I always try to keep my friends within my music. I always play them all of the songs, and they are my biggest critics, and they love it, so that's a good sign.
— Khalid
The thing about going back to El Paso, it's overwhelming sometimes. I look at the support that I get and the success that I've had, and I can't walk anywhere without being spotted. My hair might be the biggest crime in this situation.
I was in the sixth grade and living in Germany, when I was hanging out late with some friends. I turned around, and there's a dude dressed up as Michael Myers following us all the way home. It was the scariest thing ever, and it always reminds me of Halloween. In my mind, I was so young, so I really thought it was Mike Myers following me home.
I didn't feel like I had a home until I moved to El Paso.
I worked hard on making a body of work that takes people on a journey. It was never about making a certain type of song. It was simply about embracing real-life situations.
A lot of my songs are about loneliness and losing relationships. Even the ones that are happy, there's a lonely undertone to them.
I'm still proud of who I am, of my youth, and I feel like now, as individuals, we begin to realise that we can change the future. We all have to participate.
I want to venture out into music education for kids. As a child, I was discouraged by a lack of money, and now I want to use my platform to give back to kids without resources.
We were told not to turn our hobby into our job, but to turn our job into our hobby. As kids, we were told not to pursue our dreams!
For me, when I grew up, I never really had an outlet when it came to my social surroundings. Even if I had a form of popularity, I felt like I was very limited.
Being timeless means you can listen to something when you're feeling a certain way, and it still has that same power as it did when you listened to the record for the first time. Timeless is abnormal. It sticks out. It can't be recreated.
I'm a regular guy, and I don't want anyone to look at me as being superior or having a God complex or anything like that, you know? I don't want to walk around like I know everything, because I have so much more room to improve.
I would never have been able to find my voice if I didn't have music education.
I was told I wasn't good enough, but I just chose not to listen.
It wasn't like I was specifically wanting to write songs about technology. It's just what I lived, what I was experiencing growing up.
My peers inspire me, especially being a newer artist.
I'd love to collaborate with Frank Ocean. He's one of my favorite artists of all time.
Even though I wasn't born or raised in El Paso, it'll always be a part of me until the day that I die.
Lorde is awesome. She's amazing. She's so talented. We went on tour in Europe, and it was the greatest time of my life.
My high school was what crafted my interest in recording.
Art is fluid, and it travels. You have to let music take you where it wants to take you. You can't necessarily be the controller.
When I wanted to be a music teacher, I wanted to help people through voice. Now, I get to help people out through song.
We forget that when you grow up, there are a lot of people who are in the same position as you. The reason we forget is because there's not really a true voice that talks from the perspective of youth.
A lot of people feel pressured by the outside influences, whether it's your job, whether it's school. But who says you can't take care of that stuff and still be young?
I knew if I worked hard enough that I'd be successful and eventually give opportunities to others.
I started writing out all of my feelings, and people asked me, 'Have you ever thought of recording your music?' It was something I'd always thought of, but I'd never really had the confidence.
Love crosses all boundaries.
As an artist, I never want to be a moment. I want to be a legacy, and I want my music to touch people for years to come.
I've been singing since I could talk correctly.
Positivity, confidence, and persistence are key in life, so never give up on yourself.
I would classify myself as an individual. That's what I try to stay true with - being myself, 100 percent.
If you don't text your relationship partner - even if you just saw them in person - it's like you're doing something wrong.
Even though I was super personal with 'American Teen,' I want to tap in and not just tell my own stories but tell the stories of other people - so that I can help as many people as possible.
To be recognized and accepted by my musical peers is truly an honor.
I love visiting my friends because it makes me feel normal.
Joel Little and I have this certain chemistry we have when we work together.
El Paso is where I started. I don't feel like I'd be making the music I'm making now if I hadn't gone there.
I want people to know that it's OK to have feelings; it's OK to be vulnerable. That no matter where they live around the world, teenagers all go through the same things.
I had originally planned to do musical theatre and be on Broadway, but then my love for poetry also set in. Once that happened, I became torn between a career as an English teacher or a music teacher.
I definitely associate songs with the places that I've been.
My mind was so geared towards being a performing artist, singing all these classical pieces, but the sense of loneliness I got when I moved from New York to El Paso meant that writing turned into singing. I'd sing all these songs, and they'd make me feel better. Songs that crafted the way my life was going to go.
I knew what I wanted and where I wanted to go. I always wanted to entertain and help others.
I moved from New York to El Paso in 2015, just before my senior year. I was super nervous. My mom, she's in the Army, and she got stationed at Fort Bliss. We packed everything up and drove all the way to El Paso.
My mom and I, we have trust within each other because at one time in our lives, we were kind of all that we had, you know? My mom had me, and I had her.
What really keeps me grounded is my fans and the way that I connect with them.
In my home, we listened to music all the time. I was raised through music, and I've been interested in it since I was three.
A lot of people think teenagers haven't gone through anything in their lives - they're not even 20 years old yet. But a twenty-something can go through the same type of experience or heartbreak that a 50-year-old can go through, so why does age matter?
With 'Location' and all the other songs around it, my music turned into therapy for others. And that's something I really love and am blown away by.
I've felt like an outcast most of my life, being in multiple high schools and being a military child.
I'm really excited about what the future holds and to grow as an individual and as an artist.
