We’re taking you behind the scenes of The Kid LAROI’s recent live performance of his hit single, “STAY.”
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Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard, better known by his fans as The Kid LAROI, has made quite the splash since arriving in the States from his native Australia. Beyond winning two iHeartRadio Music Awards and being nominated for two American Music Awards, two Grammy Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, and four People’s Choice Awards, the 18-year-old artist has collaborated with some of pop music’s biggest names — like Justin Bieber.
The two young musicians worked together on the single “STAY” — it’s on that hit song that The Kid LAROI partnered with Set The Stage by Sony, a brand campaign that brings fans closer to the artists they love like never before. The fan-powered experience culminated in an exclusive live performance of “STAY” by TKL on Sony's YouTube channel, which was captured in 360 Reality Audio. Before diving into the performance, Sony called on fans to turn TKL’s lyrics from “STAY” into art, which were incorporated into the backdrop of the performance stage.
We were able to go backstage during the live performance to get a taste of the action and talk to TKL about what the experience meant to him.
POPSUGAR:
How did “STAY” come to be?
“ “STAY” was probably one of the most fun songs to make. It was pretty organic — it was a song I got to make with my friends.
What was it like to have fans play a role in the video? How did fans help you bring the song to life?
Man, my fans are everything. They inspire me and are the reason I am here today. Having them play such a critical role in the development of this video has been a dream. I love seeing them react to my music in general, but seeing their reactions is insane and awesome to see.
Talk to me about wardrobe! What do you love about the clothes you wore?
I just love getting the chance to be experimental and for my style to speak, and I feel like it did.
THE KID LAROI:
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TKL:
Did you have a mood board going into this shoot? Or a dream of what you'd want it to look like?
I am an observer. When I write, I grab emotion from my life and translate it into song. I love that for this shoot, my fans played such a huge role in setting the scene. They observed my music and translated it into art. I would say that in Set The Stage, the mood board was my fans!
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EDITOR Aviel Kanter
PHOTOGRAPHY Yasara Gunawardena
ART DIRECTION Meg Konigsburg
PRODUCTION Cassie Doyle
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Can you take us behind the scenes? Were there any fun backstage moments?
Set The Stage was such a cool and fun project — technically it was work, but it's not at all. While I filmed my last video on my phone, the BTS of this experience was all about the technology that brings my lyrics and music to life. I loved playing with Sony's aibo robotic dog in between rehearsals and listening to the final performance of “she's all i wanna be."
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Why was it so cool to work with Set The Stage and Sony?
Sony helps bring my music to life, so when Set The Stage approached me with a cool opportunity to be interactive with my fans, I jumped at it. It has been such a fun experience for me and my fans.
Did anything especially cool happen backstage during the shoot?
I love Kerwin Frost. He was on set with me to help my fans get a close look behind the scenes, and it was incredible. He’s hilarious and such great company. We had a blast.
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What about being on set did you love? Can you talk about any general behind-the-scenes action?
I mean, I was surrounded the entire time by Sony tech. I love Sony — I use their products all day, every time I am recording, and it is such an incredible experience to be with Sony and to get to use their amazing technology — like 360 Reality Audio — to bring my songs to life.
What’s next for you?
New music, touring — that is what’s next! I have a lot of things planned for my fans over the next few months.
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WATCH THE PERFORMANCE
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