The long-awaited episode of Saturday Night Live finally aired last weekend, as Australian rapper The Kid Laroi unexpectedly stole the show.
The long-awaited episode of Saturday Night Live finally aired last weekend, but while viewers were prepared to indulge in morbid fascination over Elon Musk’s bizarre hosting spot, it was Australian rapper, The Kid Laroi that unexpectedly stole the show.
The 17-year-old Sydney artist stunned viewers with a magical live rendition of his hit single, Without You, featuring a full live band of three guitarists, a bassist, keyboard player and drummer.
Replacing the production of the original recording entirely, the live rendition starred Miley Cyrus on accompanying vocals, while the lyrics – which would normally have been rapped – were instead sung, showcasing Laroi’s impressive range.
The single has since topped the ARIA charts, and is rapidly climbing the US billboard chart as a result of the performance.
In fact, Laroi is now the youngest Australian solo artist to top the ARIA charts… but it hasn’t come easy.
Kid Laroi, real name Charlton Howard, was born in Sydney 2003 and grew up with a rather impoverished upbringing. Surviving in project housing across Redfern, his mother had to sell drugs to help them get by.
At one point, they were eventually evicted and forced to couch surf.
Before my uncle was murdered, he would stress to me how important it was that I keep rapping and stay focused. When I was little I told him “but I want to be like you”, to which he replied “if you turn out like me, I’ll be disappointed”. Those words have stuck with me forever. ❤️
— charlton (@thekidlaroi) June 19, 2020
However, from the age of 13, Laroi began uploading his music online to a devout Sydney following, which eventually spread internationally.
Grammy-nominated producer, Khaled Rohaim, who produced much of Laroi’s album, F**k Love, first discovered him at age 12 at a Sydney recording studio.
In 2019, Laroi was discovered by Lil Bibby, who signed him alongside Columbia Records. From there, Laroi then opened for rapper, Juice WRLD, eventually collaborating on a single from his album GO, which went viral, clocking in over 49 million YouTube views.
From there, it was only a matter of time before Kid Laroi would appear on SNL. Since his performance, the stats just continue to be remarkable.
On TikTok, Without You has now been used in over 3 million videos, and has hit the top 10 in over 12 countries. Currently, Laroi has more monthly Spotify listeners than Kendrick Lamar, BTS and yes… The Rolling Stones.
I JUST DID FUCKING SNL WOW WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK THANK YOU @MileyCyrus LOVE YOU AND THANK YOU @elonmusk FOR SAYING MY NAME CORRECTLY IT WAS AN INSANE EPISODE!! BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY THANK YOU TO THE FAM YALL ARE THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME AND NEVER LET ANYONE TELL YOU DIFFERENT!!!!!!
— charlton (@thekidlaroi) May 9, 2021
