, and worked on his songwriting skills daily. He also thought about starting a music program to help spread his passion of creating music with other kids similar to him.
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Khalid’s strong love for music was brought about by his mother. When she had the time, Khalid’s mother performed a little music on the side when she wasn’t working her job in the army. She spent days working hard to get into the chorus band that the army provided and was accepted faster than what was normal for anyone else auditioning. Having a military family also meant that Khalid moved a lot. He lived in Germany, New York, and Kentucky. Khalid dealt with the struggles of being the new kid often- no one wanted to talk to him, everyone judged him by his looks, and he always felt like the lonely outsider. The hardest move of all was when his mother told him that he would be spending his senior year in a different state- El Paso, Texas.
Even though he was constantly reminded of how different he looked from everyone else in El Paso, it was the place that felt most like home to Khalid. There was so many good vibes, a great sense of community, and overall so much love that was spread around in the city that he loved dearly. It was the place that sparked Khalid’s creativity musically and where all his hit songs on his amazing album were born.
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There were people that didn’t believe in him and didn’t like the songs he produced, but that only made him want this dream of pursuing music full time that much more. It lit a fire under him and before he knew it, his music blew up around the world.
“I love when people tell me that I can’t do something, because that just makes me want to do it even more.” – Khalid
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I personally LOVE his album. I usually figure out that I am obsessed with an artist when I start watching a ton of interviews for fun to get to know more about them and their personality. I am not exaggerating when I say that I have been listening to the entire album every single day for the past couple of months. I play it every morning when I get ready, at night while I am prepping for the next day, and every time I’m in my car. Some of my friends have even picked up on my love for Khalid’s music, and turn him on every time I get into their car- talk about true friends right there!
If you haven’t checked him out already you definitely should! American Teen talks a lot about relationships, breakups, missing a certain somebody, living up your dreams, and staying strong through the tough times. It can put you in your feels at times but Khalid’s smooth, unique voice and deep lyrics will win you over in a heartbeat.
HCXOXO,
Shayla Fajardo
Source: http://www.thefader.com/2017/02/02/khalid-documentary-location-american-teen