The Kid Laroi has had other hits with the songs "Without You" and "Stay."
The Kid Laroi, whose real name is Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard, was born on August 17, 2003 in Waterloo, New South Wales, Australia. His father is Nick, an accomplished music producer and sound engineer, while his mother is Sloane, a former talent manager, music executive, and record label founder of Aboriginal ancestry. Through his great-great grandfather, who was part of the "Stolen Generation," Howard is of Indigenous Australian Kamilaroi descent; he adopted the stage name "Laroi" based on the Kamilaroi people. When he was four, his parents divorced. He subsequently moved to the rural town of Broken Hill, New South Wales with his mother, brother, and grandparents. There, he went to Sacred Hart Parish School. Later, Howard briefly attended a boarding school in Adelaide. The family then moved to Sydney, where Howard went to the prestigious private school Australian Performing Arts Grammar School. He eventually dropped out, however, to pursue a career in music.
Howard began his music career recording raps on his mom's phone and uploading them to SoundCloud. In 2015, he formed the duo Dream$Team with fellow Australian rapper DJ Marcus Jr., with whom he recorded many songs and performed at local venues. Howard subsequently met producer Khaled Rohaim at a Sydney recording studio; impressed by Howard's skills, Rohaim gave him work writing songs for various artists. In 2017, Howard signed with Sony Music Australia.
Howard released his debut EP, "14 with a Dream," in August of 2018. That same month, he drew attention when he became a finalist in a competition on Australia's Triple J radio station. A little later in 2018, Howard took the stage at a handful of festivals in Australia, including Listen Out, One Night Stand, and Newtown.
In 2019, Howard began a partnership with Columbia Records and rapper Lil Bibby's record label Grade A Productions. He also supported rapper Juice Wrld on the latter's Australian tour. Consequently, Juice Wrld became a close mentor to Howard, living with him in Los Angeles and teaching him the ins and outs of the recording process. Howard went on to perform at the Rolling Loud Festivals in New York and Miami. He earned international recognition in December of 2019, when he uploaded the music video for his song "Let Her Go" on YouTube.
Howard collaborated with numerous artists on a variety of songs throughout 2020. Early in the year, he released the song "Diva," featuring rapper Lil Tecca. He subsequently released "Addison Rae," which became a TikTok sensation; "Fade Away," with rapper Lil Tjay; and "Go," featuring the late Juice Wrld. In June, Howard was featured on "Pain is Temporary," the debut studio album of Bankrol Hayden.
In July of 2020, Howard released his debut commercial mixtape, "F*ck Love," featuring Corbin, Lil Mosey, and Juice Wrld. It spawned the lead single "So Done," which was accompanied by a music video. In early 2021, "F*ck Love" reached number one on the Australian ARIA album chart, making Howard the youngest Australian solo artist to make it to that position. It also reached number three on the US Billboard 200. Howard released two deluxe editions of "F*ck Love," the second of which contained guest appearances by Stunna Gambino, Lil Durk, G Herbo, and Polo G.
Among his other collaborations, Howard has been featured on such songs as "Speak," by Internet Money; "My City," by Onefour; "Reminds Me of You," by Juice Wrld; and "Unstable," by Justin Bieber. Meanwhile, he had huge hits with his own singles "Without You" and "Stay." The former, which was re-released as a remix with Miley Cyrus, peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100; it was Howard's first top-ten single as a solo artist. "Stay" was an even bigger success, peaking at number one on the Hot 100 to become Howard's highest-charting single in the US.
Fashion has been an integral component of Howard's career thus far. When he was living in Australia, he often wore sports tracksuits due to a lack of money. However, after moving to California and gaining fame, he began wearing apparel from such high-end designers as Louis Vuitton and Celine. He has become especially well known for his love of knitted jumpers. Moreover, Howard has been featured in the fashion and culture magazine Flaunt, and graced the cover of the British magazine Wonderland in late 2021.
In 2020, Howard began a relationship with TikTok star Katarina Deme. He resides in Los Angeles, California with his mother and younger brother.
Howard took to Instagram in August of 2021 to tell his fans that he was recovering from COVID-19, and that he had been self-isolating for a week. Later, he tweeted a video in which he revealed he was quarantining with his girlfriend, as they had both contracted the virus. During the video, Howard received an update that he was COVID-free.
