The Kid LAROI Reacts To Fans Missing His 'Old' Sound Amid New Album
By Rebekah Gonzalez
November 29, 2023
The Kid LAROI has some profound thoughts about his musical evolution and a common critique successful musicians encounter: fans missing their "old" sound. During his iHeartRadio LIVE show which aired on Tuesday, November 28th, the Australian rapper/singer joined iHeartRadio's JoJo Wright and his fans to talk about his debut studio album THE FIRST TIME.
In between musical performances, which fans were able to watch in VR only in Meta Horizon Worlds, Wright asked the Kid LAROI about fans who miss his old sound. "That sucks because I can't do that anymore. Even if I wanted to...," he explained, "...I can't make the music I was making when I was 16." However, he went on to admit he's had the same feelings "with other people's music."
The musician went on to rephrase some wise thoughts a friend shared with him on the matter. "You have memories and certain things that are connected to that music and that just can't be recreated," he said of the underlying reason people find themselves struggling with an artist changing their sound. "And that was such a wise thought because I feel that with other people's music."
Despite evolving as a person and an artist, the Kid LAROI treated fans to new and old songs during his live performance by kicking off the night with songs off the new album "BLEED" and "THE LINE," for which he brought out special guest, D4vid, his collab with BTS' Jung Kook and Central Cee called "TOO MUCH," and "KIDS ARE GROWING UP." Towards the end of the night, he also performed fan favorites like "STAY" and "WITHOUT YOU."
When asked what makes the music on THE FIRST TIME different from his previously released projects, the Kid LAROI explained, "My music taste has broadened. I just listen to so much more music." A fan even gifted him their pink cowboy hat after he shared that he now listens to country music. The album title is also representative of the changes in his life,— although he wants "everyone to take it however they want"—declaring, "To break it down though, it's about growth and shedding skin and evolving."