Charlton Howard, better known as the Kid Laroi, has certainly gain more and more traction in the music world each year. Initially known for his association and friendship with American rapper, Juice WRLD, he has grown into an individual musician, who is now known for the world he has built himself. His mainstream success began with “Stay” (with Justin Bieber), which topped the charts in Australia, Canada, and the United States. His first released album F*ck Love peaked the ARIA charts and the US Billboard 200 as well, paving the road he has continued to drive upon. The Kid Laroi is becoming a household name more by the day, but let’s look at how he got to that status.

Early Life

Howard was born on August 17th, 2003, in Waterloo, Australia. His father, Nick, had pursued his own recording career, but eventually shifted into production and engineering work for acts including Bardot and Delta Goodrem. His mother, Sloane, was a talent manager and record executive, which fully surrounded Charlton with the resources needed to thrive in music. Howard’s great-great grandfather was a part of the Stolen Generation of children of aboriginal descent, making him a Gamilaraay, or Kamilaroi. The latter of which, Kamilaroi, is where he derived his stage name.

His interest in music not only came by the line of work of his parents, but also by the music played in his childhood home. Including the likes of Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and 2Pac, Laroi grew an interest in hip-hop music. He has since claimed Kanye West’s 808s & Heartbreak as his favorite album. By the age of four, his parents had divorced, leaving a chaotic childhood. His mother would sell drugs to get by, and his father was no longer present in his life. Howard sought a father figure in his uncle, however, in 2015, he was tragically murdered, leaving Laroi alone once more.

Schooling

At the age of seven, Laroi moved to Broken Hill, New South Wales, with his mother, brother, and grandparents. He attended Sacred Heart Parish School, a private school, where he was house captain and won an award for speaking. After which, he attended Sacred Heart College, where he was left bullied. On top of not being able to afford it, Laroi left, and his family moved back to Sydney in 2017.

In Sydney, he attended the Australian Performing Arts Grammar School on scholarship, however, he dropped out mid-year to pursue his international career. During this time, his family had lived in a Housing Commision building, leaving Howard to drift between friends’ houses. In this time, he found a part-time job to help support his mother financially. In 2019, No Jumper filmed a documentary on Howard and his friends, detailing the struggles of making it big outside of Australia.

Early Beginnings

Howard began his career similarly to many others: recording beats on his mother’s phone and posting them to SoundCloud. His first recordings were posted under the pseudonym, FC6, eventually starting the duo, Dream$Team with rapper DJ Marcus Jr. Marcus and Laroi recorded and performed together, with Laroi often citing him as his mentor and support. Laroi eventually met his now-collaborator, produced Khaled Rohaim, at a studio in Sydney. Rohaim, who was impressed by Laroi, took him in, and the two began writing and recording together. Through this partnership, Laroi met his first big name rapper, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie.

Calm Before the Storm

It wasn’t until 2018 when Laroi would release his deput EP, 14 with a Dream. This EP featured collaborations with Manu Crook$, B Wise, and Miracle. It was the same year where he became a finalist in the Triple J Unearthed high competition, gaining him solid attention. In the same year, he performed with both Tkay Maidza and Manu Crook$ at festivals, played at Newtown Festival, and collaborated on a song with Lil Skies. The following year, Laroi created a partnership with Grade A Productions and Columbia Records.

It was during this time in which Howard became friends with Chicago rapper, Juice WRLD. In 2018 and 2019, Laroi supported him on his Australian national tours. He also lived with Juice WRLD in Los Angeles, leading to Laroi learning of the inner workings of the music industry. In 2019, Laroi also performed at Rolling Loud Festivals in Miami and New York, which was a tremendous feat in his young career. And in December of that year, Laroi released a music video for his song, “Let Her Go.” This video was featured on the Lyrical Lemonade YouTube channel, garnering international attention.

2020 and The Rise

2020 was the biggest year in Laroi’s career. In January of that year, Laroi released “Diva” (feat. Lil Tecca), which to date is still one of the biggest hits. In June, he released “Go” featuring the late Juice WRLD, which was his second biggest break. Following “Go” was “Tell Me Why,” which was released as a tribute to Juice WRLD. Both these songs would go on to be featured in his mixtape released on July 24, F*ck Love. Featuring Lil Mosey, Corbin, and Juice WRLD, the mixtape peaked at number one and solidified Laroi in the music industry. A follow up, F*ck Love (Savage), was released on November 6th, which was preceded by the lead single “So Done.”

Laroi continued to make a name for himself through music videos released throughout this year as well. A music video for “Wrong,” which was directed by YouTuber, Logan Paul, was released on September 18. Laroi was also featured on a handful of other songs, including: “Go Dumb” by Y2K, which also featured Blackbear and Bankrol Hayden, “Speak” on Internet Money’s mixtape B4 the Storm, and “Remind Me of You” a posthumous song by Juice WRLD.

Continued Success

His features continued over the next two years, with notable collaborations with Justin Bieber on his sixth studio album, Justice, and Nardo wick on “Burning Up.” On April 30 of 2022, Laroi released a remix to his hit song, “Without You,” featuring Miley Cyrus. This remix peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. In June of that year, he left Grade A Productions and signed with Scooter Braun. The next month, Laroi released his biggest song to date, “Stay” (featuring Justin Bieber), which peaked at number one. Later in July, he released his final part of the trilogy, F*ck Love 3: Over You, with features from Polo G, Stunna Gambino, G Herbo, and Lil Durk. To round out that year, he won Best Artist and Best Pop Release and the 2021 ARIA Music Awards.

In 2022, Laroi would release “Thousand Miles.” The music video for this song would reach one million views in the first day of release. In May of 2022, Laroi returned to Sydney to perform his debut headlining concert titled, the End of the World Tour, which was a support for F*ck Love.

Recent Years

In 2023, it was revealed that Laroi and Katarina Deme had ended their three-year long relationship, stemming into some of his music. In January of that year, Laroi teased his upcoming debut album, The First Time. This tease was followed by singles: “I Can’t Go Back to the Way It Was (Intro),” “Love Again,” and “Kids Are Growing Up (Part 1).” In February of that year, Laroi released another song “I Guess It’s Love?” Due to the praise from the song, his debut album gained much traction prior to release. April of that year, Laroi performed at the 22nd Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, followed by “Forever & Again” being released for the 2023 film, Barbie. In October, Laroi released his final single “Too Much.”

A month later, Laroi released The First Time. It was met with moderate success, peaking at number 3 on the ARIA charts, and 23 on the Billboard 200. The album held features from YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Future, and D4VD. 2024 saw more success for Laroi, with a documentary detailing his struggles and relationship with Juice WRLD. It also talked about his repaired relationship with his father. Laroi was then rumored, and eventually confirmed, to be in a relationship with rising Canadian singer, Tate McRae. This past month, Laroi released a deluxe version of The First Time, which has also seen moderate success.

Discography

• F*ck Love (2020)
  • F*ck Love (Savage) (2020)
  • F*ck Love 3: Over You (2021)
• The First Time (2023)
  • The First Time (Deluxe Version) (2024)

Accolades

APRA Awards –

• “Stay” (with Justin Bieber) – Song of the Year (2022) & Most Performed Pop Work (2023)
• “Without You” – Most Performed Hip-Hop/Rap Work

Billboard Music Awards –

• “Stay” (with Justin Bieber) – Top 100 Song (2022) & Top Collaboration (2022)

Spotify Charts

Peak Single Chart – “Stay” (with Justin Bieber) – Peaked at #1

Most Streamed Song – “Stay” (with Justin Bieber) – 3,002,215,993 Global Streams

Number of Top 10 Songs on Chart – 2 (“Stay” | “Without You”)

Number of Songs Over 100 Million Streams – 5 Songs (“Stay” | “Without You” | “Go” | “So Done” | “Hate the Other Side” | “Thousand Miles”)

Peak Album Chart – F*ck Love – Peaked at #1

Most Streamed Album – F*ck Love 3+: Over You – 7,452,823,416 Global Streams