Khalid

"“I try to tap into a lot of my friends’ emotions. Some of my friends go through it and they ask for advice, and I can only talk so much. But once I put it into a song they can listen to – that’s my goal. Creating happiness. Because I’ve been upset, and I’ve turned to music to help me out. And it helped me even more when I started writing my own."

- Khalid

Khalid Donnel Robinson (born February 11, 1998) is an American singer and songwriter.

1998-2015: Early life
Robinson was born in Fort Stewart, Georgia, to Linda Wolfe. His mother was a U.S Army sergeant, resulting in him growing up in different locations, including Atlanta, Kentucky, New York, Heidelberg, and El Paso. His parents separated when Khalid was "very young". When he was seven years old, his father was killed, hit by a drunk driver. He shared, "I was very upset, mad – the stages of grief. That's probably why I matured a lot faster than a lot of people my age, because I already lost something super-close to me." He and his mother were living in Germany at that time, and moved to upstate New York. In his senior year, in El Paso, he began to write and record songs.

2016-2017: American Teen
He began to upload music to his SoundCloud, and gained traction with his debut single, "Location", in 2017. His debut studio album, American Teen, was released.

Personal life
He shared to CBS News, "I can't play an instrument to save my life, but when I'm creating and when I'm making music, I feel like I'm the head of the orchestra, and I'm just waving my wand, and something is created."

Musical style and influences
In an interview, he said that he loves synths and the 80s and 90s music that "had the best music about living". He named Frank Ocean, Fleetwood Mac, Father John Misty, and his mother as inspirations.

Headlining

 * The Location Tour (2017)
 * American Teen Tour (2017–2018)
 * Roxy Tour (2018)
 * Free Spirit World Tour (2019)

Supporting

 * Lorde – Melodrama World Tour (2017)

Trivia

 * His first name means "eternal".
 * He once said that cars are the best place to listen to music.
 * His favorite restaurant in El Paso is Track One.
 * He named the scariest thing in 2017 to be releasing his album American Teen, since there was a lot of pressure.
 * He does not like candy corn.