The Kid LAROI is celebrating the release of his debut studio album THE FIRST TIME. On Friday, November 10th, the Australian recording artist shared his new album which features 20 new songs and includes features from the likes of Jung Kook, Central Cee, Baby Drill, Future, Robert Glasper, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, and D4vd. To celebrate, the Kid LAROI treated his fans to an iHeartRadio Album Release Party which featured performances of songs off THE FIRST TIME and an exclusive Q&A with iHeart's JoJo Wright.
To kick off the night, the Kid LAROI performed his single "BLEED" before bringing out his special guest, D4vid, to perform their collab "THE LINE." The singer hyped up his collaborator while introducing him to the stage, "I have a guest... somebody that I really, really think is incredibly talented. I found his music last year when I started the tour. My friend TJ showed me him and I really love his stuff. We have a song that's on the new record." Despite earning international acclaim for his single "Stay" with Justin Bieber, THE FIRST TIME is the Kid LAROI's debut full-length album and marks his first project since 2020's F*ck Love. When asked why it took two and a half years for the next release, he shared,
"I wasn't ready to just keep putting stuff out. I think I needed to take a break and figure some things out personally." He continued, "I just wasn't happy with the music I was making, maybe? So I think when you have both of those things together it kind of just... I think you have to be in a fairly clearer place to be able to make good music. But it's funny because a lot of the stuff we made in like 3 months, really. It was just making all the s—t we don't like to get to the stuff that we do like."
A lot has changed in the time he's spent working on the album. "In 2021 I was 17, 18. The growth period from that to like 20 I think is like the first thing. You're growing up and you're changing perspective. You're traveling a lot and getting to see different things and just gain new perspective on stuff. I mean, going through stuff behind the scenes," he shared told Wright. "When you think about two years it doesn't feel like that long but for me, when I think back to 2021, that feels like a whole lifetime ago. It feels like I was in a completely different spot. The things that have happened in that time... everything's been so fast."
That includes a new public interest in his music. "I'm grateful, you know. You have to be grateful. That's an interesting question because I feel pretty normal," he said of being in the public eye. "I guess the one thing if I'm honestly speaking, when I first started making music I didn't care what people thought about my music. I could put something out and I wouldn't really care what people are saying. If I liked the music, if my friends liked the music, I'd put it out. Now I feel like something about being more successful or being more in the public eye makes you question yourself a lot more." Luckily, he has "good friends" and goes to therapy which has "helped me a lot."
To end the celebration, the Kid LAROI performed some of his biggest songs including "Stay," his latest collaboration with Jung Kook and Central Cee called "Too Much," and "KIDS ARE GROWING UP."
Listen to THE FIRST TIME on iHeartRadio! Fans can set a reminder to can watch The Kid LAROI's full iHeartRadio LIVE show on Tuesday November 28th at 5pm PT/8pm ET in VR only in Meta Horizon Worlds.