Justin Bieber lookalike The Kid Laroi taking over America after SNL debut

A 17-year-old Sydney artist who looks a lot like Justin Bieber is blowing up the charts after a performance alongside Miley Cyrus.

The Kid Laroi is the Australian hip-hop star giving everyone lessons on how to make it in America.

His recent appearance on Saturday Night Live over the weekend alongside icon Miley Cyrus and billionaire Elon Musk has sent the 17-year-old’s level of fame soaring.

Guest starring … pic.twitter.com/buM3bTOWbX

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 7, 2021

His latest single Without You is not only at the top of the ARIAs but it’s also currently climbing the Billboard charts in the US, after he performed the remix alongside Miley Cyrus for the first time on SNL.

From releasing collaborations with everyone from Cyrus to Justin Bieber, to breaking records – he is the youngest Australian solo artist to top the chart – there’s no doubt The Kid Laroi is having a moment.

The Kid Laroi and Miley Cyrus perform his hit single Without You on Saturday Night Live. Picture: NBC/BACKGRID

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The Kid Laroi, real name Charlton Howard, was born in Sydney in 2003. Despite the Indigenous teenager’s meteoric rise to fame, it wasn’t always easy. He has previously said in interviews that he and his mother lived hand-to-mouth with his mother selling drugs to get by. They ended up living in project housing in Redfern, an inner-city suburb in Sydney, but were later evicted and forced to couch surf. The young rapper has also previously tweeted that his uncle was murdered in 2015.

Howard began uploading his music online at the tender age of 13, growing a devout following in Sydney and online. The Sydney Morning Herald wrote that Grammy-nominated producer Khaled Rohaim, who produced much of the star’s F**k Love album, first noticed Howard aged 12 at a Sydney recording studio.

The Kid Laroi was in good spirits after making his SNL debut performing on stage with Miley Cyrus. Pictured: @TheHapaBlonde/BACKGRID

“I saw this kid standing in the corner at the back of one of the studios, and he was so young I was like, ‘What are you doing out at this time of night?’ And he’s like, ‘I make music, I’m a rapper.’ So I was like, ‘Yeah? Play me your music.’ He played me four songs and I was blown away.”

Rohaim recalled that Howard and his family were very poor for a while and he remembers picking “him up from a different spot” in Sydney “every two or three days”. He also says “He had no money, so we used to just eat together and record together.”

Tell us that’s not a young Justin Bieber. Picture: @TheHapaBlonde/BACKGRID

In 2019, Howard caught the attention of rapper and music executive Lil Bibby, who signed him alongside Columbia records. He opened for rapper Juice WRLD on the Australian leg of his tour and the two began a mentorship. But Juice WRLD died from a drug overdose in 2019. Howard decided to make his album’s lead single Go, which featured a Juice WRLD recording – the song took off and currently has nearly 49 million views on YouTube.

The Kid Laroi’s debut album F**k Love released in 2020 tells the story of his past – including his mental state and teenage break-ups.

Just a reminder that Australia’s biggest export is currently an Indigenous artist from Sydney who came from nothing. All hail The Kid Laroi.

— Joel Birch (@JoelDTD) May 8, 2021

Laroi’s music has also gone viral on social media platform TikTok. His song Without You has been used in over three million videos, helping the song to hit the top 10 in more than 12 countries. It’s also been revealed that the 17-year-old has more monthly listeners on Spotify that Kendrick Lamar, The Rolling Stones and Korean boy band BTS.

Earlier this year, Laroi featured on Elton John’s radio show, with the Rocket Man singer telling him: “You’re already huge, but I hope you realise what’s gonna happen to you in 2021. You’re gonna be one of the biggest artists in the whole wide world”.

The Kid Laroi is from the streets of Redfern.

What’s in a name?

Laroi’s full name is Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard. His stage name refers to his Indigenous heritage and the name of the community he comes from – the Kamilaroi.

Laroi‘s great-great grandfather comes from the Stolen Generation. While his great-great grandfather was told he was Spanish because of his complexion, he later found out he was from the Kamilaroi.

The Kid Laroi is blowing up worldwide.