Twenty-one-year-old Ruel (Ruel Vincent van Dijk) from Sydney, Australia, has been called a "heartthrob," "astonishing talent," and "golden boy of Aussie music," amassing over 3 billion global streams and counting. The award-winning singer spoke to Newsweek's Ramsen Shamon after his first Lollapalooza performance. Ruel's latest EP of cover songs, Adaptions, was released earlier this month, giving his fans (he's big in Asia, especially the Philippines) something to listen to on repeat.
Q_How did it feel playing Lollapalooza?
A_It was amazing. It was very surreal. I've been seeing videos since I was a kid of the Chicago skyline—of people playing. I was blown away. I didn't think my stage was gonna have that skyline, but it did. It was a dream.
I think I saw you walking around before your performance. I was like, "Is that him? I'm not gonna bother him."
Oh no, don't worry about it. You can always come up.
Do you get recognized?
Every now and then. It's definitely not gotten to a crazy point. But you know, certain places. Maybe at home [the recognition in public] is a bit more. Out in America, more people, more space. Also, there's bigger celebrities out here. There's people who don't really give a shit [here]. Laughs. Yeah, it's fine.
Congrats on Adaptations, your new EP.
Thank you very much.
How are the fans receiving it?
It's been an amazing reception so far. It's like a weird thing, because it is just, you know, it's a cover EP. It gives people more right to not like it, I believe, because it's songs that people love, and if you know things are changed that you love about the song, then you know you're gonna hate it. So it's a hard balance. But I'm really, really happy with how my fans are receiving it. And I really love the EP. It was really fun to make.
Do you have a favorite song from Adaptations?
I think I love Hollywood, or I love my cover of Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap.
How long did it take to complete the album?
Oh, not long at all. It was in between writing the album, which is taking a long time. In between the album, we only spent like a like a month or two on it. Just like recording, and working out production didn't take crazy long at all. The longest bit was just finding the right songs.
To finalize the copyrights to sing the songs?
No, not that. Just to find the right song to sing that would feel good in my voice.
You're pretty successful at a young age. I'm sure you're sick of hearing that.
Laughs. No, I'm definitely not [sick of hearing that].
So how does it feel to be so successful while you're still young?
It's hard to answer that, I suppose. I feel like I was always trying to dissociate between success and who I am. And I feel like that's really worked for me, and especially growing up in Australia. It's a very different culture out there, where it's always best to keep it to yourself, and live life as if you know nothing else is kind of going on in your life, which is a good and a bad thing. I don't know. [The success] hasn't really affected me too much.
Looking ahead, what goals do you have for your career?
So I've never really set goals. I always feel like they've always scared me a little bit too much. I always feel like goals have always made me feel like it adds on pressure that I already don't need. I don't know—that's also a bit bad, maybe a bad thing as well. I just hope I'm still making music in the next 15 years, and I hope I still have the same kind of love for it and determination for it to finish the same kind of fight—fight for it. I feel like that's my only real goal, is that I hope I kind of put myself in situations where I still love it in 10 years.
Speaking about the future. Who would you love to work with?
Oh, yeah, there's heaps. I am a very collaborative person. I feel like it's always hard, but there's a bunch of people. I've just moved to LA. So there's a bit more going on out there than Sydney. I'd love to work with Frank Ocean, or James Blake, or Paolo Nutini even.
How did the collab with Omar Apollo for Want U Around happen?
That was cool. I met him at a festival in Australia in 2020. We got along, and I stayed in touch. And then a few months later in the middle of COVID, he just texted me saying, "Hey, I've got the song called, Want U Around. I've left the second verse up. Do you want to do it?" And I feel like it was just the classic [story]—immediately said, "Yeah." Went home and recorded it, sent it back to him, and then he put it out within a few weeks. It was pretty easy.
Usually you hear a collaborative song release being delayed due to label issues or other factors.
Yeah, exactly. It felt very streamlined. There was no pushback. It was just, send him the verse. He put it on. It's a really short verse, and I just sang the chorus, and it was really easy.
How do you like living in LA?
I am getting used to it. I've always come for like, two [or] three month trips since I was 15, and I would always hate it. By the end of the two months, I'd be like, "I just want to go home. This place sucks. I feel so alone." I didn't know anyone, and I was always very, very against it. And being there now, it's been longer than a few months, so it doesn't feel just like a trip. And I've got a nice place, and I've got my friends out there. And I'm starting to find a little bit of a community out there. And I've been busy, which feels good as well. So yeah, things are shaping up nice. We'll see how it goes.
Do you already have a favorite local cafe or coffee shop?
Oh yeah, I'm in Eagle Rock. So there's [a] bunch around, like Loop, and ... trying to think, Kumquat. I'm an East Side guy.
Do you have a song or album of the summer?
It's hard not to say [Charli XCX's] Brat or Sabrina [Carpenter]. It's hard.
Sabrina's Please Please Please or Espresso?
Honestly, that's hard. That's an even harder question than what's the song of the summer? But for me, if I had to pick my song of the summer that wasn't forced upon me by the radio—I do love Sabrina and Brat—I would say Juna by Clairo.
You're from Sydney. Which is the better Australian city? Sydney or Melbourne?
It's really hard. It's like a LA, New York sort of thing. I feel like there's no right answer because I feel like there's great things about both. But for me, I think it's all personality based. I love to surf. I love the beach. I'm into nature, and that's what Sydney has better than Melbourne. If you're into going out, seeing some cool art, or coffee even more than Sydney, I suppose, restaurants, stuff like that—which I'm also into—I feel like Melbourne's your go. But for me, I'm a Sydney guy.
Are you Team Vegemite?
Oh, for sure, yeah. I don't think any Australian isn't team Vegemite. But we understand if you don't like it. We kind of like how other people don't like it. I think we kind of gatekeep it.
What do you eat it with?
Just on toast with a bunch of butter, like a crazy amount of butter.
What message you have for all your fans? You're really big in the Philippines.
Yeah that's been a cool market that I've been going back to. It's been fun.
What do you want to tell your fans in the Philippines?
I just want to say thank you so much for sticking around. I've been coming back to the Philippines for the past five years now, and every time has been incredible. And it's such a crazy thing to feel like, you know, out of anywhere in the world, that's now one of my biggest markets. So I just want to always reciprocate the love as much as possible, so you guys aren't left hanging out there. But yeah, I'll be back soon.
If you weren't doing music, what would you want to be doing?
If I wasn't doing music, I ... that's super hard man. I started too early to have any backup plan. Laughs. This was my backup plan. The first [plan] was just gonna be like, just go through the wringer and figure out what my actual job is. Like you know, go to uni, go to school, do all the things. But I kind of skipped all that, so I don't know. I feel like I'd end up doing some kind of something in English. I loved English at school. I love either comprehension to journalism to creative writing.
How's your love life going?
It's great. My girlfriend and I have been together for four years. It's been amazing. It's boring. Sorry. Laughs.
Any final thoughts?
Other than just the new EP came out a few days ago—I'm really, really loving it. So whoever's reading, check out Adaptations.
Portions of this interview were edited for clarity.
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