Khalid channeled the pain of being outed online into the heart of his upcoming album After the Sun Goes Down, revealing that the deeply personal experience reshaped his creative process and forced him into the public eye before he was ready.
The 27-year-old singer was publicly outed as gay by an ex on X, formerly known as Twitter, in 2023. Though he had already come out privately to close friends and family, the public exposure left him feeling robbed of his autonomy.
“I was caught off guard. I think what’s so nasty about it all is that my own story got stripped away from me,” Khalid told People in a new interview.
Despite the emotional toll, Khalid said the experience cracked open a new level of honesty in his music. “This album wouldn’t have come to be if I wasn’t outed,” he said, referring to After the Sun Goes Down, which is set to drop October 10.
Known for hits like “Young Dumb & Broke,” Khalid admitted he once held back in his songwriting, trying to strike a balance between vulnerability and self-protection.
“I wanted to give enough of myself where I felt like I wasn’t completely hiding, but I didn’t want to give too much where I felt exposed,” he said. “As an artist, sometimes you do find the pressure to create yourself to be accepted by all sides.”
Now, Khalid says he’s embracing his truth without hesitation. “I decided I’m just going to choose to love who I am unconditionally because it’s all I got on this earth.”
Looking ahead, he described After the Sun Goes Down as a tribute to the pop icons who shaped his identity and inspired his dreams.
“Singing a melody of a Britney (Spears) song or watching a Rihanna video really charged my freedom of expression as a child,” he said. “I’ve always dreamt of being this pop star. I really tapped into that little boy and gave him his shine that he always wanted.”
Khalid’s new album After the Sun Goes Down will be released October 10.