’s first time performing on stage was in preschool, where he dazzled parents as Elvis Presley singing “Blue Suede Shoes.” The rising musician has come a long way since then, now touring around the world and playing for thousands of fans screaming his own lyrics back at him.
” — which Conan’s totally fine with and is even leaning into for his upcoming, first full-length album.with a laugh. “It’s hard for me to not be 100 percent who I am. Especially in songwriting, I'm a really bad liar. I just say things exactly how I feel them, and I feel a lot of sadness all the time.” Adding, “I think it's definitely showing and it's hilarious that I've already been given that title when my album's definitely exponentially more sad boy pop.
The 20-year-old got his start making music from the confines of his Texas bedroom, taping a cheap mic to a broken lamp and using GarageBand to record “Idle Town,” which went viral on YouTube and snowballed into his music career. It’s understandable why the track connected with listeners everywhere, distilling the stillness of suburbia that can often feel stifling for those coming into their own.
“Being a mixed-race kid growing up in Texas definitely affected who I am as a person, [it] made me feel like I didn't really belong anywhere,” he says. “That's when I turned to the Internet and songwriting 'cause I didn't know where I belonged, and I didn't know where I was going. I couldn't relate to my white friends, and I couldn't relate to my Asian friends, and I couldn't really fit anywhere else.