Australian rapper and pop artist Charlton Kenneth Jeffery Howard, who goes by the stage name The Kid LAROI, first gained fame around 2020-2021 with the release of his mixtape “F*CK LOVE 3+: OVER YOU.” He also gained fame around the same time due to his collaborations on songs such as “Go!” with Juice WRLD and “Stay” with Justin Bieber.

As of January 2026, Laroi has amassed 36.1 million monthly listeners on Spotify, with some of his most popular songs at the moment being “NIGHTS LIKE THIS,” “STAY” (with Justin Bieber), and “A COLD PLAY”.

On November 20, 2025, Laroi took to his Instagram account to announce his new album “BEFORE I FORGET,” which was released on January 9, 2026. Referring to the new album, in the caption, he stated, “[I]t’s my favorite thing I’ve ever made. [I]t’s also the most personal thing I’ve ever made.”

Aside from “A COLD PLAY,” he has also released “A PERFECT WORLD” and “BACK WHEN YOU WERE MINE,” which are all songs from the upcoming album, with the most recent single being released on January 2, 2026.

Viren Sadhwani, junior, said, “I’ve been a Kid LAROI fan since 2019… I love how versatile his music is. He has a nice balance between rap music and sort of, I guess, pop music; it’s like melodic rap is how I would describe it. I really like his voice. I like how raspy his voice is, and I just really like his music.” Sadhwani said his favorite song by The Kid LAROI is “Not Fair” (feat. Corbin), which is one of Laroi’s earlier songs.

Sadhwani said, “I’ve listened to ‘A PERFECT WORLD’ and ‘A COLD PLAY.’ I really like those songs, especially ‘A COLD PLAY.’ Whenever I first listened to [that song], I was listening to it for like a few days straight, just like all the time every day. And [in the song] ‘A PERFECT WORLD’ I really like the chorus, it’s catchy… I love those two songs.”

The Kid LAROI has gained a large fan base with his music, as well as by selling merchandise and box sets that include things such as t-shirts and signed CDs. He has also gained popularity through touring, with his next concerts set for Tokyo, Sydney, and Los Angeles.

Sophia Rodriquez, senior, has been listening to The Kid LAROI’s music for around a year and a half to two years. Rodriquez said, “I think he’s very similar to other artists, but I feel like his music flows really well together and he’s like a really good lyricist.” Rodriquez said her favorite song of his is “I know love,” a song from ex-girlfriend Tate McRae’s newest album “So Close To What” that he was featured on.

Fans have been anxiously awaiting the new album with 15 new songs, three of which have already released. The cover art features Laroi in a body of water with his head and one of his hands emerging from the water. In an interview conducted by Variety, Laroi stated, “When we were looking through all the photos it just stood out and screamed ‘this is the album.’ It looks like the album, feels like the album… Something about that photo just feels personal and emotional… and that’s exactly what this album is!”

More information regarding The Kid LAROI, like merchandise, tour, and new music, can be found on his Instagram account @thekidlaroi, his YouTube channel @TheKidLAROI, and on his website tkl.world.