The Kid is coming.
Teenage Aussie rapper The Kid LAROI is Spotify’s third U.S. RADAR artist, the streamer’s spotlight program for emerging acts.
With the RADAR nod, the Sydney-raised, Los Angeles-based newcomer should enjoy playlist features, a Spotify Singles recording, promotional support for his upcoming releases, on-platform marketing (including a glossy new photo shoot and editorial), social promotion and more.
Also, Spotify will get behind a mini-documentary on the youngster, set to premiere next month.
In recent months, the Kid (real name Charlton Howard) has matured into a fully-grown international chart star.
In the U.S., his debut F*ck Love opened at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, with 40,000 combined units (including 33,000 in SEA units and 7,000 sales).
F*ck Love bowed at No. 12 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, just one place behind the debut of two-time Grammy-winning U.S. hip-hop star Logic’s final album, No Pressure.
In his homeland, LAROI impacted both main ARIA charts as his debut mixtape started at No. 3 on the albums survey, behind recordings by Taylor Swift and Cub Sport.
A protégé of the late Juice WRLD, the 17-year-old bagged three nominations heading into the 2020 ARIA Awards and he’s already amassed 11 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
“The Kid LAROI is an artist we’ve been watching closely for the last eighteen months,” explains Ned Monahan, Spotify’s Head of Global Hits. “LAROI developed a rabid fanbase in Australia, and then translated it to an even bigger audience in the U.S., which is incredibly rare and speaks to his potential as a global hit maker. The vulnerability and boldness of his music places him at the heart of young music audiences across the world. We can’t wait to see LAROI break on a superstar level.”
RADAR has been up and running for since March 2020 and has already tuned into the careers of Alaina Castillo and and J.I The Prince of N.Y.
Last month, Spotify pressed the button on its global RADAR hub on-platform.
Statistics provided by the streaming giant paint a rosy picture of RADAR and its 115-strong artist lineup across 22 global sister programs, including such breakthrough successes asCastillo (U.S.), Young T and Bugsey (U.K.), Lous and The Yakuza (France), Zoe Wees (Germany) and Rina Sawayama (Japan).
Over the past six or so months, RADAR artists have collectively generated over 2 billion streams, 100 million listening hours and 112 million listeners across 102 countries. They have also cumulatively gained more than 8 million followers since the launch of the program, representing a 64% overall increase.
The Kid has some advice for other aspiring artists. “Things might not go according to plan to start off,” he says in an editorial feature published by Spotify, “but never give up chasing your dreams.”
Read more here.
